No, the tellers cannot receive referral fees unless they hold insurance producer’s licenses.

The Illinois Insurance Code (“Code”) permits bank employees to provide information about insurance products, but only if they are not paid any commission, service fee, or other valuable consideration. Otherwise, the Code prohibits the payment of referral fees or commissions for selling, soliciting or negotiating insurance, unless the recipient is licensed as an insurance producer. “Solicit” is defined as “attempting to sell insurance or asking or urging a person to apply for a particular kind of insurance from a particular company.” We believe that having your tellers talk to customers about your company’s insurance products along with passing out flyers to them would be viewed by the Department of Insurance as “soliciting,” in which case the tellers should be licensed as insurance producers before receiving referral fees.

For resources related to our guidance, please see:

• Illinois Insurance Code, 215 ILCS 5/500-20(b) (“A license as an insurance producer shall not be required of . . . (2) a person who secures and furnishes information for the purpose of group life insurance, group property and casualty insurance, group annuities, or group or blanket accident and health insurance . . . if no commission is paid to the person for the service.”)

• Illinois Financial Institutions Insurance Sales Law, 215 ILCS 5/1403(a) (“The solicitation and sale of insurance by a financial institution shall be conducted only by individuals who have been issued and maintain an insurance producer’s license pursuant to the Illinois Insurance Code and shall be subject to the laws, rules, and penalties of the Illinois Insurance Code.”)

• Illinois Insurance Code, 215 ILCS 5/500-80(a) (“An insurer or insurance producer may not pay a commission, service fee, brokerage, or other valuable consideration to a person for selling, soliciting, or negotiating insurance in this State if that person is required to be licensed under this Article and is not so licensed at the time of selling, soliciting, or negotiating the insurance.”)

• Illinois Insurance Code, 215 ILCS 5/500-10 (“Solicit” means “attempting to sell insurance or asking or urging a person to apply for a particular kind of insurance from a particular company.”)