Insurance Adjuster, Counselor and Solicitor Application Background Questions: What You Need to Know BEFORE You Apply

As part of the application process you are required to answer several background information questions. The answers are reviewed by Department of Insurance and Financial Services (DIFS) Insurance Licensing staff. In addition to reviewing the application, DIFS staff members conduct several background checks on each applicant.

General Background Question Information

You are responsible for your application and the information provided in the application, even if someone else completes the application for you.

If you answer “YES” to a background question, you must provide complete details and documentation as requested in the application. If necessary, DIFS staff may request additional documentation.

If you answer “NO” and we later find the answer should have been “YES,” your application will be denied.

Criminal Conviction Information

All* convictions must be reported, including:

• Misdemeanors, felonies and/or military offenses.
• Having a judgment withheld or deferred which is commonly seen as adjudication withheld or judgment deferred.
• Having a current or pending charge of committing a crime.
• Felony traffic offenses.
• Guilty conviction.
• Offense where a plea of guilty or nolo contendre was entered.
• Offense where probation was given.
• Offense where a suspended sentence was given.
• Offense where a fine was given.

* The ONLY exceptions are:

• Misdemeanor traffic offenses
• Juvenile “adjudications.”
• Crimes that have been “set aside” or expunged by the court. Please note: This is not an automatic process and does not “just happen” after five or ten years. You must petition the court to have convictions “set aside” or expunged.

If you have had a judgment withheld or deferred, we will need documentation showing that you completed the court requirements (probation, community service, etc.) and documentation of the final disposition.

If you do not disclose a conviction on your application and one is found during the background investigation, the failure to disclose is a reason to deny you a license.

Felony Conviction Information

• If you have a felony conviction, you must complete an Application for Written Consent to Engage in the Business of Insurance Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 1033 http://www.michigan.gov/documents/cis/shortapp1_174283_7.pdf
• Felonies do not “drop off” of your record.
• You can apply to have your conviction expunged or set aside:

Instructions for setting aside a Michigan crime: http://courts.michigan.gov/Administration/SCAO/Forms/courtforms/generalcriminal/mc227.pdf

If your crime occurred in another state, contact the convicting court.

Administrative Action Information

All* administrative action must be reported, including:

• Having a license censured, suspended, cancelled, and/or terminated.
• Being assessed a fine.
• Receiving a cease and desist order.
• Receiving a compliance order.
• Receiving a prohibition order.
• Surrendering a license to resolve an administrative action.
• Being party to an administrative or arbitration hearing.
• Violating any insurance laws or violating any regulation, subpoena, or order of the commissioner or of another state’s insurance commissioner.
• Having an insurance producer license or its equivalent denied or revoked.

*The only exceptions are terminations due solely to noncompliance with continuing education or failure to pay a renewal fee.

Child Support Information for Individual Applicants

In Michigan, if you are not in compliance with a child support obligation, you will not receive a license.

If you have an obligation in arrearage, you will need to provide proof of compliance, which could include one or more of the following:

• Proof of current payments.
• Statement of compliance from court.
• Updated repayment agreement.