MDI Web site now offers agent licensing information

The Missouri Department of Insur-ance's Web site, www.insurance.state. mo.us, now features an "agent search" option that allows visitors to retrieve in-formation about the state's agents and brokers online.

According to an MDI press release, the site contains licensing information on more than 90,000 Missouri agents and brokers and 10,000 insurance agencies.

"We know from surveys of our Internet visitors and calls to our hotline, that both insurance consumers and industry personnel ranked this service extremely high as an extra feature they wanted on our Web site," said Scott B. Lakin, MDI director. "State licensing provides valuable information on whether an individual is qualified to counsel prospects and make sales, and, in extreme cases, (it) helps customers detect scams by unlicensed personnel."

Prior to the "agent search" function on the Web site, licensing information could be verified only by calling MDI staff, which Lakin said was cumbersome for the caller and for the department.

Internet users can check license status with as little information as the last name or the home city of the agent, broker or agency. The Web site, which is updated daily, provides:

the full name and address of the agent, broker or agency;

the agency with which each individual agent is appointed;

the date the license was effective;

the lines of insurance the agent is allowed to write after meeting license standards; and

the names of all agents authorized to conduct business for an agency.

Lakin said that individuals who use the Internet agent status feature should not assume that an unlisted agent is unlicensed, because agents may be known by a nickname, initials or other variations that don't appear in the MDI database. If an Internet inquiry does not produce verification, users should contact MDI via its toll-free number, 800-726-7390, for further assistance.

If consumers report that solicitation or insurance counseling is occurring without a license, MDI staff can begin the investigation process, Lakin said.