New Survey Finds Disparities by Race and Other Issues of Fairness in State Insurance Licensing Exams

November 11, 2009 9:18 AM EST

WASHINGTON, Nov. 11 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- November 2009 marks an important anniversary for advocates of financial security. Twenty-five years ago, Golden Rule Insurance Company settled a long-running lawsuit in which it argued that the life insurance licensing exam in the state of Illinois was racially biased.

While the settlement has made its mark in the academic debate surrounding testing, it has largely been forgotten within the industry where it started: life insurance.

On this 25th anniversary of the settlement of the Golden Rule case, the Coalition for Financial Security (CFS) has published a new survey. The survey looks back at events surrounding the Golden Rule case and uses new data to suggest that issues of fairness that led Golden Rule to the courts in the 1970s may still persist in insurance licensing today.

Titled "Golden Rule Forgotten?" the survey includes the following key findings:

    --  Double-digit racial disparities in state life insurance licensing exams.
    --  State exams where even candidates with an advanced degree fail over 40
        percent of the time.
    --  Evidence that an individual's probability of working as an agent depends
        more on where they live than what they know.
    --  No correlation between state pre-licensing requirements and exam pass
        rates.

    --  94 percent of states surveyed by CFS with pass rates below the 70
        percent suggestion set out by the National Association of Insurance
        Commissioners in their licensing handbook.

"Similar to what Golden Rule believed about the Illinois exam 25 years ago, many states in the CFS survey may have unintentionally permitted their insurance exams to become artificial barriers to entry into the insurance profession," the survey concludes. "At its heart, the Golden Rule case was not about making the Illinois licensing exam easier. It was about making sure the exam was fair and that the industry was open to everyone. On the 25th anniversary of the landmark settlement, this survey suggests it is time to remember Golden Rule."

"Golden Rule Forgotten?" is available for download at www.coalitionforfinancialsecurity.org.

SOURCE Coalition for Financial Security

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