California life insurance license exam
The format, and free practice on the general life insurance topics California tests alongside every other state. Our California law section is in review and not published yet.
75questions
1.5 htime allowed
60%to pass
PSItest provider
General topics. Same on every state's exam.
These questions appear in several state banks word for word — policy types, provisions, underwriting, annuities. California tests them too.
1 / 6
A 20-year level term policy allows conversion only during the first 10 policy years and renewal only until age 65. In policy year 9 the insured wants permanent coverage without risking later evidence-of-insurability problems. Which advice best protects the contractual right?
Answer and explanation
Answer: A. Level term can have separate renewal and conversion rights with separate deadlines. A policyowner who wants permanent coverage without new evidence should act within the contractual conversion period rather than relying on later renewal.Source: New York Department of Financial Services — Consumer Life Insurance FAQ — Term Life Insurance > level term, renewable term, and convertible term
2 / 6
A 20-year term policy allows conversion only during its first 12 years. What happens to the conversion privilege after year 12?
Answer and explanation
Answer: B. A policy's conversion period may be shorter than its term. Term coverage can continue after the contractual right to convert has expired.Source: New York State Department of Financial Services — Consumer Life Insurance FAQ — What is convertible term life insurance? — conversion period may be shorter than term
3 / 6
A 20-year term policy permits conversion only during its first 12 years. Which statement correctly describes the feature?
Answer and explanation
Answer: C. A convertible term policy may set a conversion window that is shorter than the full term. During that window, conversion to permanent life insurance can occur without proving good health; it is not an annuity conversion and does not remain open indefinitely.Source: New York State Department of Financial Services — Consumer Life Insurance FAQ — What is convertible term life insurance?
4 / 6
A 45-year-old buys an annuity intending to take income at 65. Which annuity classification describes the contract during those twenty years?
Answer and explanation
Answer: D. A deferred annuity postpones the payout to a future date, letting the contract value accumulate on a tax-deferred basis until annuitization begins.Source: NAIC Buyer's Guide to Deferred Annuities — Deferred annuity: accumulation before the payout phase
5 / 6
A beneficiary asks which part of the policy states the insurer's core promise to pay. Which provision should the producer point to?
Answer and explanation
Answer: B. The insuring clause is the insurer's basic promise: on receipt of due proof of the insured's death, and subject to the policy terms, it will pay the death benefit to the named beneficiary.Source: NAIC Life Insurance Buyer's Guide — Policy provisions: the insuring agreement
6 / 6
A buyer compares annual and monthly premium modes for the same term policy. Which cost point should the buyer verify?
Answer and explanation
Answer: A. NY DFS advises that more frequent premium modes generally carry a higher total cost. The buyer should compare modal amounts and total annual cost rather than assume monthly payments are cheaper overall.Source: New York State Department of Financial Services — Consumer Life Insurance FAQ — What premium mode should I choose when purchasing term life insurance?
More general questions
- A buyer wants a deferred annuity funded entirely with one lump-sum purchase payment. Which funding form should be selected?
- A buyer wants lifetime life insurance funded by one lump-sum payment and wants cash value available immediately. Which policy fits?
- A buyer wants permanent coverage whose credited values respond more quickly to current interest-rate changes than traditional whole life. Which product is the closest match?
- A buyer wants permanent life insurance and wants the scheduled premium obligation to end at age 65 while coverage can continue for life. Which policy design fits?
- A buyer wants to fund a deferred annuity through a series of purchase payments rather than one lump sum. Which funding pattern should the buyer select?
- A buyer wants to fund a deferred annuity with one lump-sum purchase payment and make no later premiums. Which funding form fits?
- A cash-value policy has an elected automatic premium loan provision and an unpaid premium at the end of the grace period. If sufficient loan value exists, what occurs?
- A cash-value policyowner stops paying premiums but wants to preserve some policy value. Which group contains nonforfeiture choices?
- A client applies for life coverage without a temporary receipt. The insurer approves and issues the policy as applied for. Under standard application provisions, when does company liability actually begin?
- A client asks why return-of-premium term costs more than ordinary level term for the same face amount and period. What is the correct explanation?
- A client considering a life settlement asks what he should weigh before selling. Which point is most important to raise?
- A client reads a delivered policy and cannot tell which values are guaranteed. What does consumer guidance say should happen?
- A client rejects separate-account market risk and also does not want required premiums later recalculated under a current-assumption design. The client wants whole life with required fixed premiums, but with extra credited interest, when available, improving values or helping future premiums. Which design best fits?
- A client wants flexible premiums and an adjustable death benefit, but also wants to place policy value in equity and bond portfolios and accepts that those values can rise or fall with market performance. Which explanation best distinguishes the product from non-variable universal life?
- A client wants permanent life insurance but wants all required premiums completed within 20 years. Which policy best matches that goal?
- A client wants survivors to receive income for thirty years and does not mind if the fund is exhausted at the end. Which approach fits?
- A closely held corporation funds a buy-sell agreement so that the company itself buys a deceased shareholder's stock. What is this plan called?
- A company buys life insurance on its chief engineer to protect against the financial loss if she dies. Who is the owner, premium payer, and beneficiary?
- A consumer compares traditional whole life with a current-assumption whole life contract. The insurer says premiums may later be reevaluated based on current mortality, expense, and investment experience, while minimum cash value and a nonfluctuating death benefit remain guaranteed. Which conclusion is best?
- A consumer report plays a small part in an insurer's decision to charge a higher life premium. What does the FCRA require?
- A convertible term policy says conversion is available only under the policy's stated conversion provision. The owner asks for permanent coverage beyond the policy's allowed conversion amount without underwriting. What is the best response?
- A corporation is applying to own a life insurance policy. Which signature best evidences a competent party acting on behalf of the corporation?
- A corporation owns and pays for a policy on an executive's life and is also the beneficiary. When must the insurable interest exist?
- A cost of living rider is attached to a life policy. What does it do as an inflation index rises?
California exam questions, answered
How many questions are on the California life insurance exam?
The California Life-Only Agent exam has 75 questions with 1.5 hours allowed, delivered by PSI, according to the California Department of Insurance.
What score do you need to pass the California life insurance exam?
60%. That is lower than the 70% used in Texas, Florida, Georgia and New York, but California's exam also covers the California Insurance Code and ethics.
Does this app have California questions?
The general life insurance topics — policy types, provisions, riders, underwriting, annuities, taxes — are in the app now and apply to California. The California law section is being written and reviewed; it is not in the app yet.
Do I need pre-licensing education in California?
Yes, California requires pre-licensing education before the exam. Check the current hours and approved providers with the California Department of Insurance.
Start with the half that is the same everywhere.
The app has the general life insurance topics now. The California law section follows once it passes review.