Life & Health Insurance License (General Knowledge) Pass Rate, Format & Study Guide

Life and health insurance producers must hold a state licence before they can sell life insurance, annuities or accident-and-health coverage, and every state requires candidates to pass an examination that Pearson VUE delivers for many state insurance departments. This portal covers the general-knowledge content of those exams: product knowledge, terms and concepts for life insurance and for health and accident insurance, from policy types and riders to underwriting, social insurance and field procedures.

The general knowledge section tests the product fundamentals every producer must understand before advising a client: how whole life, term, universal, variable and indexed policies differ, what each rider and provision does, how disability income and medical expense coverage work, how Medicare and Medicaid fit in, and how an application moves through underwriting to delivery. That is the core of what a licensed producer must explain accurately, so mastery of it is useful beyond the exam itself.

The content is aimed at people preparing for a state life, accident-and-health or combined life and health producer licence exam, including new agents and career changers completing pre-licensing study. Because the state-law section differs by state, candidates should use this material for the general product-knowledge part and a state-specific resource for the law section.

The certifying body does not publicly publish an official pass rate for this exam. Be wary of third-party sites citing a specific number here — treat any pass-rate claim you see elsewhere for this exam as unverified.

Retake rules are set by each state. Pearson VUE's Texas handbook says a candidate who fails can schedule a new exam within one day and that there is no limit to the number of attempts on the same exam; each retake requires another exam fee. Illinois requires candidates to wait 24 hours before making a re-examination reservation for a test center exam and expects the general and state exams for a licence to be passed within 90 days. Confirm your own state's retake and licence-application deadlines with its insurance department; in Texas, for example, a completed licence application must be submitted within 12 months of passing or the exam must be retaken.

Texas and Illinois both report the passing score as 70 on a scale of 0 to 100. Pearson VUE explains that this is a scaled score, not the number or percentage of questions answered correctly: there are several forms of each exam, and an equating procedure adjusts for small differences in difficulty, so slightly fewer correct answers are needed on a harder form. Pretest questions are mixed in with the scored ones, are not identified, and do not affect your score. In Texas, the Life and Health general knowledge outline has 100 scoreable plus 10 pretest questions, and the state-law outline has 30 scoreable plus 5 pretest; the score is based on the exam as a whole rather than each part separately.

State exams are typically in two parts: a general section on insurance product knowledge and a state section on that state's laws. In Pearson VUE's Texas outlines (effective September 1, 2026) the Life and Health general knowledge outline has 100 scoreable plus 10 pretest questions and the Texas-law outline has 30 scoreable plus 5 pretest questions; Pearson VUE's handbook lists 150 minutes for the combined Texas General Lines Life, Accident & Health exam. Illinois instead delivers separate Life and Accident & Health general and state exams (75 minutes for each general exam). Pretest questions are unidentified and unscored, and the score reported is a scaled 70 pass mark.

• Types of Life Insurance Policies15%
• Life Insurance Policy Riders, Provisions, Options, and Exclusions15%
• Completing the Application, Underwriting, and Delivering the Policy12%
• Retirement and Other Insurance Concepts8%
• Types of Health and Accident Insurance Policies16%
• Health Policy Provisions, Clauses, and Riders15%
• Social Insurance6%
• Other Insurance Concepts5%
• Field Underwriting Procedures8%

The Life and Health general-knowledge outline in Pearson VUE's September 2026 Texas document has nine content areas: Types of Life Insurance Policies (15%); Life Insurance Policy Riders, Provisions, Options, and Exclusions (15%); Completing the Application, Underwriting, and Delivering the Policy (12%); Retirement and Other Insurance Concepts (8%); Types of Health and Accident Insurance Policies (16%); Health Policy Provisions, Clauses, and Riders (15%); Social Insurance (6%), covering Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security benefits; Other Insurance Concepts (5%); and Field Underwriting Procedures (8%). Illinois publishes the same style of general outlines for its separate Life and Accident & Health general exams.

Eligibility is set by the state insurance department. Typically you apply for a licence, complete any required pre-licensing education, and pass the state's examinations before the licence is issued. In Texas some licence types allow a temporary 180-day licence before the exam is passed, and a completed licence application must be submitted within 12 months of passing the exam. In Illinois the general and state exams must both be passed within 90 days, and you wait five days after passing before applying for your licence at nipr.com. Check your own state's current steps before you register.

Fees are set by the state and paid to Pearson VUE when you make the reservation. Pearson VUE's October 2024 Texas handbook lists the General Lines Life, Accident & Health exam at $49 (the Texas Life Agent exam at $39), and its 2026 Illinois handbook lists $92 per exam, which includes a $50 state administrative fee. Exam fees are generally non-refundable unless you cancel within the allowed notice period (48 hours in Illinois), and each retake needs a new fee. Pre-licensing education and licence application fees are separate and set by the state.

Licence renewal is set by the state. In Texas, Pearson VUE's handbook says most licences require 24 hours of continuing education every two years, including three hours of ethics, while limited lines, County Mutual and Life Insurance Not Exceeding $25,000 licences need 10 hours every two years. Check your own state's renewal period and continuing-education rules.

The general-knowledge outline spreads weight across nine areas, and the health-side areas are as large as the life-side ones: Types of Health and Accident Insurance Policies (16%), Types of Life Insurance Policies (15%), Life Insurance Policy Riders, Provisions, Options, and Exclusions (15%) and Health Policy Provisions, Clauses, and Riders (15%) together make up 61% of the content. Learn policy types, provisions and riders first, then underwriting and field procedures, and finish with timed mixed practice. Then add your own state's insurance-law section, which is tested separately and which this portal does not cover.

Pearson VUE revises its content outlines and handbooks regularly; the Texas Life and Health outline used here is effective September 1, 2026, and the Texas candidate handbook cited for fees and times is dated October 2024, so confirm the current fee and time with Pearson VUE before you book. States can change fees, time limits and licensing steps at any time.