Life insurance · Guide
What is the life insurance exam?
It's the exam that licenses you to sell life insurance — and unlike the securities exams, there is no single national version. Your state sets it. That one fact explains most of the confusion around it.
Why the specs you read online disagree
The SIE is the same exam whether you sit it in Utah or Florida — FINRA writes one test. Life insurance doesn't work that way. Each state insurance department sets its own exam, so the question count, time limit, passing score, prelicensing hours, and fee all differ by jurisdiction.
That's why one site tells you it's 100 questions and another says 150, and both are right for somewhere. Any page that gives you a single national number is guessing about your state. Yours is the only one that matters, and your state insurance department publishes it.
The two halves of the exam
Most states split it the same way:
The national portion
Insurance concepts that are consistent almost everywhere — policy types (term, whole life, universal, variable), policy provisions and riders, annuities, group life, and the federal tax treatment of premiums, cash value, and death benefits. This is the larger part, and it's the part that transfers if you later license in another state.
The state portion
Your state's own insurance code — licensing and appointment rules, producer duties, unfair trade practice statutes, continuing education, and the specific periods your state sets for things like the free look and the grace period. This part is different in every state and is not transferable.
What you generally need to do first
You do not need a sponsoring firm — that's a securities requirement, not an insurance one. Most states do require a prelicensing education course before you can sit, with the required hours set by the state. You'll also typically need fingerprinting and a background check as part of the license application, and the exam fee is set by your state rather than by a national body.
Passing the exam is a step toward the license, not the license itself — the application, appointment with a carrier, and any state-specific steps come after.
How to prepare for it
The national concepts are where most of the studying goes and where most candidates lose points — the vocabulary blurs together fast. Whole life versus universal versus variable universal, reduced paid-up versus extended term, per stirpes versus per capita: these are distinctions, not definitions, and recognizing which one a question is actually asking about is the whole skill.
Our life insurance track covers that national core with plain-English lessons and a full explanation on every answer — including why each wrong choice was tempting. See the life insurance course or try the free practice test first — no sign-up.
Make the terminology stick.
Guided lessons, original practice questions with every answer explained, and full-length mock exams. Start free.
Disclosures
Finance Exam Pro is not affiliated with any state insurance department. Practice questions are original and are not actual exam questions. Exam specifications, fees, and prelicensing requirements are set by each state and change — confirm current details with your state insurance department before registering.