Pennsylvania life insurance exam content outline
Last updated
PSI gives the Pennsylvania Life Insurance exam, Series 16-01. The outline in use took effect on March 1, 2026. [1][2] This page walks through every section of that outline, how many items each one is worth, and the Pennsylvania laws it names.
How many questions are on the Pennsylvania life insurance exam?
- 100 items in 120 minutes. That is printed at the top of the outline. [2]
- Plus a few unscored ones. The PSI bulletin says a small number (5 to 10) of "experimental" questions may be added. They are not scored, and the time for them is already included. [1]
- Tutorial time is extra. The bulletin says the tutorial, up to 15 minutes, does not count against your exam time. [1]
- Passing score: "a minimum score of 70%." [1]
- Fee: $45 for the Life exam. Fees are not refundable or transferable. [1]
Section weights
PSI prints a percentage for each section, not an item count. Because the exam has 100 items, each percentage equals the number of items. [2]
| Section | Share | Items (of 100) |
|---|---|---|
| 1.0 Insurance Regulation | 14% | 14 |
| 2.0 General Insurance Concepts | 10% | 10 |
| 3.0 Life Insurance Basics | 20% | 20 |
| 4.0 Types of Life Insurance Policies | 17% | 17 |
| 5.0 Life Insurance Policy Provisions, Options, and Riders | 22% | 22 |
| 6.0 Annuities | 12% | 12 |
| 7.0 Federal Tax Considerations for Life Insurance | 5% | 5 |
Policy provisions, options and riders is the largest block at 22 items. Life basics is next at 20.
There is no separate state law part
Some exams split general knowledge and state law into two parts. The Pennsylvania Life outline does not. Pennsylvania statutes and code sections are printed inside the regular sections, mostly in 1.0 and in the product sections. [2] So state law can come up anywhere on the exam.
1.0 Insurance Regulation (14 items)
This section is mostly Pennsylvania law. The outline lists: [2]
- Licensing: requirements (40 P.S. 310.1, 310.3 to 310.14), resident and nonresident licenses, the temporary license (310.9), and managers and exclusive general producers.
- Keeping the license: change of contact information, renewal and continuing education (310.8 and 31 Pa. Code Ch. 39a), duty to report administrative or criminal actions (310.78), fictitious names (310.7).
- Discipline: denial, nonrenewal, suspension or revocation, fines, cease and desist orders, hearings and consent agreements.
- Producer rules: fiduciary duty (310.96), commissions and fees (310.72 to 310.74), prohibited acts (310.11), appointments and terminations (310.71, 310.71a).
- Unfair practices: rebates and inducements, misrepresentation, twisting (40 P.S. 473), false advertising, defamation, boycott and coercion, misappropriation of funds, unfair discrimination, replacement (40 P.S. 625 and 31 Pa. Code Ch. 81), privacy of financial information, and insurance fraud.
- Federal rules: the Fair Credit Reporting Act, fraud and false statements (18 USC 1033 and 1034), Gramm-Leach-Bliley privacy, and the National Do Not Call List.
2.0 General Insurance Concepts (10 items)
Risk and the ways to handle it (avoidance, retention, sharing, reduction, transfer), types of insurers (mutual and stock, admitted and non-admitted, domestic, foreign and alien), the elements of a contract, a producer's express, implied and apparent authority, and legal ideas like indemnity, good faith, warranties, representations and concealment. [2]
3.0 Life Insurance Basics (20 items)
- Insurable interest (40 P.S. 512). [2]
- Personal and business uses of life insurance, including buy-sell funding, key person and executive pay.
- How much coverage a person needs: the human life value approach and the needs approach.
- Viatical and life settlements (40 P.S. 626.2, 626.7, 626.8).
- Classes of policies, including fixed versus variable and general versus separate accounts.
- Producer duties: advertising (31 Pa. Code Ch. 51), the guaranty association advertising rule (40 P.S. 991.1717), the disclosure statement (Ch. 83), illustrations, and the surrender comparison index.
- Field and company underwriting, including the delivery receipt requirement (40 P.S. 625.4) and selection rules and unfair discrimination (40 P.S. 477a).
4.0 Types of Life Insurance Policies (17 items)
Term (level, decreasing, increasing, renewable), whole life (single premium, continuous premium, limited payment), adjustable life, universal life, index whole life, joint and survivorship life, juvenile policies, return of premium term, and group life, including conversion to an individual policy (40 P.S. 532.7). [2]
5.0 Policy Provisions, Options, and Riders (22 items)
- Standard provisions under 40 P.S. 510: ownership, assignment, payment of premiums, grace period, misstatement of age or sex, incontestability, reinstatement, entire contract and payment of claims. [2]
- Free look under 40 P.S. 510c, and prohibited provisions, including backdating (40 P.S. 511).
- Beneficiary choices and clauses (common disaster, spendthrift), and the effect of divorce on a beneficiary designation (20 Pa.C.S. 6111.2).
- Settlement, nonforfeiture, loan and dividend options.
- Riders: waiver of premium, payor benefit, spouse and children, accidental death, guaranteed insurability, cost of living, return of premium, accelerated benefits (31 Pa. Code Ch. 90f) and long-term care.
A few of these provisions in Pennsylvania's own words, from the Insurance Company Law of 1921:
- Grace period: the policy must give "a grace, either of thirty days or one month" for premiums after the first year. [3]
- Incontestability: the policy is incontestable after it has been in force during the insured's lifetime for "two years from its date of issue, except for nonpayment of premiums." [3]
- Free look: at least 10 days for a regular individual fixed dollar policy. For a replacement policy it is at least 45 days with the same insurer or insurer group, and at least 20 days with a different one. [4]
- Backdating: a policy may not take effect "more than six months before the original application for the insurance was made." [5]
6.0 Annuities (12 items)
Accumulation and annuity periods; owner, annuitant and beneficiary; the annuity right to examine (40 P.S. 510d); immediate and deferred; payout options; fixed, equity indexed and variable products, including separate accounts and how variable annuities are regulated (31 Pa. Code Ch. 85); and suitability (Act 48 of 2018). [2]
7.0 Federal Tax Considerations (5 items)
Qualified plans, withdrawals, rollovers versus transfers, IRAs (traditional and Roth), 401(k) and 403(b) plans, and how premiums, dividends and settlements are taxed, plus Modified Endowment Contracts. [2]
FAQ
How many questions are on the PA life insurance exam?
100 scored items, plus 5 to 10 unscored experimental questions. You get 120 minutes. [1][2]
Is there a state law section on the PA life exam?
Not as its own part. Pennsylvania law is mixed into the sections, mostly 1.0 Insurance Regulation. [2]
What score do I need?
At least 70%. [1]
Try the free Pennsylvania Life practice test and the free Pennsylvania insurance law questions.
Prep Retention is independent and is not affiliated with PSI or the state.
Sources
- PSI, Pennsylvania Insurance Candidate Information Bulletin (effective 1/22/2026): https://test-takers.psiexams.com/api/content/bulletin/7282
- PSI, Pennsylvania Life outline, Series 16-01 (effective 3/1/2026): https://proctor2.psionline.com/media/programs/PAINS/16-01xx.pdf
- Insurance Company Law of 1921 (Act of May 17, 1921, P.L. 682, No. 284), Section 410 (uniform policy provisions; codified at 40 P.S. 510), PA General Assembly: https://www.palegis.us/statutes/unconsolidated/law-information/view-statute?iFrame=true&txtType=HTM&SessYr=1921&SessInd=0&ActNum=0284
- Same act, Section 410D (right to examine life policies; 40 P.S. 510c): same URL as source 3
- Same act, Section 411 (prohibited provisions; 40 P.S. 511): same URL as source 3