Study guide
Standalone Coverage Map: National Content vs. California Rules
California Life & Health Insurance State
Track your progress as you read
Finished sections get a check mark.
1 Standalone Coverage Map
Standalone Coverage Map: National Content vs. California Rules
2 Introduction: California Life & Health Insurance Exam Overview
California Life & Health Exam Overview
3 National Portion: Insurance & Risk Fundamentals
Risk, Peril, Hazard, and the Law of Large Numbers Insurable Interest, Indemnity, and Insurance Principles Insurance Contract Law and Elements Producers, Agents, Brokers, and Authority Types of Insurers and Distribution Systems
4 National Portion: Life Insurance Basics
2.1 Purpose and Need for Life Insurance 2.2 Term Life Insurance 2.3 Whole Life Insurance 2.4 Adjustable, Limited-Pay, and Endowment
5 National Portion: Interest-Sensitive & Variable Life
3.1 Universal Life Insurance 3.2 Variable and Variable Universal Life 3.3 Indexed Universal Life 3.4 Specialized Policies (Joint, Survivorship, Juvenile)
6 National Portion: Life Policy Provisions & Options
4.1 Standard Policy Provisions and Beneficiaries 4.2 Nonforfeiture Options and Cash Value 4.3 Dividend Options and Settlement Options 4.4 Policy Loans, Withdrawals, and Assignments
7 National Portion: Life Riders & Underwriting
5.1 Living Benefit and Disability Riders 5.2 Death Benefit and Insured Riders 5.3 Life Insurance Underwriting and Risk Classification 5.4 Field Underwriting, Applications, and Replacement
8 National Portion: Annuities - Structure & Types
6.1 Annuity Principles and Parties 6.2 Fixed and Immediate Annuities 6.3 Deferred and Indexed Annuities 6.4 Variable Annuities
9 National Portion: Annuities - Payout, Uses & Suitability
7.1 Annuity Payout Options and Annuitization 7.2 Uses of Annuities and Suitability 7.3 Annuity Regulation and Disclosure
10 National Portion: Life & Annuity Taxation, Group, and Retirement
8.1 Taxation of Life Insurance and MEC Rules 8.2 Taxation of Annuities 8.3 Group Life Insurance 8.4 Qualified Plans, IRAs, and Retirement (TEFRA/SEP/401k)
11 National Portion: Health Insurance Basics
9.1 Health Insurance Concepts and Defining the Insured 9.2 Medical Expense Insurance (Basic and Major Medical) 9.3 Managed Care: HMO, PPO, POS, and HSA/HDHP 9.4 Cost Containment and Provider Arrangements
12 National Portion: Disability Income Insurance
10.1 Disability Income Policies and Definitions of Disability 10.2 Benefit Periods, Elimination Periods, and Riders 10.3 Business Disability (Key Person, Buy-Sell, BOE) 10.4 Disability Underwriting and Taxation
13 National Portion: Health Policy Provisions & Clauses
11.1 Required and Optional Uniform Provisions 11.2 Renewability and Continuation Provisions 11.3 Exclusions, Riders, and Pre-Existing Conditions 11.4 Claims, Coordination of Benefits, and Subrogation
14 National Portion: Group Health & Employer Plans
12.1 Group Health Fundamentals and Eligibility 12.2 Group Underwriting and Contribution/Participation 12.3 COBRA, HIPAA, and Continuation 12.4 Section 125 / Cafeteria Plans and Self-Funding
15 National Portion: Senior & Government Health Programs
13.1 Medicare Parts A, B, C, and D 13.2 Medicare Supplement (Medigap) Policies 13.3 Medicaid and Long-Term Care Partnership 13.4 Social Security Disability and Benefits
16 National Portion: Long-Term Care & Supplemental Health
14.1 Long-Term Care Insurance 14.2 Dental, Vision, and Limited Benefit Plans 14.3 Specified Disease, Critical Illness, and Hospital Indemnity 14.4 Accidental Death & Dismemberment and Supplemental
17 National Portion: Affordable Care Act & Individual Market
15.1 ACA Essential Health Benefits and Metal Levels 15.2 Guaranteed Issue, Rating Rules, and Marketplaces 15.3 Premium Tax Credits and Cost-Sharing Reductions
18 National Portion: Underwriting, Producers & Claims
16.1 Health Underwriting and Risk Selection 16.2 Application, Producer Responsibilities, and Fair Credit Reporting 16.3 Claims Handling and Fraud Prevention
19 National Portion: Insurance Regulation & Licensing
17.1 State Regulation, Licensing, and McCarran-Ferguson 17.2 Marketing, Advertising, and Replacement Regulation 17.3 Company Operations, Solvency, and Guaranty Associations
20 National Portion: Ethics & Unfair Trade Practices
18.1 Unfair Trade Practices and Unfair Claims Settlement 18.2 Producer Ethics, Fiduciary Duty, and Suitability 18.3 Privacy (HIPAA/GLBA), Fraud, and Consumer Protection
21 Chapter 1: California Insurance Regulation & Licensing
1.1 California Department of Insurance (CDI) 1.2 California Producer Licensing Requirements 1.3 License Maintenance and Continuing Education
22 Chapter 2: California Life Insurance Laws
2.1 California Life Insurance Policy Requirements 2.2 California Annuity Regulations 2.3 California Replacement Rules
23 Chapter 3: California Health Insurance Laws
3.1 California Health Insurance Policy Requirements 3.2 California Medicare Supplement (Medigap) Regulations 3.3 California Disability and Long-Term Care Insurance
24 Chapter 4: California Insurance Ethics & Prohibited Practices
4.1 Unfair Trade Practices 4.2 Producer Conduct and Fiduciary Duties 4.3 California Life and Health Insurance Guarantee Association
25 Chapter 5: California Annuity Regulations & Senior Protections
5.1 California Annuity Best Interest Standard 5.2 California Senior Consumer Protections 5.3 California Variable Annuity and Indexed Annuity Regulations
26 Chapter 6: California Group Insurance & Special Topics
6.1 California Group Life and Health Insurance Requirements 6.2 California COBRA and Cal-COBRA Continuation 6.3 California State Insurance Programs
Standalone Coverage Map: National Content vs. California Rules
Key Takeaways Explain This Topic AI
CDI publishes question counts by section: the Life exam is 22 general insurance, 49 life insurance and 4 rider questions; the Accident & Health exam is 18, 4, 45, 4 and 4.
Questions naming specific days, dollar thresholds, or the Commissioner usually point to a California rule rather than a national principle.
National content rewards conceptual mastery; California content rewards knowing exact figures and authorities.
Study in three passes: national foundations, mixed products, then California law, ending with an interleaved practice exam.
Use the official section counts to weight study time toward the largest sections and your weakest areas.
Last updated: November 2026
How the California Life & Health Exam Splits National and State Content
The California Life-Only exam and the Accident & Health exam each have 75 multiple-choice questions (the combined Life, Accident & Health exam has 150). Both test general insurance principles that apply in any state, such as how policies are structured, how risk is pooled and how underwriting works, alongside California-specific law administered by the California Department of Insurance (CDI) under the California Insurance Code and Title 10 of the California Code of Regulations. CDI's objectives mix the two inside the same sections; for example, the Insurance Marketplace section covers agent licensing law and the rules for seniors 65 and older (Insurance Code sections 785 through 789.10).
Keep the two layers apart in your mind. A general principle (for example, the legal definition of an insurable interest) is the same everywhere, but a California rule is enforceable only here: a buyer who is 60 or older on the purchase date gets at least 30 days to return an individual life policy or annuity (Insurance Code 10127.10), while a younger buyer gets the 10-to-30-day period the insurer sets (10127.9). When a question names a specific number of days, a dollar threshold, or the Commissioner, it is usually testing California law.
Why the Split Matters for Study Strategy
The national portion rewards conceptual understanding: if you know why term insurance is cheaper than whole life, you can answer a family of questions. The California portion rewards exact figures and authorities. Build concepts first, then layer the California rules on top so each one attaches to a principle you already understand.
Official Question Counts (2025 CDI License Examination Objectives)
- Exam Section Questions
- Life (75) General Insurance: basic concepts 9, contract law 6, insurance marketplace 7 22 (30 percent)
Life (75) Life Insurance: basics 8, policy types 10, annuities 8, replacement and cancellation 4, the individual contract 10, taxation 3, group 2, Social Security disability 1, underwriting 3 49 (65 percent)
Life (75) Life Policy Riders 4 (5 percent)
Accident & Health (75) General Insurance: basic concepts 7, contract law 4, insurance marketplace 7 18 (25 percent)
Accident & Health (75) General Concepts of Medical and Disability Insurance 4 (5 percent)
Accident & Health (75) Medical Expense Insurance: individual 14, group 8, PPACA 8, senior health products 15 45 (60 percent)
- Accident & Health (75) Disability Income Insurance 4 (5 percent)
- Accident & Health (75) Long-Term Care Insurance 4 (5 percent)
The national chapters of this guide cover the general concepts, product, taxation and federal-program material. Chapters 1 through 6 of the California portion cover CDI regulation and licensing, California life and annuity law, California health law, ethics and prohibited practices, annuity and senior protections, and group insurance and state programs.
Recommended Study Sequence
Work in three passes rather than straight through once. Pass one is national foundations: risk and contract principles, life products, annuities and health basics. Do not memorize California numbers yet.
Pass two is the mixed and specialized products: disability income, long-term care, group coverage and senior health products. Here you start meeting California overlays such as Medicare supplement open enrollment and the senior return period, so you attach state details to products you already know.
Pass three is California law: the Commissioner's powers, license types and renewal, free-look windows, replacement rules, and the unfair-practices list.
After the three passes, take a full mixed practice exam so national and California questions arrive interleaved. Review every miss by first labeling it national or California, then returning to the matching chapter to repair the specific gap.
Exam Logistics and How to Use This Map
The California license exams are scheduled and delivered by PSI at test centers, at CDI's Los Angeles test center, or by remote online proctoring. They are computer-based and multiple choice, and the pass or fail result appears on screen at the end. Allocate study hours roughly in proportion to the section counts above, then add a margin for the sections you rate yourself weakest on.
Since January 1, 2026 (AB 943), the only required prelicensing course for life and accident and health applicants is the 12-hour Ethics and California Insurance Code course, which includes one hour on insurance fraud. It is not required to schedule or take the exam; it must be completed before CDI issues the license. Separately, an agent who sells annuities must complete 8 hours of annuity training before soliciting any consumer, then 4 hours before each license renewal (Insurance Code 1749.8).
When you review a missed practice item, decide first whether it is national (a concept true in every state) or California (a number, day-count, dollar threshold, or reference to the Commissioner), then re-drill only that area. National misses usually mean a concept is shaky; California misses usually mean a specific figure was never learned, so the repair tactics differ.
Treat the mixed areas, such as disability and long-term care, group plans, and senior products, as the trickiest, because each blends a national product structure with a California rule.
Sections you finish are checked off in the contents.
- Up Next
- California Life & Health Exam Overview
- Introduction: California Life & Health Insurance Exam Overview