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CA • L&H

California Life & Health Insurance Exam — Practice Test & Study Guide

Sell life, accident & health insurance products. Covers policy provisions, riders, annuities, medical expense and disability coverage, plus state-specific regulations.

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Our mock exam
100 questions
what you sit here, not the state's count
Official time limit
195 min
CA exam, verified
Passing score
60%
set by CDI
Pre-licensing
12h
required in CA

Exam content outline

From the official CDI L&H content outline. Mock exams sample at these weights.

SectionWeight≈ Questions
National-LH-I Life Policy Types15%15
National-LH-II Life Policy Riders, Provisions, Options, Exclusions15%15
National-LH-III Application, Underwriting, Delivery12%12
National-LH-IV Retirement & Other Insurance Concepts8%8
National-LH-V Health Policy Types16%16
National-LH-VI Health Policy Provisions, Clauses, Riders15%15
National-LH-VII Social Insurance6%6
National-LH-VIII Other Health Insurance Concepts5%5
National-LH-IX Field Underwriting Procedures8%8

Sample questions

Items from our L&H bank, aligned to the CA CDI outline — see the difficulty and explanation depth.

Q1 • CA-LH-VIII Group Employer CA Government Programsmedium

A California employee's HMO group plan denies a hospital claim under a Knox-Keene-licensed health care service plan. After internal grievance is exhausted, which California regulator hears the Independent Medical Review (IMR)?

AThe California Department of Insurance (CDI), exercising IMR authority under Insurance Code § 10169 over this plan
BThe Department of Managed Health Care (DMHC), exercising IMR authority under Health & Safety Code § 1374.30
CThe California Labor Commissioner, through its wage-and-benefits adjudication process for employee group plans
DThe federal Department of Health and Human Services, under its national oversight of insured group coverage
Why

Knox-Keene HMOs are regulated by DMHC; the DMHC IMR process under HSC § 1374.30 handles denied-claim appeals — not CDI.

Q2 • CA-LH-IX Marketing Trade Practices Ethics Enforcementeasy

A California consumer who believes a life insurer has wrongly denied a death claim wishes to file a complaint with the California Department of Insurance. The CDI's primary consumer assistance phone resource is best described as:

AThe California Attorney General's Insurance Bureau, which directly investigates and adjudicates individual insurer claim disputes
BThe DMHC Help Center, which handles all California insurance complaints regardless of the underlying product type
CThe Federal Trade Commission's Consumer Sentinel network, which receives and resolves state-licensed insurer complaints
DThe CDI Consumer Hotline (1-800-927-4357), which intakes complaints and forwards them to the Consumer Services Division
Why

CDI Consumer Hotline (1-800-927-HELP) intakes life-insurer complaints; DMHC handles HMOs only.

Q3 • CA-LH-IX Marketing Trade Practices Ethics Enforcementhard

The CDI commences a market-conduct examination of a California-licensed life insurer pursuant to Ins. Code § 730 et seq. The insurer's CEO objects that the examination is overly broad. Which of the following best reflects the limits on a market-conduct examination?

AThe commissioner has no statutory authority to examine the insurer once it has received its certificate of authority to transact business in this state
BExaminations are strictly limited to fraud-only inquiries and may never reach into claims-handling timeliness, policy-replacement transactions, suitability documentation, or any sales and marketing practices of the insurer
CExaminations may be conducted only with the insurer's prior written consent and the issuance of a court-approved administrative subpoena for each request
DThe commissioner has broad authority to examine the books, records, and operations relevant to the insurer's California business, with examination costs borne by the insurer per § 736
Why

Ins. Code §§ 730-736 grant the commissioner broad market-conduct examination authority over books, records, and operations, with reasonable costs borne by the insurer.

Q4 • CA-LH-II Life Policy Types Provisions CA Twistsmedium

A California married couple uses a survivorship (second-to-die) life insurance policy to fund estate taxes on the second spouse's death. Why is a survivorship policy commonly preferred over two separate single-life policies in this CA estate plan?

ABecause survivorship life insurance is specifically and statutorily exempt from the California gross premium tax under Ins. Code § 12202, an exemption that materially lowers the married couple's total out-of-pocket premium cost across the entire multi-year funding period of the estate plan
BBecause survivorship policy proceeds are payable directly to the IRS under the California Probate Code in order to satisfy any outstanding federal estate-tax lien before any heirs may receive a distribution
CBecause California community-property law affirmatively requires that both spouses have died before any life insurance death benefit may lawfully be paid out to the named beneficiary or estate
DBecause federal estate tax is generally not due at the first spouse's death (unlimited marital deduction), and the lower-cost survivorship policy times the benefit to the second death when tax arises, while ILIT ownership keeps proceeds out of either estate
Why

Estate tax is deferred to the second death by the unlimited marital deduction; survivorship life prices that exact event and is usually held in an ILIT to keep proceeds out of either spouse's taxable estate.

Q5 • CA-LH-VI Health Provisions Continuation Appealsmedium

A Knox-Keene HMO enrollee presents to an out-of-network California hospital emergency department with chest pain. Under Health & Safety Code § 1262.8 and related Knox-Keene rules, the hospital and plan must do which of the following before transfer or financial discharge?

AThe hospital may lawfully refuse all care, including the screening exam, until the enrollee's HMO authorizes treatment by telephone and confirms network coverage
BThe hospital may transfer the patient to an in-network facility immediately upon arrival, before any stabilization whatsoever, purely to control the plan's out-of-network cost exposure and shift financial responsibility back to the HMO
CThe enrollee must pay the full out-of-network charge up front and then separately pursue reimbursement from the HMO through a small claims court action
DThe hospital must provide a medical screening exam and stabilizing treatment regardless of network status, and the plan must pay for emergency services and authorized post-stabilization care under HSC § 1262.8 and § 1371.4
Why

HSC § 1262.8 (screening + stabilization) plus § 1371.4 (plan pays for emergency + post-stabilization until safe transfer) bind both hospital and HMO.

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California state law module

State-specific laws and regulations make up 10–20% of the CA L&H exam. Our markdown-based state-law module walks through what CDI actually tests.

Read CA L&H state law

California L&H Exam FAQ

How long is the CA L&H exam?

California Department of Insurance allows 195 minutes for the California Life & Health exam, and the passing score is 60%. The state does not publish a scored-question count. Our mock exam runs 100 questions in 120 minutes.

What's the passing score for CA L&H?

60% is the passing score in California, calculated against the scored question count. CDI reports results immediately at the test center.

How long should I study for the CA L&H exam?

Most L&H candidates spend 40–80 hours over 3–6 weeks. Start with the free diagnostic — it’ll tell you which sections to focus on instead of cramming the whole outline evenly.

Where do I take the California L&H exam?

CDI contracts with major proctored-exam vendors. Check the California Department of Insurance website for an up-to-date list of test centers in California.

Are these practice questions matched to the CA outline?

Yes — we follow the CDI content outline section by section, and our CA L&H bank includes 474 state-tagged items alongside the national NAIC content. Mock exams are composed from real section weights, not a generic question dump.

How much does EstatePass cost? Do I need a separate plan for L&H?

No — one EstatePass Pro plan covers Real Estate, Insurance License (L&H / P&C / Personal Lines), MLO, and Contractor exam prep. Free tier includes 20 practice answers/day and the diagnostic. Pro is $9.99/mo, $19.99/quarter, or $39.99 Lifetime — unlimited practice, mock exams, AI tier-3 explanations, and every channel.