The combined life, accident and health exam, Series 17-55

Two lines, one exam

Series 17-55 covers life insurance, annuities, and accident and health coverage in one exam of 150 questions in 2½ hours. Pass it and you can sell both lines. The pass mark is 70%, the same as every other series.

It is not just the two exams stapled together

Sitting 17-51 and 17-52 separately means 200 questions across two sittings. The combined exam asks 150. So each topic gets fewer questions than it would on its own exam, and a weak topic has fewer chances to be balanced out by strong ones.

The pace is also tighter. The single exams allow 72 seconds a question. 17-55 allows 60.

Switching between subjects

The hardest part for many candidates is the switch. A question about a life policy's cash value can be followed by one about a health plan's coinsurance. Words like "grace period" and "reinstatement" appear in both lines, with rules that are close but not the same. Read every question for which kind of policy it is about before you look at the options.

Who should sit it

Choose 17-55 when the job needs both lines from the start, which is common at agencies that sell life and health coverage side by side. If you only need one line now, the single exam is shorter and slower-paced, and you can add the other line later.

How to practice for it

• Sit full-length practice at 150 questions. Two and a half hours is a stamina test, and a 100-question practice exam will not show you where your concentration fades.
• Track your score by line, not just overall. A strong life score can hide a weak health score inside a passing total.
• Practice the switch: mixed papers, not one subject at a time.