The New York insurance license exams,
built from the state’s own outline.
To sell insurance in New York you pass a state exam for the line you want to write. The Department of Financial Services publishes a content outline for each one, with the share of the exam every topic carries, the number of questions, the time allowed and the pass mark. These practice exams are built to those outlines, one full-length exam for each of the five series.
Which exam you sit depends on what you will sell.
Each license has its own exam. Two of them overlap by design, and knowing which is which saves you sitting the wrong one.
Life, or Accident and Health
Series 17-51 is life insurance and annuities. Series 17-52 is accident and health. Each is its own license.
Both at once
Series 17-55 covers life, accident and health in one longer exam. It is the two above combined, for a candidate who wants both licenses.
Property and casualty
Series 17-56 is the full property and casualty license: homes, autos, businesses and liability.
Personal lines only
Series 17-54 is the narrower license for coverage sold to individuals and families, such as homeowners and auto. It is a subset of 17-56.
Every length and time below is the state’s own figure.
From the DFS and PSI Insurance Candidate Information Bulletin, updated April 28, 2023. PSI runs the exams for the state.
| Series | Exam | Questions | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 17-51 | Life | 100 | 2 hours |
| 17-52 | Accident and Health | 100 | 2 hours |
| 17-55 | Life, Accident and Health | 150 | 2½ hours |
| 17-56 | Property and Casualty | 150 | 2½ hours |
| 17-54 | Personal Lines | 100 | 2 hours |
The pass mark is stated in the bulletin in so many words: “You must get 70% correct to pass the examination.” The bulletin also says each real exam carries 5 to 10 extra experimental questions that are not scored, with no fixed number. We do not pad our exams to a guess, so ours hold the scored questions only and every one of them counts.
Five practice exams, one for each series.
Each is the full length and the full time of the real one, and each topic carries the share of questions the state’s outline gives it.
Built to the outline
The bulletin publishes each topic as a percentage of the exam. We turn those percentages into question counts, so a topic worth a fifth of the real exam is a fifth of ours. The rounding to whole questions is ours.
Every wrong answer explained
Every wrong answer carries its own sentence saying why somebody picks it and why it is wrong, so a missed question teaches the rule rather than just marking you down.
Four choices a question
The bulletin does not say how many answer choices a question has. Ours have four, and that is our choice rather than the state’s.
Principles, not stale numbers
Where a correct answer would depend on a dollar limit or a deadline that the law can change, the question tests the principle instead, so a practice answer does not go out of date under you.
What people ask before they book.
What score do I need to pass the New York insurance exam?
70%. The state bulletin says so directly: “You must get 70% correct to pass the examination.” It is the same for all five series.
How many questions are on the exam?
100 questions in 2 hours for Life, for Accident and Health, and for Personal Lines. 150 questions in 2½ hours for Life, Accident and Health combined, and for Property and Casualty. Each real exam also carries 5 to 10 unscored experimental questions that you cannot tell apart from the rest.
Should I sit 17-55 or 17-51 and 17-52 separately?
17-55 covers both in one sitting and leads to both licenses. If you only need one of the two lines, the single exam is shorter. Which you need depends on what you plan to sell.
Does a practice exam count toward the required course?
No. New York requires approved prelicensing education before the exam, and a practice exam is not that course. Nothing here gives course credit or a certificate.
Has a licensed insurance professional reviewed these?
No. The questions were written from the state’s outline and have not been reviewed by a licensed New York insurance professional. We say so plainly rather than imply otherwise.
On sale now.
Five full-length practice exams, 600 questions in all, 5 credits each. Every one has been sat end to end to check that a correct paper scores full marks.