Passing your Colorado insurance license exam is a pivotal part of becoming a licensed insurance agent in the state of Colorado.

In this guide, we’ll break down the general information that you need to know in order to pass your exam, outline the differences between each examination line, and offer tips on how to prepare for your Colorado insurance licensing exam and what to do after you pass.

Colorado Insurance Exam Basics

General Information

The State of Colorado uses Pearson VUE to administer its insurance agent licensing. This means you can register and book all of your licensing examinations through the Pearson VUE website. Your test can be carried out online or in person.

Each major insurance line examination is made up of bullet-point questions and includes both general and state-specific material.

The general questions test your federal insurance product and agent knowledge. The state-specific questions test you on the Colorado insurance regulations and laws that you will need to know in order to operate as an insurance agent.

Note: You are only allowed one online attempt per exam. All other exam attempts (limitless) will have to be taken in person at a Pearson VUE testing center. 

Score Explanation

Insurance licensing exams are scored in a rather complex way.

Each licensing examination has multiple versions (known as forms), which are made up of different questions. This means that your exam can be easier or more difficult than someone else’s, even if you’re being tested on the same line, on the same day.

Although this might sound like some applicants will receive an unfair advantage, that is not the case, as a statistical process known as equating is used to account for differences in form difficulty.

In Colorado, a scoring process called scaling is then used to convert the scoring figure into a numerical one which is reported to failing candidates only.

Note: The score that a failing candidate sees after their exam is not the number of questions answered correctly, nor is it a percentage. It is a reflection of how well or poorly the candidate did relative to the passing score (i.e., the score they needed to get in order to pass.).

Cost

Your Colorado insurance license exam cost will depend on whether you are taking your examinations in a Pearson VUE testing center or online through Pearson VUE.

If you are taking them in-person, you are allowed to take up to two examinations during one exam session for a single fee of $41. All tests taken through OnVUE cost $31.

Examination	Cost	Time Allowed
Accident and Health	$31-$41	120 Minutes
Life	$31-$41	120 Minutes
Casualty	$31-$41	120 Minutes
Property	$31-$41	120 Minutes

Note: You should focus on one exam at a time. This will likely increase the amount of time and effort you can allocate to each examination and should allow you to feel more prepared when you sit your exam.

Colorado Life and Health Insurance Exam

Below you can find the content outline offered by Pearson VUE.

We recommend using it as a checklist when working through your pre-license education course. This way, you’ll be absolutely sure that you haven’t missed any topic that you will be tested on later on.

Life General Knowledge Content Outline

50 scorable questions plus 10 pretest questions.

I. Types of Policies

A. Traditional Whole Life Products
B. Interest/Market-Sensitive/Adjustable Life Products
C. Term Life
D. Annuities
E. Combination Plans and Variations

II. Policy Riders, Provisions, Options, and Exclusions

A. Policy Riders
B. Policy Provisions and Options
C. Policy Exclusions

III. Completing the Application, Underwriting, and Delivering the Policies

A. Completing the Application
B. Underwriting
C. Delivering the Policy
D. Contract Law

IV. Taxes, Retirement, and Other Insurance Concepts

A. Third-Party Ownership
B. Viatical Settlements
C. Life Settlements
D. Group Life Insurance
E. Retirement Plans
F. Life Insurance Needs Analysis/Suitability
G. Social Security Benefits
H. Tax Treatment of Insurance Premiums, Proceeds, and Dividends

Life Colorado Specific Content Outline

30 scorable questions, plus 5 pretest questions.

I. Colorado Statutes, Rules, and Regulations Common to Life, Sickness and Accident, Property (Fire), and Casualty Insurance

A. Insurance Commissioner
B. Licensing and producers’ legal responsibility
C. Unfair competition and deceptive practices

II. Colorado Statutes, Rules, and Regulations Pertinent to Life Insurance Only

A. Policy replacement
B. Group Life
C. Suicide
D. Free Look Period/Disclosure
E. Interest on Proceeds
F. Sales and Marketing of Life and Annuities
G. Insurable Interest
H. Lapse Notice Requirement

Accident & Health General Content Outline

30 scorable questions plus 10 pretest questions.

I. Types of Policies

A. Disability Income
B. Accidental Death and Dismemberment
C. Medical Expense Insurance
D. Medicare Supplement Policies
E. Group Insurance
F. Individual/Group Long Term Care (LTC)
G. Other Policies

II. Policy Provisions, Clauses, and Riders

A. Mandatory and Optional Provisions
B. Other Provisions and Clauses
C. Riders
D. Rights of Renewability

III. Social Insurance

A. Medicare (Parts A, B, C, D)
B. Medicaid
C. Social Security Benefits

IV. Other Insurance Concepts

A. Total, Partial, Recurrent, and Residual Disability
B. Owner’s Rights
C. Dependent Children Benefits
D. Primary and Contingent Beneficiaries
E. Modes of Premium Payments
F. Nonduplication and Coordination of Benefits
G. Occupational vs. Non-occupational
H. Tax Treatment of Premiums and Proceeds of Insurance Contracts
I. Managed Care
J. Workers Compensation
K. Subrogation

V. Field Underwriting Procedures

A. Completing the Application
B. Explaining Sources of Insurability and HIPAA Privacy Information
C. Initial Premium Payment and Receipt and Consequences of the Receipt
D. Submitting Application to company for underwriting
E. Policy Delivery
F. Explaining Policy and its Provisions, Riders, Exclusions, and Ratings to Clients
G. Replacement
H. Contract Law

Accident & Health Colorado Specific Content Outline

30 scorable questions plus 6 pretest questions.

I. Colorado Statutes, Rules, and Regulations Common to Life, Sickness and Accident, Property (Fire), and Casualty Insurance

A. Insurance Commissioner
B. Licensing and producers’ legal responsibility
C. Unfair competition and deceptive practices

II. Colorado Statutes, Rules, and Regulations Pertinent to Sickness and Accident Insurance Only

A. Common requirements for Sickness and Accident
B. Individual coverage
C. Group coverage
D. Small group coverage
E. Fair marketing standards
F. Specified products
G. Commission Disclosure
H. Sales and Marketing of Health Insurance

Colorado Property and Casualty License Exam

Below you can find the content outline offered by Pearson VUE. 

You should use this outline as a checklist when working through your pre-license education course in order to ensure that you haven’t missed any topic that you will be tested on later on.

Property General Knowledge Content Outline

I. Types of Policies 

A. Homeowners
B. Dwelling Policies
C. Commercial Lines
D. Inland Marine
E. National Flood Insurance Program
F. Others

II. Insurance Terms and Related Concepts

A. Insurance
B. Insurable Interest
C. Risk
D. Hazards
E. Peril
F. Loss
G. Loss Valuation
H. Proximate Cause
I. Deductible
J. Indemnity
K. Limits of Liability
L. Coinsurance/Insurance to Value
M. Occurrence
N. Cancellation
O. Nonrenewal
P. Vacancy and Inoccupancy
Q. Liability
R. Negligence
S. Binders
T. Endorsements
U. Blanket vs. Specific

III. Policy Provisions and Contract Law

A. Declarations
B. Insuring Agreement
C. Conditions
D. Exclusions
E. Definition of the Insured
F. Duties of the Insured
G. Obligations of the Insurance Company
H. Mortgagee Rights
I. Proof of Loss
J. Notice of Claim
K. Appraisal
L. Other insurance Provision
M. Subrogation
N. Elements of a contract
O. Warranties, representations, and concealment
P. Sources of underwriting information
Q. Fair Credit Reporting Act
R. Privacy Protection (Gramm Leach Bliley)
S. Policy Application
T. Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA)

Property Colorado Specific Content Outline

50 scorable answers plus 5 pretest questions.

I. Colorado Statutes, Rules, and Regulations Common to Life, Sickness and Accident, Property (Fire), and Casualty Insurance

A. Insurance Commissioner
B. Licensing and producers’ legal responsibility
C. Unfair competition and deceptive practices

II. Colorado Statutes, Rules, and Regulations Common to Property and Casualty Insurance Only

A. Rate regulations
B. Summary disclosure form
C. Commercial policy requirements
D. Use of Credit Information

III. Colorado Statutes, Rules, and Regulations Pertinent to Property Insurance Only

A. Fraudulent Claims and Arson Information Reporting Act 
B. Insurance and loans secured by real property
C. Homeowners Cancellation and Nonrenewal
D. Availability of Fire Insurance

Casualty General Knowledge Content Outline

50 scorable questions plus 10 pretest questions.

I. Types of Policies, Bonds, and Related Terms

A. Commercial general liability
B. Automobile: personal auto and business auto
C. Workers Compensation Insurance, Employers Liability Insurance, and Related Issues
D. Crime
E. Bonds
F. Professional liability
G. Umbrella/Excess Liability

II. Insurance Terms and Related Concepts

A. Risk
B. Hazards
C. Indemnity
D. Insurable interest
E. Loss Valuation
F. Negligence
G. Liability
H. Occurrence
I. Binders
J. Warranties
K. Representations
L. Concealment
M. Deposit Premium/Audit
N. Certificate of Insurance
O. Law of Large Numbers
P. Pure vs. Speculative Risk
Q. Endorsements
R. Damages
S. Compliance with Provisions of Fair Credit Reporting Act

III. Policy Provisions

A. Declarations
B. Insuring agreement
C. Conditions
D. Exclusions and Limitations
E. Definition of the Insured
F. Duties of the Insured after a Loss
G. Cancellation and Nonrenewal Provisions
H. Supplementary Payments
I. Proof of Loss
J. Notice of Claim
K. Arbitration
L. Other Insurance Provision
M. Subrogation
N. Loss Settlement Provisions including Consent to Settle a Loss
O. Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA)

Casualty Colorado Specific Content Outline

31 scorable questions plus 5 pretest questions.

I. Colorado Statutes, Rules, and Regulations Common to Life, Sickness and Accident, Property (Fire) and Casualty Insurance

A. Insurance Commissioner
B. Licensing and producers’ legal responsibility
C. Unfair competition and deceptive practices

II. Colorado Statutes, Rules, and Regulations Common to Property and Casualty Insurance Only

A. Rate Regulation
B. Summary Disclosure Form
C. Commercial Policy Requirements
D. Use of Credit Information

III. Colorado Statutes, Rules, and Regulations Pertinent to Casualty Insurance Only

A. Workers compensation
B. Automobile insurance
C. Colorado Auto Insurance Plan
D. Bail Bonds

How to Pass the Colorado Insurance Exam

Passing your Colorado insurance exam ultimately comes down to your mindset and degree of preparation.

We have composed a few helpful exam tips and tricks that should help you perform as well as you can during your exam day.

Get a Pre-License Course

Getting a pre-license course is actually a requirement in the state of Colorado, but this is actually highly recommended regardless because it can go a long way in helping you get accustomed to the prolific amount of content that you will have to memorize.

We recommend Kaplan’s course because it offers a variety of helpful features, including:

• Online exam simulations
• Live online training
• Printable study guides
• End of chapter reviews

Make Enough Time to Study

Not leaving enough time to prepare is one of the easiest ways to ensure that you do not pass your exam on your first attempt.

Remember, there are zero questions on your exam that are based on common sense or critical thinking. All questions are purely factual, and so will relate to how well you understand and remember the content that you have learned.

We recommend allocating around one to two weeks to prepare for your exam, as this should allow you to go through all of the material at least twice.

Control Test Anxiety

Even though you cannot control whether you get exam anxiety or not, you can take a few steps when preparing to limit its effect on your performance:

• Establish a consistent pretest routine — Acclimate yourself to exam conditions by following a specific routine on each practice exam at home. This should help you feel less anxious during your exam day.
• Get plenty of sleep — Lack of sleep can exacerbate your anxiety and increase your self-doubt. Make sure you are consistently getting a good night’s sleep in the week leading up to your exam.
• Study effectively — This sounds obvious, but make sure you are actually tailoring your studying to the exam that you are taking. Remember, there are no critical thinking or common sense questions involved.
• Arrive early — If you are planning to sit your exam in person, we recommend you arrive at least 30 minutes before it’s due to start in order to get used to your surroundings and have time to check in with your center’s administrator.

Getting Your Colorado Insurance License

Your next steps will depend on whether you actually passed your exam, as well as on whether you plan to get licensed for any additional lines.

You can apply for your license up to 12 months after you complete your exam, so if you would like to attempt passing additional insurance line exams before filing your licensing application with the Colorado Division of Insurance, you are totally free to do that.

Having passed your insurance licensing exam, you’ll need to comply with the following:

• Submit a background and fingerprint check
• File your licensing application
• Wait for your application to be reviewed

Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies Contact Information

Mailing Address:

Division of Insurance
1560 Broadway, Suite 1350
Denver, Colorado 80202

Phone: (303) 894-7499

Fax: (303) 894-7693

Email: dora_dpo_website@state.co.us

Website: https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/dora/node/87936

License Search: Colorado Insurance License Search and Lookup