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

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 both: how to prepare for your Iowa insurance licensing exam, and on what to do after you pass.

Iowa Insurance Exam Basics

General Information

The State of Iowa 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, whereas the state-specific questions test you on the Iowa insurance regulations and laws that you will need to know in order to operate as an insurance agent.

Score Explanation

When you complete your insurance exam(s), you will receive a score report with a “pass” or “fail” mark.

If you passed, your score report will include information on how to apply for your insurance license through the Iowa Insurance Division (IID).

If you failed, your score report will include the numerical score of your general and state-specific sections, as well as information on how to retake an insurance examination.

Note: You must wait 24 hours before attempting to re-register for an insurance exam.

Cost

Your Iowa insurance license exam cost will depend on the number of examinations that you take:

Examination	Cost	Time Allowed
Life	$49	120 Minutes
Accident & Health	$49	120 Minutes
Property	$49	120 Minutes
Casualty	$49	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.

Iowa 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 Policy

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 Iowa Specific Content Outline

27 scorable questions, plus 5 pretest questions.

I. Iowa Laws, Rules, and Regulations Common to All Lines

A. Insurance Commissioner/Division
B. Licensing
C. Unfair and Deceptive Practices
D. Iowa Insurance Fraud Act
E. Producer Responsibilities
F. Guaranty Association
G. Definitions
H. Surplus
I. Insurance Notices and Documents — Electronic Delivery

II. Iowa Laws, Rules, and Regulations Pertinent to Life Insurance Only

A. Policy replacement
B. Disclosure and solicitation requirements
C. Group Life Insurance
D. Individual life and annuities
E. Suitability

Accident & Health General Knowledge Content Outline

50 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 (e.g., primary vs. excess)
G. Occupational vs. Non-occupational
H. Tax Treatment of Premiums and Proceeds of Insurance Contracts (e.g., disability income and medical expenses, etc.)
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 (e.g., MIB Report, Fair Credit Reporting Act, etc.)
C. Initial premium payment and receipt and consequences of the receipt (e.g., medical examination, etc.)
D. Submitting application (and initial premium if collected) 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 and Health Iowa Specific Content Outline

30 scorable questions, plus 5 pretest questions.

I. Iowa Laws and Department Rules Common to All Lines

A. Insurance Commissioner/Division
B. Licensing
C. Unfair and Deceptive Practices
D. Iowa Insurance Fraud Act
E. Producer Responsibilities
F. Guaranty Association
G. Definitions
H. Surplus
I. Insurance Notices and Documents — Electronic Delivery

II. Iowa Laws, Rules, and Regulations Pertinent to Accident and Health Insurance Only

A. Individual Health Insurance
B. Group Health Insurance
C. Medicare Supplement Insurance
D. Long Term Care Insurance
E. Special Programs
F. Affordable Care Act (ACA)

Iowa 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

50 scorable questions, plus 10 pretest questions.

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 Iowa Knowledge Content Outline

33 scorable answers plus 5 pretest questions.

I. Iowa Laws, Rules, and Regulations Common to All Lines

A. Insurance Commissioner/Division
B. Licensing
C. Unfair and Deceptive Practices
D. Iowa Insurance Fraud Act
E. Producer Responsibilities
F. Guaranty Association
G. Definitions
H. Surplus
I. Insurance Notices and Documents — Electronic Delivery

II. Iowa Laws, Rules, and Regulations Pertinent to Property Insurance Only

A. Iowa FAIR Plan Association
B. Cancellation/Nonrenewal
C. Standard Fire Policy
D. Private-passenger automobile insurance

Casualty General Knowledge Content Outline

50 scorable answers 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
M. Subrogation
N. Loss Settlement Provisions including Consent to Settle a Loss
O. Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA)

Casualty Iowa Specific Content Outline

35 scorable answers plus 5 pretest questions.

I. Iowa Laws and Department Rules Common to All Lines

A. Insurance Commissioner/Division
B. Licensing
C. Unfair and Deceptive Practices
D. Iowa Insurance Fraud Act
E. Producer Responsibilities
F. Guaranty Association
G. Definitions
H. Surplus
I. Insurance Notices and Documents — Electronic Delivery

II. Iowa Laws, Rules, and Regulations Pertinent to Casualty Insurance Only

A. Iowa Auto Insurance Plan (Assigned Risk)
B. Private-passenger automobile insurance
C. Worker’s Compensation

How to Pass the Iowa Insurance Exam

Passing your Iowa 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

Even though this is not a requirement in the state of Iowa, getting a pre-license course can be incredibly beneficial. These courses can help you get accustomed to the extensive 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 Iowa 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 90 days after you complete your exam, so if you would like to attempt passing additional insurance line exams before filing your licensing application with the Iowa Insurance Division, you are totally free to do that.

After you have passed your insurance licensing exam, you will need to:

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

Iowa Department of Insurance Contact Information

Mailing Address

Attn: Licensing
1963 Bell Avenue, Suite 100
Des Moines, IA 50315

Phone: (515) 654-6565

Fax: (515) 281-3059

Email: producer.licensing@iid.iowa.gov

Website: http://www.iid.state.ia.us

License Search: Iowa Insurance License Search and Lookup