Passing your Washington DC insurance license exam is a pivotal part of becoming a licensed insurance agent in Washington DC.

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 Washington DC insurance licensing exam, and on what to do after you pass.

Washington DC Insurance Exam Basics

General Information

Washington DC 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 Washington DC insurance regulations and laws that you will need to know in order to operate as an insurance agent.

Score Explanation

As soon as you complete your insurance exam, you will receive a score report that will be marked with a “pass” or “fail” comment. A score of 70 or higher is needed in order to pass.

If you passed, your score report will include information that relates to how you can go about applying for your insurance license with the DC Department of Insurance.

If you failed, your score report will include a numerical score, diagnostic information that relates to the general portion of your examination, and information on how you can go about registering for a re-examination.

Note: You must wait at least 24 hours after your exam in order to make a reservation for a re-examination.

Cost

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

Examination	Cost	Time Allowed
Life	$75	120 Minutes
Health	$75	120 Minutes
Property	$75	120 Minutes
Casualty	$75	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.

Washington DC 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 5 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. Retirement, and Other Insurance Concepts

A. Third-party ownership
B. Life settlements
C. Group life insurance
D. Retirement plans
E. Life insurance needs analysis/suitability
F. Social Security benefits
G. Tax treatment of insurance premiums, proceeds, and dividends

Life State Specific Content Outline

30 scorable questions, plus 5 pretest questions.

I. Washington DC Statutes & Rules Relating to Life and Health Insurance

A. Commissioner of insurance
B. Insurance definitions
C. Licensing requirements
D. Marketing practices
E. Agent duties and responsibilities
F. Washington DC life and health guaranty association

II. Washington DC Statutes & Rules Relating to Life Insurance Only

A. Required provisions
B. Other provisions
C. Group life
D. Annuities
E. Variable life
F. Credit life
G. Standard nonforfeiture law

Accident and Health General Knowledge Content Outline

50 scorable questions plus 5 pretest questions.

I. Types of Polices

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
I. Proceeds of insurance contracts
J. Managed care
K. Workers Compensation
L. Subrogation

V. Field Underwriting Procedures

A. Completing the application
B. Explaining sources of insurability and HIPAA privacy info
C. Initial premium payment and receipt
D. Submitting application to company for underwriting
E. Policy delivery
F. Explaining policy to clients
G. Replacement
H. Contract law

Accident and Health Washington DC Content Outline

25 scorable questions plus 5 pretest questions.

I. District of Columbia’s Laws, Rules, and Regulations Common to Life, Accident and Health, Property, and Casualty Insurance

A. Commissioner of Insurance, Securities and Banking
B. General Insurance Definitions
C. Licensing Requirements
D. Unfair trade practices
E. Fiduciary capacity of license
F. AIDS Law
G. Insurance Guaranty Associations

II. District of Columbia Laws, Rules, and Regulations Pertinent to Accident and Health Insurance Only

A. Required coverages/provisions
B. Medicare supplements
C. Credit accident and health
D. Long-term care

Washington DC 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 answers plus 5 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. Hazard
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. Binder
T. Endorsements
U. Blanket vs. Specific

III. Policy Provisions and Contract Law

A. Declarations
B. Insuring agreement
C. Conditions
D. Exclusions
E. Definition and duties of the insured
F. Obligations of the insurance company
G. Mortgagee rights
H. Appraisal
I. Subrogation
J. Elements of a contract
K. Warranties, representations, and concealment
L. Sources of underwriting information
M. Fair Credit Reporting Act
N. Privacy Protection (Gramm Leach Bliley)
O. Policy Application
P. Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA)
Q. Territory

Property State Specific Content Outline

25 scorable questions plus 5 pretest questions.

I. District of Columbia Laws, Rules, and Regulations Common to Life, Accident and Health, Property, and Casualty Insurancee

A. Commissioner of insurance
B. Insurance definitions
C. Licensing requirements
D. Unfair Trade Practices
E. Fiduciary Capacity of Licensee
F. Property and Liability Insurance Guaranty Association

II. District of Columbia Laws, Rules, and Regulations Pertinent to Property and Casualty Insurance

A. Rate regulations
B. Surplus line producers
C. Cancellation/Non-renewal

III. District of Columbia Laws, Rules, and Regulations Pertinent to Property Insurance Only

A. The Property Insurance Facility (DCIF)

Casualty General Knowledge Content Outline

50 scorable questions plus 5 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
H. Businessowners Policy (BOP)

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. Subrogation
M. Loss settlement provisions including consent to settle a loss
N. Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA)

Casualty State Specific Content Outline

30 scorable questions plus 5 pretest questions.

I. District of Columbia Laws, Rules, and Regulations Common to Life, Accident and Health, Property, and Casualty Insurance

A. Commissioner of insurance
B. Insurance definitions
C. Licensing requirements
D. Unfair Trade Practices
E. Fiduciary Capacity of Licensee
F. Property and Liability Insurance Guaranty

II. District of Columbia Laws, Rules, and Regulations Pertinent to Property and Casualty Insurance

A. Rate Regulation
B. Surplus Lines Producers
C. Cancellation/ Nonrenewal

III. District of Columbia Laws, Rules, and Regulations Pertinent to Casualty Insurance Only

A. Workers’ Compensation
B. Compulsory/ No Fault Automobile Insurance

How to Pass the Washington DC Insurance Exam

Passing your Washington DC 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 Washington DC, getting a pre-license course 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 Washington DC 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, 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

Washington District of Columbia Department of Insurance, Securities & Banking Contact Information

Mailing Address:

1050 First Street, Northeast, 801
Washington, District of Columbia 20002

Phone: (202) 727-8000

Fax: (202) 671-0650

Email: disb@dc.gov

Website: disb.dc.gov

License Search: Washington DC Insurance License Search and Lookup