Overview
The Texas Life and Health licensing exam tests whether you can apply both general insurance principles and Texas-specific statutes and rules before you start advising clients or placing coverage. The exam has 145 questions, runs for 150 minutes, and you need 70 percent to pass. The exam fee is 43 USD. The content splits into six domains: two are devoted to Texas law and rules, and four cover national life, health, and annuity concepts that are the same regardless of which state you practice in. About 45 percent of the weight sits on the two Texas-law domains, so you cannot pass on national product knowledge alone. The most effective way to prepare is to study the national product material first to build a stable mental model of how life, health, and annuity products work, then layer the Texas statutes and rules on top. Use spaced practice questions to confirm recall rather than rereading notes, and track which objectives you miss so you can return to them. This guide walks through each domain in exam-weight order, gives you concrete study moves, flags the pairs of terms that are easiest to confuse, and closes with a study plan, exam-day tips, and answers to common questions.
Roughly 45 percent of this exam is Texas-specific law and rules, so treat the two Texas domains as the heart of your preparation rather than an afterthought to the national product content.
What is actually on this exam
How this exam thinks
The exam favors the single best answer to a short fact pattern. It rewards candidates who can read a scenario, identify which provision, definition, or Texas rule governs it, and pick the option that matches the controlling rule rather than the option that merely sounds reasonable.
What each domain tests, and how to study it
Types of Life Policies
15%Be able to identify the correct life product or term variation from a short description of what the buyer wants and how the premium and benefit should behave.
Know the structural differences between term, whole life, and flexible premium products well enough to match any buyer goal to the right one.
What it tests. This domain tests the major categories of life insurance: term life and its variations, whole life, and flexible premium products, including which product structure best fits a stated buyer goal.
How to study it. Make a comparison grid of term, whole life, and flexible premium products with rows for premium behavior, cash value, death benefit pattern, and typical use. Practice matching a buyer's stated priority, such as the largest death benefit for the lowest premium or coverage that tracks a shrinking mortgage, to the right product or term variation.
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- What does a convertibility provision on a level term policy let the policyowner do?
- Which feature of term life delivers the largest death benefit for the lowest premium with no savings element?
- Which type of term life has a face amount that declines on a schedule while the premium stays level?
Easy to confuse
- Level term vs decreasing term. Level term keeps the face amount constant for the term, while decreasing term reduces the face amount on a set schedule, often to track a falling loan balance.
- Whole life vs flexible premium life. Whole life uses a fixed premium and a guaranteed structure, while flexible premium products let the owner vary the amount and timing of payments within limits.
Worked example
Life Policy Provisions, Riders and Options
15%Be able to name the standard provision, beneficiary rule, or rider that governs a given scenario and state what it does for the owner, insurer, or beneficiary.
Standard provisions, beneficiary rules, and riders are tested by scenario, so know what each one does and the condition that activates it.
What it tests. This domain tests the standard provisions found in life contracts, how beneficiaries are designated, and the common riders and options that modify a base policy. It covers what each provision does and when it applies.
How to study it. List the standard provisions, such as grace period, incontestability, and reinstatement, and write one sentence for each on the exact protection or limit it creates and the condition that triggers it. Do the same for beneficiary designation types and for the common riders, then test yourself by reading a scenario and naming the provision before the answer choices.
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- Which standard provision keeps a policy in force for a defined number of days after a missed premium due date?
- Under the incontestability provision, what may an insurer generally do about a material misstatement after the policy has been in force beyond the contestable period?
- Under the reinstatement provision, what must a former owner typically furnish to restore a lapsed policy?
Easy to confuse
- Grace period vs reinstatement. The grace period keeps an active policy in force briefly after a missed payment, while reinstatement restores a policy that has already lapsed and usually requires evidence of insurability.
- Incontestability vs the suicide clause. Incontestability limits the insurer's right to void for application misstatements after a set period, while the suicide clause separately limits payout for suicide within its own period.
Worked example
Annuities
10%Be able to select the correct annuity type, funding method, and payout option from a description of how the buyer wants the value to grow, when income should start, and how it should be paid.
Annuities are tested by matching buyer preferences to type, funding, and payout, so classify by growth, start timing, and income guarantee.
What it tests. This domain has the smallest weight and tests annuity fundamentals: the main annuity types distinguished by how the value grows and when income starts, and the payout options that determine how income is paid out.
How to study it. Sort annuities along two axes, how the value grows and when payments begin, so you can separate fixed from variable and immediate from deferred, and identify flexible premium funding. Then learn the payout options and what each one guarantees, and practice matching a retiree's stated preference to the correct annuity type and payout.
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- Which annuity type lets the payout rise and fall with an underlying portfolio of stock and bond subaccounts?
- Which annuity begins income checks about one month after a single lump sum payment?
- Which funding type lets a buyer add different amounts to a deferred annuity whenever she has spare cash?
Easy to confuse
- Fixed annuity vs variable annuity. A fixed annuity credits a guaranteed rate so the value does not fall, while a variable annuity ties the value to subaccount performance and can drop.
- Immediate annuity vs deferred annuity. An immediate annuity starts income shortly after a lump sum, while a deferred annuity accumulates value first and begins income later.
Worked example
Accident and Health Insurance Basics
15%Be able to apply the correct definition of a peril and classify a health policy or limited policy from a short description of what it covers and where.
Health basics are about precise definitions of perils and clean classification of policy types, so learn the definitions exactly.
What it tests. This domain tests accident and health fundamentals: how the perils of sickness and accident are defined for coverage, the classes of health policies, and the nature of limited policies that cover only specified risks.
How to study it. Memorize the standard definitions of sickness and accident, including the difference between an accidental means and an accidental results standard, and the meaning of nonoccupational coverage. Then chart the classes of health policies and the common limited policies so you can place an unfamiliar product into the right class from its description.
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- How is the peril called sickness most commonly defined for coverage purposes in an accident and health policy?
- Under an accidental means definition, what must the insured show to trigger coverage?
- How does a nonoccupational policy define the peril it covers with respect to where the loss happens?
Easy to confuse
- Accidental means vs accidental results. Accidental means requires that the cause of the injury be unexpected, while accidental results looks only at whether the outcome was unintended even if the act was deliberate.
- Occupational vs nonoccupational coverage. Nonoccupational coverage applies to losses that happen off the job, while occupational coverage responds to losses arising out of and in the course of work.
Worked example
Texas Statutes and Rules Common to Life and Health
25%Be able to read a licensing or marketing scenario and state the correct Texas requirement, the agent's standing, and what the Department of Insurance may do about a violation.
Texas licensing, marketing, and regulator-authority rules carry the most weight on the exam, so master the license lifecycle and the conduct prohibitions cold.
What it tests. This is the largest domain and tests Texas statutes and rules that apply across both life and health lines: how you obtain and keep a license, what marketing conduct is required and prohibited, and the authority of the Texas Department of Insurance to regulate and enforce.
How to study it. Build a license lifecycle timeline from application through qualification, appointment, continuing education, renewal, and lapse, and attach the specific Texas requirement to each step. Then make a separate list of prohibited marketing practices and the consequences the Department can impose, and quiz yourself on which rule a given scenario violates.
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- What happens to an agent's authority to transact business when a renewal date passes without completed continuing education or a paid renewal fee?
- Beyond holding a valid license, what must occur before an agent can act for a particular insurer in Texas?
- What does the Texas Department of Insurance review about an applicant's background before issuing a license?
Easy to confuse
- Holding a license vs being appointed by an insurer. A valid license gives general authority to be in the business, but appointment is the separate step that lets you act for and submit business on behalf of a specific insurer.
- License lapse vs license revocation. A lapse is an automatic loss of standing from failing to renew on time, while revocation is a disciplinary action the Department imposes after a violation and a process.
Worked example
Texas Statutes and Rules Pertinent to Life and Health
20%Be able to apply the correct Texas life-specific or health-specific rule to a claim, delivery, or coverage scenario and identify the policyowner or beneficiary protection it creates.
Texas adds its own life and health requirements on top of the national provisions, and this domain tests whether you know those Texas-specific overlays.
What it tests. This domain tests Texas requirements that are specific to life products and to health products: claim handling and payment duties on life policies, the free look protection, the suicide exclusion period, and the parallel health-specific Texas rules.
How to study it. Split your notes into two columns, Texas life rules and Texas health rules, and put the concrete requirement in each: what the insurer owes for an unjustified delay in paying a death claim, what the free look period lets a new policyowner do, and how a death is treated once the suicide exclusion period has passed. Drill the scenarios until you can name the rule without the prompt naming it first.
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- What does a Texas life insurer owe a beneficiary when it delays paying a valid death claim with no valid reason?
- What protection does the Texas free look requirement give a new individual policyowner?
- How must a Texas life insurer treat a death by suicide that occurs after the policy's stated exclusion period has passed?
Easy to confuse
- Free look period vs grace period. The free look lets a new owner return the policy for a refund shortly after delivery, while the grace period keeps an in-force policy active for a window after a missed premium due date.
- Suicide within the exclusion period vs after it. Within the stated period the insurer can limit the payout, but once the period has passed the death is treated as a covered claim like any other.
Worked example
A study plan that works
- 1
Map the exam and set your weighting
Week 1Read the outline and note that the two Texas domains carry about 45 percent and the four national domains about 55 percent. Schedule study time so the Texas-law domains get a full share rather than being squeezed in at the end.
- 2
Build the national life foundation
Week 2Study types of life policies and life policy provisions, riders, and options. Build a product comparison grid and a one-line summary of every standard provision, since this material underpins both the national and the Texas life questions.
- 3
Add health basics and annuities
Week 3Learn the definitions of perils, the classes of health policies, limited policies, and the annuity types and payout options. Use comparison charts so you can classify an unfamiliar product from its description.
- 4
Learn the Texas common rules
Week 4Work through licensing requirements and maintenance, marketing practices and prohibitions, and the authority of the Texas Department of Insurance. Build a license lifecycle timeline and a list of prohibited practices with their consequences.
- 5
Learn the Texas life and health specifics
Week 5Study the Texas life-specific and health-specific rules, including claim payment duties, the free look protection, and the suicide exclusion treatment. Keep separate life and health columns so you do not blend the two.
- 6
Practice mixed sets and review weak objectives
Week 6Take timed mixed-domain question sets that mirror the 145-question, 150-minute format. Track which objectives you miss, return to those sections, and retest until your scores sit comfortably above 70 percent.
Knowing when you are ready
You are ready to sit the exam when you can score consistently above 70 percent on timed mixed-domain practice sets, explain each standard provision and Texas rule in a sentence without prompting, and read a short fact pattern and name the controlling provision or rule before looking at the answer choices. If your Texas-domain scores lag your national scores, spend the remaining time there, because those domains carry close to half the exam.
Exam-day tips
- Read each scenario for the single fact that decides it, such as whether a period has passed or whether an appointment exists, then pick the answer that matches the controlling rule.
- Budget your time against the format: with 145 questions in 150 minutes you have roughly one minute per question, so do not stall on any single item.
- Flag and skip questions you are unsure of, answer everything you know first, then return to the flagged ones with the time you saved.
- Watch for absolute words like always and never in the options, since on this exam they often signal an incorrect choice.
- On Texas-specific items, choose the answer that reflects the Texas rule rather than a general industry practice, because the exam is testing the state requirement.
- Answer every question, because there is no penalty for guessing and a blank cannot earn credit.
- Eliminate the clearly wrong options first to improve your odds when you must guess between the remaining choices.
Texas Life & Health exam questions, answered
How many questions are on the Texas Life and Health exam and how long do I get?
What score do I need to pass?
How much does the exam cost?
How much of the exam is Texas-specific versus national?
I am already licensed in another state. Can I rely on what I already know?
Which domain should I spend the most time on?
Is this an official guide from the state or the exam vendor?
What is the best way to study for the question style?
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