What's on the California Life and Health Exam: Topic by Topic Study Guide

CDI's License Examination Objectives are the study map. The weights below come from the 2025 Life and Accident and Health objectives documents posted on CDI's site for the January 1, 2026 exam framework.

If PSI's bulletin and an old PDF disagree on minutes, trust the current Candidate Information Bulletin for clock time (105 minutes for 75-question exams, 195 for the combined 150).

Life License Examination Objectives (75 questions)

I. General Insurance: 22 questions (30 percent). Basics, contract law, marketplace.

II. Life Insurance: 49 questions (65 percent). Basics, types of policies, annuities, replacement/cancellation, individual contract, taxation, group life, Social Security disability touchpoint, underwriting/pricing/claims.

III. Life Policy Riders: 4 questions (5 percent).

Annuities alone are 8 questions inside the life block. That is enough to swing a close score.

Accident and Health License Examination Objectives (75 questions)

I. General Insurance: 18 questions (25 percent).

II. General Concepts of Medical and Disability Insurance: 4 questions (5 percent).

III. Medical Expense Insurance: 45 questions (60 percent). Individual, group, PPACA, and senior health products (15 of those 45 are senior products).

IV. Disability Income Insurance: 4 questions (5 percent).

V. Long-Term Care Insurance: 4 questions (5 percent).

Combined California Life & Health insurance exam

The combined exam is 150 scored questions covering both sets of objectives. Study both outlines. Do not assume the life half will bail out a weak senior-products half.

Practical study order

1. General insurance and contract law (shared foundation).

2. Highest-weight product blocks: life policies and annuities on the life side; medical expense and senior products on the health side.

3. Replacement, riders, disability income, LTC.

4. Ethics and California Insurance Code themes, reinforced by the required 12-hour course with an approved provider.

5. Timed mixed sets, then the Full Exam Simulator (150 questions, CA format).

Where to download the official outlines

CDI hub: https://www.insurance.ca.gov/0200-industry/0030-seek-pre-lic/prelicensing-educational-objectives.cfm

Life DOCX: https://www.insurance.ca.gov/0200-industry/0030-seek-pre-lic/upload/2025-Life-License-Examination-Objectives.docx

Accident and Health DOCX: https://www.insurance.ca.gov/0200-industry/0030-seek-pre-lic/upload/2025-Accident-and-Health-or-Sickness-License-Examination-Objectives.docx

Related drills

Annuities article: getlicensedca.com/articles/annuities-california-life-health-exam.

Medicare and LTC article: getlicensedca.com/articles/medicare-supplement-long-term-care-california-exam.

Law and code practice: getlicensedca.com/articles/california-insurance-law-practice-questions.

Cheat sheet numbers: getlicensedca.com/articles/california-life-health-exam-cheat-sheet.

Free timed test: getlicensedca.com/diagnostic. GetLicensedCA also has 1,000+ PSI-style questions, AI Study Tutor, English and Spanish, 3-day free trial then $12.99/mo or $69 lifetime. Pass or your money back: hello@getlicensedca.com within 14 days. getlicensedca.com/pricing

How to use weights without gaming the exam

Weights tell you where to spend hours. They do not mean you can ignore 5 percent sections. A few LTC or rider misses still matter when you need 60 percent overall.

If senior products are 15 questions and you are guessing on Medigap open enrollment, fix that before polishing obscure rider trivia you already know.

Combined exam study split

Week plan example: three Life-focused days, three A&H-focused days, one mixed simulator day. Flip the split if your diagnostic shows a larger hole on one side.

Keep general insurance alive every week. Contract law and marketplace questions are easy to forget when you chase product flashcards.

Ethics objectives vs the 12-hour course

The License Examination Objectives weave ethics and code references through the outline. The 12-hour course is still a separate issuance requirement from a CDI-approved provider. Use both. Do not treat GetLicensedCA practice explanations as a substitute for that course.

Life section field notes

Policy types (10 questions) and the individual life contract (10) are large. Annuities (8) and basics (8) are close behind. Taxation (3) and group life (2) are smaller but still fair game. Social Security disability appears as a one-question touchpoint on the Life outline.

Accident and Health section field notes

Medical expense dominates. Inside it, senior products (15) outrank individual medical (14), group (8), and PPACA (8). If you only study employer group plans and skip Medigap, you are studying the wrong overweight chapter.

Building a personal outline checklist

Copy every top-level heading into a notes doc. After each practice set, mark green, yellow, or red. Never let a red high-weight heading sit untouched for more than two study days.