Life vs Life and Health in California: Which Exam Path Fits You?

California splits what many people call Life and Health into two license types: Life-Only Agent (LO) and Accident and Health Agent (AH). You can sit a 75-question exam for one line, or sit the combined California Life & Health insurance exam and apply for both together.

Pick from the products you want to sell in month one, not from which practice bank felt friendlier.

What each license lets you sell

Life-Only Agent: human lives, endowments and annuities, plus accidental death or dismemberment and disability income when those benefits ride on a life policy. CDI's Life Agent FAQ is clear that a Life license alone does not authorize stand-alone accident and health or sickness products.

Accident and Health Agent: sickness, bodily injury, accidental death, and disability income. An A&H-only license does not authorize life or annuity sales.

Both together (often called the full life agent path): you check both license types on the exam and on the application. That is the usual California Life & Health insurance exam route for people who want life, health, Medicare supplement conversations, and related benefits work.

Exam sizes and times

Life-Only: 75 questions, 105 minutes.

Accident and Health: 75 questions, 105 minutes.

Combined Life, Accident and Health or Sickness: 150 scored questions, 195 minutes, plus up to about 10 unscored experimental items.

Passing score is 60 percent on each. Exam fee is $55, and PSI adds a $43 convenience fee at most sites. The CDI Los Angeles test center does not charge the PSI convenience fee.

License filing fee math

The filing fee is $188 for Life alone, $188 for Accident and Health alone, or $188 when you apply for both on the same initial Sircon application. Apply for one now and the other later and you pay $188 twice.

Renewal is also $188 for the Life and/or Accident and Health license on the two-year term, not a separate fee for each type when you hold both.

Extra training after you are licensed

Annuities: Life (or Life plus A&H) licensees must complete an initial 8-hour annuity training course before selling annuities, then 4 hours before each renewal. A&H-only licensees cannot sell annuities.

Long-term care: Life plus A&H, or A&H alone, can sell LTC after completing the LTC training in Insurance Code section 10234.93. Life-only agents have a narrow path for certain accelerated death benefit riders that require personal care services, but not broad LTC sales.

Those product trainings are separate from the California Life & Health insurance exam itself. Pass the exam first, then complete product CE before you solicit those lines.

How to choose in one afternoon

Write down the first three products you expect to talk about. If they are term, whole life, and annuities, Life-Only can be enough. If they are Medicare supplement, major medical, or disability income without life, choose A&H. If your agency or IMO expects both, sit combined.

Ask the hiring desk which license types they appoint. Then stop second guessing.

Study the matching CDI License Examination Objectives. Overview and outline guides are at getlicensedca.com/articles/california-life-health-exam-overview and getlicensedca.com/articles/california-life-health-exam-content-outline.

Practice for the path you picked

Take the free timed practice test at getlicensedca.com/diagnostic with no card. Build with 1,000+ PSI-style questions and the Full Exam Simulator (150 questions, CA format) if you are on the combined path.

GetLicensedCA also includes the AI Study Tutor, English and Spanish, a 3-day free trial then $12.99 a month, or $69 lifetime. Pass or your money back by emailing hello@getlicensedca.com within 14 days. See getlicensedca.com/pricing.