Download the life PDF (80 pages, 306 questions, 213 KB)
Answer key with explanations included - print it or read it on your phone. These are original practice questions written against the published life exam content outline; they are not actual exam questions.
This is a free, printable PDF of 306 original life insurance exam practice questions - the national content that every state's life producer exam tests - with the correct answer and a plain-English explanation for each one. It is the same bank that runs the life insurance practice tests on this site, laid out for paper. No signup, no email wall. Last updated September 2026.
What is in the life PDF
The file is the national life bank in full, in the same order as the practice tests: all 306 questions first (four options each), then the answer key with the explanation for every item. Nothing is sampled or held back for a paid version. The questions are spread across 21 topic areas; the ones the exam weights most heavily have the most questions:
| Topic area | Questions |
|---|---|
| Policy provisions and options (grace period, reinstatement, incontestability, loans, nonforfeiture) | 34 |
| Types of life policies (term, whole, universal, variable) | 22 |
| Underwriting and risk classification | 22 |
| Beneficiaries and settlement options | 16 |
| Annuity payouts and suitability | 16 |
| Business uses of life insurance (buy-sell, key person) | 15 |
| Life settlements and viaticals | 15 |
| Qualified and retirement plans | 15 |
| Life insurance basics, ethics and regulations, taxation | 14 each |
| Annuities, policy dividends | 13 each |
| Group life, general principles and contract law, advanced taxation (1035, MEC) | 12 each |
| Policy riders, universal life, advanced policy types | 10 each |
| Social Security benefits | 9 |
| Whole life insurance | 8 |
Every explanation says why the correct option is right and, where it matters, why the distractors are wrong - the incontestability and suicide-clause items, for example, spell out which provision each wrong option is actually describing. That is what makes working through the file teach the material rather than just score it.
What the PDF does not cover
The life exam in every state has two parts: the national content this PDF covers, and a state-law section written by your state's insurance department. The state section is not in the file, because it differs by state and changes when the state amends its code. The bank holds separate state-law questions for 51 states, and they are served on the state pages instead: Texas, California and New York each have 30 life state-law questions, Florida 19, North Carolina and Michigan 18, and most other covered states 14. If your state is one of them, plan on doing the state page's mock exam as well as this PDF. If it is not, the state page still links your state's official candidate handbook, which is where the state-law outline lives.
The PDF is also not a substitute for that handbook. It tells you the rules and why; the handbook tells you exactly how many questions your state asks, how long you get, and the score you need.
Three questions from the PDF
Copied exactly as they appear in the file and the practice tests (bank IDs in brackets), so you can check the page against the download.
1. What is the 'incontestability clause' in a life insurance policy? [life-017]
- A. A provision that limits the insurer's ability to void the policy after 2 years
- B. A provision that limits the beneficiary's right to contest a claim denial after 2 years
- C. A provision that bars the insurer from adjusting benefits for a misstated age after 2 years
- D. A provision that prevents the policyowner from changing the beneficiary after 2 years
Answer: A. Once a life policy has been in force for the contestable period, commonly two years, the insurer can no longer contest the policy or deny a claim because of misstatements in the application. Nonpayment of premium is never barred by the clause. A minority of states preserve a narrow exception for fraudulent misstatements, so the protection is close to but not absolutely universal.
2. What is a 'Modified Endowment Contract' (MEC)? [life-041]
- A. A life policy that fails the 7-pay test and loses certain tax advantages
- B. A life policy that has been reinstated after lapse under modified terms
- C. A life policy whose death benefit is reduced for a misstatement of age
- D. A life policy that passes the 7-pay test and keeps its tax advantages
Answer: A. A MEC is a life insurance policy that has been funded too quickly (fails the 7-pay test) and loses some tax advantages. Withdrawals and loans from MECs may be subject to ordinary income tax and a 10% penalty if taken before age 59½.
3. What is 'churning' in insurance? [life-051]
- A. Misrepresenting a policy to induce a client to switch insurers
- B. Returning part of a commission to a client as an inducement
- C. Excessive replacement of policies to generate commissions
- D. Rapidly processing applications without proper underwriting
Answer: C. Churning is the unethical and often illegal practice of an agent inducing excessive policy replacements primarily to generate commissions, rather than for the client's benefit.
Download all 306 life questions (PDF)
A study plan sized to this file
306 questions is about twelve sets of 25. A plan that fits the way the life exam is weighted:
- Sets 1-4: policy provisions, policy types and riders. These are the largest topic groups in the file and on the exam, and most of the vocabulary the rest of the bank assumes (grace period, reinstatement, nonforfeiture, waiver of premium) is here.
- Sets 5-7: beneficiaries and settlement options, underwriting, and the taxation items. Write the answer letter down before you look at the key - the taxation and MEC questions are the ones candidates most often get right by recognition and wrong under exam conditions.
- Sets 8-10: annuities, qualified plans, business uses and group life. These are the sections the exam's "advanced" questions are drawn from.
- Sets 11-12: everything you marked wrong, plus dividends, Social Security and life settlements.
- Then switch to the screen: take a timed life insurance mock exam for your state. It uses your state's real question count, time limit and passing score, which a PDF cannot do.
Read the explanation on every question, including the ones you got right - the reason an answer is right is usually the reason a differently worded version of it is wrong.
Practice these questions online
- Life insurance practice tests - the same 306 questions in timed mock, instant-feedback and review modes, plus the state-law questions for 51 states.
- Combined Life, Accident and Health practice - if your state offers one Life, Accident & Health exam (Ohio and Michigan do), the life half is this bank and the health half is the health bank.
- State pages with life state-law questions, each with the verified exam facts and a handbook link: Texas (30 state-law questions), California (30), New York (30), Florida (19), North Carolina (18), Michigan (18), Ohio (12). The life hub lists all 51 jurisdictions.
Other free PDFs
- Free insurance exam questions and answers PDF - the hub page, with the study-guide section, the sharing licence, and all three files.
- Free health insurance exam questions and answers PDF - 300 health questions, for the accident and health exam or the health half of a combined exam.
- Free property and casualty exam questions and answers PDF - 390 P&C questions.
About this material
The questions, answers and explanations are original study material written by this site's team against the published life insurance exam content outlines and reviewed by a licensed life insurance professional (see the byline below). They are not actual exam questions, no one has "leaked" an exam, and no practice bank can guarantee a passing score. Counts on this page are read from the live question bank at build time; the PDF is regenerated from the same bank whenever it changes. This site is not affiliated with any state insurance department or exam vendor - confirm current requirements, fees and exam details with your state insurance department and the official candidate handbook.
Frequently asked questions
Are these the real life insurance exam questions?
No. The 306 questions are original practice questions written against the published life exam content outline, with our own explanations. Real exam questions are confidential and any site claiming to have them is not telling the truth. Practicing the same topics with the same question style is what prepares you.
Does the PDF include my state's insurance law section?
No. The PDF covers the national content that every state tests. The state-law section is different in each state, so it is served on the state pages instead - 51 states currently have their own life state-law questions (for example Texas 30, Florida 19, North Carolina 18). Use your state's page for that section and for the official candidate handbook.
How current is the life PDF?
The file is regenerated from the live question bank whenever the bank changes, most recently in September 2026, and the question count on this page is read from the bank at build time. Because it covers national content rather than state law, it does not go out of date when a single state amends its code.
Can I print the PDF?
Yes. It is an 80-page text PDF (about 213 KB) formatted for US Letter, with the questions first and the answer key at the back so you can print the questions without the answers. You can also read it on a phone or tablet; the text is selectable and searchable.
Do I need to sign up or give an email address?
No. The download link opens the file directly. There is no registration, no email wall and no payment, and you may share the file unmodified.
I am taking a combined Life, Accident and Health exam. Is this PDF enough?
It covers the life half. For the health half download the health PDF from the hub page, and use the combined Life, Accident and Health practice route on this site to mix both banks in one timed session the way states such as Ohio and Michigan structure the exam.