Insurance exam? (employment, school, vs.)

[Elle Oh Elle]

Has anybody been able to pass this exam? I was surprised because when I took it for the first time last week, I failed! I was something like 30% off. The questions asked on the exam didn't mirror what I had studied. I called the receptionist from the agency I'm trying to work at and she told me the same thing happened to her. She didn't actually receive her license until she took the test three times. She told me that the questions are actually the concepts studied, but they aren't presented exactly the same.

One of my dad's friends actually passed all three exams on his first try and he said it was easy. This is pretty much my only hope at finding employment since I can't seem to get hired anywhere. The only commissions work I'd be interested in doing is insurance.

Help? Thanks in advance.

[DMenscha]

I've taken the insurance test in 3 states, but each time I got so irritated at the industry I walked out without finishing.

I can pass a multiple choice test on a subject I know nothing about too.

[Social Democrat]

I know dozens of people that have taken the exam - I used to help people get a producer license at a former employer - and the majority did pass the first time but others took it up to 5 times to pass.
One of the key elements of success was reading the entire question without jumping to an answer. Sounds simple but you will find that is crucial in the insurance business. Reading and understanding the product and policies to be sold takes critical thinking along with basic knowledge. One word can change the entire meaning of a phrase or question and critical thinking is so important in determining that.
When I first started helping people get producer licenses personal attendance at a 52 hourse course was mandatory (there are a couple of exceptions). I understand you can now self study via the web for this requirement - is that what you did? If so, it may be worth your while (and $$$) to sign up for, and attend, a one day exam prep course. No guarantee of passing but it may help to hear someone speaking on the topic and take their practice exams - often lifted from the CA test to get you in a good mindset.
It's not about intelligence so don't let failing the exam throw you, I know you can pass but you will need to really bear down on your preperation.
Forgot to ask, are you paying for this yourself or is the agency? If it is the agency I hope they realize going to an exam prep class will save money, and if you are paying for it, the same applies! Obviously the sooner you pass the more money you save and also gets you into the selling mode so you can make some bucks.
Good luck with this!

[JustPassinThru]

I was hired first and then studied for the exam every Saturday at my manager's home, where he spent four hours teaching and grilling me. Meanwhile, I trained in the field with other agents. By the time I received my license I was more than prepared to write Life, Health and S & A policies. Why not explore this possibility with the firms which interest you?

[Malloric]

Well, not insurance, but first time I took our state boards I failed with 77%, overall pass rate was 31% which was the relevant figure not the 77%. Likewise the questions were not at all what I studied. A ton of it was statutory stuff you basically need to know where to find if it should come up. Most of it I've promptly unmemorized since. That seems to be how most professional boards are, at least in my experience. You're really not testing against the test but against one another. The CFA tests were the same. That's one hellish test and even if everyone got 90%, they'd still fail most of them. The nice thing is once you get through the obstacle, licensed professions are quite lucrative. There's a shortage in many licensed professions not because people can't do the work but because it's in the self-interest of the licensees (who are the ones making the tests, in most cases) to put tough barriers of entry in place. The last state boards have been at or around 20% pass rate recently (last one was 12%), funny how they were double that prior to the recession.

[Elle Oh Elle]

Originally Posted by DMenscha

I've taken the insurance test in 3 states, but each time I got so irritated at the industry I walked out without finishing.

I can pass a multiple choice test on a subject I know nothing about too.

Right, well you didn't since you didn't have enough interest to finish the tests. This is something I'm really going to need as a last hope. Most people we heard of passing just take it as backup, including my friends.

Originally Posted by Social Democrat

I know dozens of people that have taken the exam - I used to help people get a producer license at a former employer - and the majority did pass the first time but others took it up to 5 times to pass.
One of the key elements of success was reading the entire question without jumping to an answer. Sounds simple but you will find that is crucial in the insurance business. Reading and understanding the product and policies to be sold takes critical thinking along with basic knowledge. One word can change the entire meaning of a phrase or question and critical thinking is so important in determining that.
When I first started helping people get producer licenses personal attendance at a 52 hourse course was mandatory (there are a couple of exceptions). I understand you can now self study via the web for this requirement - is that what you did? If so, it may be worth your while (and $$$) to sign up for, and attend, a one day exam prep course. No guarantee of passing but it may help to hear someone speaking on the topic and take their practice exams - often lifted from the CA test to get you in a good mindset.
It's not about intelligence so don't let failing the exam throw you, I know you can pass but you will need to really bear down on your preperation.
Forgot to ask, are you paying for this yourself or is the agency? If it is the agency I hope they realize going to an exam prep class will save money, and if you are paying for it, the same applies! Obviously the sooner you pass the more money you save and also gets you into the selling mode so you can make some bucks.
Good luck with this!

They already asked me to go to 52hours.com and take their preparation course online. Despite that, I failed the test. I don't know what to do because 52hours is supposed to be rated really highly.

[Elle Oh Elle]

Originally Posted by JustPassinThru

I was hired first and then studied for the exam every Saturday at my manager's home, where he spent four hours teaching and grilling me. Meanwhile, I trained in the field with other agents. By the time I received my license I was more than prepared to write Life, Health and S & A policies. Why not explore this possibility with the firms which interest you?

That's a good idea. I feel bad asking them for that much, though. They already signed me up for a training course. I take it you didn't receive any training courses. I did speak to the manager, but all he could tell me was to take practice exams.

Originally Posted by Malloric

Well, not insurance, but first time I took our state boards I failed with 77%, overall pass rate was 31% which was the relevant figure not the 77%. Likewise the questions were not at all what I studied. A ton of it was statutory stuff you basically need to know where to find if it should come up. Most of it I've promptly unmemorized since. That seems to be how most professional boards are, at least in my experience. You're really not testing against the test but against one another. The CFA tests were the same. That's one hellish test and even if everyone got 90%, they'd still fail most of them. The nice thing is once you get through the obstacle, licensed professions are quite lucrative. There's a shortage in many licensed professions not because people can't do the work but because it's in the self-interest of the licensees (who are the ones making the tests, in most cases) to put tough barriers of entry in place. The last state boards have been at or around 20% pass rate recently (last one was 12%), funny how they were double that prior to the recession.

Yeah, I've read that this isn't anything resembling a school test. You cannot study the material and expect to pass. Absolutely, you must have a pure understanding of the concepts. Despite this, I still expected I'd have enough common sense to wing it, but since my brain has never sold a policy before, I did fail.

[pphanfx]

Well I took the Life & Health test just a couple hours ago and passed this 3-hour exam in less than 1 hour. If you actually want to know stuff, then yes, spend 52 hours. If you want to pass the test, spend 5.2 hours doing what I suggest.

Let's say for some odd reason, you find the test deadline approaching but you haven't cracked open a book. Just do and memorize the practice questions from a reliable training program. The examiners repeat those questions every single time.

For example, you will be asked about policy discrimination based on race vs. gender every single time. You will be asked what a mortality vs. morbidity table is every single time -- often multiple variations of the exact same concept. You'll find the test patterns in the practice question libraries.

Spend a couple of hours memorizing freebies like that and you'll easily reach the 60% passing threshold. Of course, in actual practice you DO want to know what you're selling. For that reason, you should still read in detail.

[nightlysparrow]

Originally Posted by pphanfx

Well I took the Life & Health test just a couple hours ago and passed this 3-hour exam in less than 1 hour.

You are a first-time poster.You are replying to a post that's 2 years old. The date of the last post is in the upper left corner.

[pphanfx]

Originally Posted by nightlysparrow

You are a first-time poster.You are replying to a post that's 2 years old. The date of the last post is in the upper left corner.

Doesn't change the fact that many Californians take this test every week and will find this thread whenever they look for exam tips. I found it last week and noticed that there was no satisfactory answer on how to pass this exam, so I've reported my findings in.

Consider it a friendly update to an issue that's ongoing.