United States
Hong KongSigns you are ready to sit
Two full timed papers within a few points of each other, both above our 78% readiness target, with the general and Texas sides separately clear and every one of the 13 outline sections seen. Readiness is a stable score with margin, not a feeling and not an hours total.
Booking too early is the cheapest mistake on this examination and also the most common. It costs $49 and a fresh registration, and the candidate handbook sets no waiting period for this license, so the damage is mostly to your confidence. Here is how to tell whether you are past it.
Check one: a timed score with margin
Untimed scores are not evidence. 130 scored questions in 150 minutes is 1.15 minutes each by our arithmetic, and plenty of candidates who score well with the clock off fall apart with it on.
78% is our readiness target against our own mock papers. It is deliberately set above where the evidence puts the passing score, so that a candidate who hits it clears a harder form with headroom. It is not a pass mark, it is not TDI's figure, and TDI publishes no percentage pass mark at all.
Aiming at the cut is aiming at a coin flip. The published mean scaled score is 69.75 against a 57.7% pass rate, which tells you that the average candidate sits essentially on the line. A great many of them are on the wrong side of it.
Check two: two papers, not one
One good score is a data point. Two good scores a few days apart, on different forms, within a few points of each other, is a reading.
The gap between them matters more than either number. A candidate who scores well on one paper and badly on the next has not learned the material, they have learned that paper. We ship five mock forms for exactly this reason, and any question bank worth buying should let you sit more than one full paper.
Check three: both sides clear, separately
| Portion | Questions | What ready looks like |
|---|---|---|
| General insurance principles | 100 | Clear of the target on its own, not carried by Texas marks |
| Texas statutes and rules | 30 | Clear of the target on its own, not carried by general marks |
The real paper combines them into one scaled score, so a strong general portion can hide a weak Texas one right up until it does not. Score the two sides apart in practice even though the examination will not.
Check four: you can say why the wrong answer is wrong
Pick ten questions you got right in your last paper. For each one, say out loud why the other three options are wrong. If you find yourself saying "it just wasn't that one" more than twice, you are recognizing correct answers rather than understanding distinctions, and this examination is built out of distinctions.
This is the single best readiness test we know and it takes ten minutes. It also catches the specific failure mode of someone who has done a lot of practice on one question bank and started remembering it.
Check five: every section met, on the current outline
Thirteen numbered sections, nine general and four Texas. You should be able to name what each one covers, including the small ones. Section 13 is Texas HMO regulation and it is 3 questions. Section 8 is other insurance concepts and it is 5. Neither deserves a weekend, and neither should be a surprise on the day.
The outline in force took effect on 1 September 2026. If your material predates it, you have been checking yourself against a paper that is no longer set, and every reading above is measuring the wrong thing.
Signs you are not ready, whatever your score says
- You have never finished a paper inside the time. Running out of time in practice is running out of time on the day, and the real paper is the one with the nerves in it
- Your last paper was your best paper by a wide margin. That is usually familiarity with the questions rather than improvement in the material
- You are studying to a date rather than to a score. The appointment is reschedulable and the fee is $49. Neither is a reason to sit before the readings say so
One opinion, offered as an opinion. Most candidates who fail this examination were not close. A 57.7% first-attempt pass rate on a paper with no entry requirement is not a story about people who narrowly missed, it is mostly a story about people who booked on optimism. If you have done the five checks above, you are already in a different population from the one that produces that number.
The concession is that we cannot prove that last sentence. TDI's report has no breakdown of pass rates by preparation, so the claim that prepared candidates pass at a much higher rate is an inference from the standard deviation of 14.51 and from common sense, not a published finding.
Common questions
What score should I be getting before I book the Texas insurance exam?
We aim at 78% on our own mock papers, timed. That is our readiness target rather than a pass mark, and it is set above where the evidence puts the cut on purpose, so that a candidate who reaches it clears a harder examination form with room to spare.
How many practice papers should I sit before the real one?
At least two full timed papers on different forms, a few days apart. One score tells you very little. Two scores within a few points of each other tell you the result is stable rather than lucky, and the gap between them is the informative number.
Should I score the general and Texas portions separately?
Yes, even though the real examination will not. The two portions are combined into one scaled score, so a strong general performance can mask a weak Texas one. Scoring them apart in practice is the only way to see that before the day.
How do I know I am not just memorizing the question bank?
Take ten questions you answered correctly and explain why each wrong option is wrong. If you cannot, you are recognizing answers rather than understanding distinctions, which is precisely what a fresh examination form will expose.
Is it worth rescheduling if I am not ready?
Almost always. A retake is a fresh registration at $49 and the candidate handbook sets no waiting period for this license, but a failed attempt costs you time and confidence. Study to a score rather than to a date.