United States
Hong KongHow hard is the Texas portion?
Different rather than hard. It is 30 questions of memorization across four outline sections, with no reasoning to fall back on if you have not learned the rule. It is also smaller than its reputation, at less than a quarter of the 130 scored questions.
Candidates fear this half and then over-prepare it, which is a specific and expensive combination.
What it consists of
| Outline section | Questions |
|---|---|
| Texas statutes and rules common to life and health insurance | 14 |
| Texas statutes and rules pertinent to life insurance only | 6 |
| Texas statutes and rules pertinent to accident and health insurance only | 7 |
| Texas statutes and rules pertinent to health maintenance organizations | 3 |
Thirty questions in total, against 100 on general insurance principles. The Texas portion is under a quarter of the scored paper, and the first section alone is nearly half of it.
Why it feels harder than it is
Because there is nothing to reason from. On a general question about nonforfeiture options you can often work toward the answer from what the concept is for. On a question about what Texas law requires, either you know the rule or you are guessing.
That is genuinely uncomfortable and it is not the same as difficulty. Memorization has a floor and a ceiling, and both are reachable in a concentrated block of study. Reasoning-based material does not work that way.
Which makes it the cheapest marks on the paper
Our opinion, stated plainly: statute is the best value per hour on this exam, provided you study it at the right time.
Learn it early and it decays. Learn it in a concentrated block near your date and it holds. That is the opposite of how most study plans sequence it, and it is why we recommend a late block rather than a thin daily trickle across weeks.
Where not to spend the time
Texas HMO regulation is three questions. It is a whole regulatory framework with its own chapter of the Insurance Code, and it is worth three marks out of 130. A single pass over it is the right investment.
Weight the 14-question common-statute section instead. That is where nearly half the Texas portion lives, and it is the section a candidate can actually move the needle on. How much of the exam is Texas law has the counts in full.
The concession: we hold 47 chapters of the Texas Insurance Code, which is how our own Texas questions cite the section an answer turns on. We do not hold Title 28 of the Administrative Code, which the outline also cites throughout the state portion, and we will not write as though we do.
Common questions
How hard is the Texas portion of the insurance exam?
Different rather than hard. It is 30 questions of memorization across four outline sections with no reasoning to fall back on, but it is also under a quarter of the 130 scored questions.
When should you study Texas statute?
Late, in a concentrated block. Memorized material decays quickly and reloads fast, so studying statute near your exam date holds better than spreading it thinly across weeks. That is the opposite of how most study plans sequence it.
Which Texas section carries the most weight?
Statutes and rules common to life and health insurance, at 14 of the 30 Texas questions. Health maintenance organizations carries only 3, which makes deep study of Texas HMO regulation a poor trade.
Can a strong Texas score carry a weak general one?
Only partly. It is one combined scaled result, and 100 general questions outweigh 30 Texas ones, so relying on statute to rescue the paper means asking under a quarter of it to carry the rest.