- How the CA-LAHS Exam Is Structured
- Domain 1: General Insurance (Life Component)
- Domain 2: Life Insurance
- Domain 3: Life Policy Riders
- Domain 4: General Insurance (A&H Component)
- Domain 5: General Concepts of Medical and Disability Insurance
- Domain 6: Medical Expense Insurance
- Domain 7: Disability Income Insurance
- Domain 8: Long-Term Care Insurance
- Domain Weighting at a Glance
- Registration, Fees, and Scoring
- Who Hires CA-LAHS Licensees
- Mapping the Domains to a Study Schedule
- FAQ
- The CA-LAHS exam has 150 questions split into a 75-question Life component (Domains 1-3) and a 75-question Accident and Health or Sickness component (Domains...
- Life Insurance is the largest single domain at 32.5%, and Medical Expense Insurance is the second-largest at 30%.
- You need 60% correct across 150 multiple-choice questions in 3 hours to pass.
- Registration costs $98 per attempt ($55 California exam fee plus PSI's $43 convenience fee), available at test centers or via remote proctoring.
How the CA-LAHS Exam Is Structured
The California Life, Accident & Health or Sickness Insurance Exam (CA-LAHS), administered through the California Department of Insurance and delivered by PSI, is really two exams stitched into one sitting. The first 75 questions test the Life component (Domains 1-3), and the second 75 questions test the Accident and Health or Sickness component (Domains 4-8). Combined, that's 150 multiple-choice questions in a single 3-hour session, and the displayed domain weights give each 75-question half equal footing in the overall 150-question total.
That structural split matters for how you study. A candidate who is strong on life insurance concepts but weak on medical expense terminology can still fail overall, because both halves count equally toward your final score. For a deeper breakdown of how the passing threshold is calculated across both components, see CA-LAHS Passing Score 2026: Exactly What You Need to Pass.
Domain 1: General Insurance (Life Component)
Domain 1: General Insurance
This domain opens the Life component and covers the foundational vocabulary and legal principles that apply across all life insurance contracts before you get into specific policy types.
- Insurable interest, contract elements, and the concept of utmost good faith
- Producer licensing rules, appointment, and standards of conduct under the California Insurance Code
- Policy delivery, free-look provisions, and replacement rules
Because this is foundational material, questions here often ask you to apply a rule to a short scenario rather than recite a definition. If you're unsure how these general-insurance concepts differ from those tested on the accident and health side, the comparison in What Is CA-LAHS? is a useful starting point.
Domain 2: Life Insurance
Domain 2: Life Insurance
This is the single largest domain on the entire combined exam at 32.5%, so it deserves the most concentrated review of any topic area.
- Term, whole, universal, and variable life policy structures and their differences
- Premium calculation basics, cash value growth, and nonforfeiture options
- Beneficiary designations, settlement options, and policy lapse/reinstatement rules
- Underwriting classifications and how risk factors affect premiums
Key Takeaway
Because Life Insurance carries the heaviest single weight on the exam, candidates who allocate proportional study time here typically see the biggest score improvement per hour invested. Don't treat it as "just one of eight domains."
Domain 3: Life Policy Riders
Domain 3: Life Policy Riders
Riders modify a base life policy, and this domain tests whether you know what each rider does, who typically qualifies, and how it changes the death benefit or premium.
- Waiver of premium, accidental death, and guaranteed insurability riders
- Accelerated death benefit and long-term care riders attached to life policies
- Child and other insured riders, and how they interact with the base policy's face amount
Riders are a favorite exam target because the answer choices are easy to make deceptively similar. Practicing scenario-based questions is the fastest way to build confidence here, and the CA-LAHS Study Guide 2026: How to Pass on Your First Attempt walks through a rider-comparison drill many candidates find useful.
Domain 4: General Insurance (A&H Component)
Domain 4: General Insurance
This domain mirrors Domain 1 but applies the same foundational concepts-contract law, insurable interest, producer conduct-specifically to accident and health or sickness insurance.
- Health insurance contract provisions and mandatory policy clauses
- Group versus individual health insurance distinctions
- California-specific consumer protection and disclosure requirements for health products
Candidates sometimes assume the general-insurance material from the Life component "carries over" and skip this domain in review. It doesn't fully carry over-health-specific contract law has its own nuances, which is one reason the two components are scored separately in the exam blueprint.
Domain 5: General Concepts of Medical and Disability Insurance
Domain 5: General Concepts of Medical and Disability Insurance
This domain builds the conceptual bridge between Domain 4's general rules and the more product-specific domains that follow (Medical Expense, Disability Income, and Long-Term Care).
- Managed care structures: HMOs, PPOs, and point-of-service plans
- Coordination of benefits and coordination with government programs
- Underwriting considerations unique to health and disability risks
Domain 6: Medical Expense Insurance
Domain 6: Medical Expense Insurance
At 30%, this is the second-heaviest domain on the exam and the largest single domain within the Accident and Health or Sickness component, so it deserves review time comparable to what you give Life Insurance.
- Individual and group medical expense policy features, deductibles, and coinsurance
- Preexisting condition provisions and coverage limitations
- COBRA continuation concepts and other continuation-of-coverage rules
- Medicare and Medicaid basics as they interact with private medical expense coverage
Domain 7: Disability Income Insurance
Domain 7: Disability Income Insurance
This domain tests your ability to distinguish disability income products from medical expense products and to understand how benefits are triggered and paid.
- Definitions of total, partial, and residual disability
- Elimination periods, benefit periods, and how they affect premium
- Own-occupation versus any-occupation definitions
- Group versus individual disability income policy differences
Domain 8: Long-Term Care Insurance
Domain 8: Long-Term Care Insurance
The final domain covers long-term care as a standalone product line, distinct from the long-term care riders tested under Domain 3.
- Levels of care: skilled, intermediate, and custodial
- Benefit triggers, including activities of daily living (ADL) assessments
- Inflation protection options and nonforfeiture benefits specific to LTC policies
- California's LTC-specific consumer disclosure and suitability requirements
Because Domains 3 and 8 both touch long-term care from different angles, candidates who confuse rider-based LTC coverage with standalone LTC policies tend to lose avoidable points. Reviewing both domains back-to-back, rather than weeks apart, helps keep the distinction clear.
Domain Weighting at a Glance
The table below summarizes each domain, which component it belongs to, and its approximate share of the combined 150-question exam based on the currently effective examination objectives.
| Domain | Component | Approx. Weight |
|---|---|---|
| 1. General Insurance | Life (Domains 1-3) | Part of the 75-question Life half |
| 2. Life Insurance | Life | 32.5% (largest domain overall) |
| 3. Life Policy Riders | Life | Remainder of the Life half |
| 4. General Insurance | Accident & Health (Domains 4-8) | Part of the 75-question A&H half |
| 5. General Concepts of Medical and Disability Insurance | Accident & Health | Part of the A&H half |
| 6. Medical Expense Insurance | Accident & Health | 30% (second-largest domain overall) |
| 7. Disability Income Insurance | Accident & Health | Part of the A&H half |
| 8. Long-Term Care Insurance | Accident & Health | Part of the A&H half |
Because the Life and Accident/Health halves are weighted equally against each other, a candidate cannot compensate for a weak A&H score by excelling only on the Life side. For more on how this affects your pass/fail outcome, see CA-LAHS Pass Rate 2026: What the Data Shows.
Registration, Fees, and Scoring
Every attempt at the CA-LAHS exam costs $98 total: a $55 California examination fee plus PSI's $43 convenience fee, whether you sit at a physical test center or take the remote online-proctored option. You have 3 hours to complete all 150 questions, and you need 60% correct to pass. If you don't pass on your first try, you'll need to register and pay again for each subsequent attempt - a full cost breakdown, including licensing and renewal fees, is available in CA-LAHS Certification Cost 2026: Complete Pricing Breakdown.
One important 2026 change: California eliminated the former 20-hour line-specific prelicensing requirement effective January 1, 2026. Applicants still must complete 12 hours of Ethics and California Insurance Code education, including 1 hour specifically on insurance fraud, before a license is issued. This doesn't reduce how much domain content you're tested on - the exam objectives and all 8 domains remain in effect - it changes the prelicensing coursework pathway leading up to the exam. Full eligibility details are covered in CA-LAHS Requirements 2026: Eligibility, Prerequisites & How to Qualify.
Once licensed, resident licensees must complete 24 continuing-education hours every two-year term, including 3 hours of ethics with 1 hour dedicated to insurance fraud, and pay a $188 filing or renewal fee. If you want to check upcoming testing windows before you commit to a study plan, review CA-LAHS Exam Dates 2026: Testing Windows, Deadlines & Scheduling.
Who Hires CA-LAHS Licensees
A California life, accident, and health insurance license opens roles across several types of employers: captive agents working for a single life or health insurer, independent agents who place business with multiple carriers, brokerage general agencies that support other producers, and employee-benefits consultants who advise employers on group medical expense, disability income, and long-term care offerings. Because the exam blueprint spans both life products and health/disability/LTC products, license holders are typically qualified to sell across all of these lines rather than being restricted to a single product category.
If you're weighing whether the license and the study time are worth it relative to the career paths it opens, Is the CA-LAHS Certification Worth It? Complete ROI Analysis 2026 and CA-LAHS Salary Guide 2026: Complete Earnings Analysis go deeper on that comparison, and CA-LAHS Jobs outlines common job titles that require this license.
Mapping the Domains to a Study Schedule
Rather than studying the eight domains in a generic rotation, it makes sense to sequence your review around the exam's actual weighting. Because Life Insurance (32.5%) and Medical Expense Insurance (30%) together carry more weight than the other six domains combined, put them early in your schedule while your energy and focus are highest, then use later weeks for lighter-weighted domains and full-length practice.
Life Component Foundations
- Domain 1: General Insurance concepts and producer conduct rules
- Domain 2: Life Insurance policy types and underwriting (start here - it's the heaviest domain)
Finish the Life Component
- Domain 3: Life Policy Riders, with side-by-side rider comparisons
- Timed practice questions covering the full 75-question Life half
Accident & Health Foundations
- Domain 4: General Insurance as applied to health contracts
- Domain 5: General Concepts of Medical and Disability Insurance
- Domain 6: Medical Expense Insurance (second-heaviest domain - give it real time)
Finish A&H and Simulate the Real Exam
- Domain 7: Disability Income Insurance
- Domain 8: Long-Term Care Insurance, reviewed alongside Domain 3's LTC riders
- At least one full 150-question, 3-hour timed practice run
For a condensed, day-of reference once you've studied every domain, the CA-LAHS Cheat Sheet 2026: One-Page Review of Must-Know Facts consolidates the highest-yield facts from all eight areas. And if you want a broader sense of how demanding this schedule actually is relative to other insurance exams, How Hard Is the CA-LAHS Exam? Complete Difficulty Guide 2026 breaks that down. You can also run full-length timed drills on our practice test platform to see how your domain-by-domain accuracy compares before test day.
FAQ
There are 8 domains total: 3 belong to the Life component (Domains 1-3) and 5 belong to the Accident and Health or Sickness component (Domains 4-8), together forming the 150-question combined exam.
Life Insurance (Domain 2) is the largest single domain at 32.5%, followed by Medical Expense Insurance (Domain 6) at 30%. The remaining six domains share the rest of the weighting.
They're delivered as one combined 150-question, 3-hour exam, with the displayed weights giving each 75-question half equal overall weight, and you need 60% correct across the full exam to pass.
No. Effective January 1, 2026, California eliminated the former 20-hour line-specific prelicensing requirement. Applicants still complete 12 hours of Ethics and California Insurance Code education, including 1 hour on insurance fraud, before licensure.
Each attempt costs $98 total - a $55 California examination fee plus PSI's $43 convenience fee - regardless of whether you test at a physical center or through remote online proctoring.