Creating an Insurance Exam Study Plan
Creating a good study plan for your life insurance pre-license exam is essential for ensuring you learn all of the necessary concepts, which in-turn significantly increases your confidence on exam day. Furthermore, being organized helps make sure you study all of the exam material in a less-stressful way. Below is a step-by-step guide to building a study plan that fits your needs:
1. Assess the Exam Content
Start by understanding what the exam requires you to know. Every state’s life insurance license exam is slightly different, and the exams between Prometric, PSI, and Pearson Vue are structured in significantly-different ways. Check out our Licensing Guide to find your state’s specific exam format.
The exam outline usually shows you the topics covered, the number of questions per topic, and the exam’s format. Obviously, this will help you prioritize the topics you study based on what percentage of the exam they encompass. For an example, check out Florida’s life insurance exam outline.
Every state’s outline MUST BE STUDIED! We cannot stress this enough!
2. Set Clear Goals
Set a goal as to what you want to achieve with each study session. Setting specific, measurable goals will undeniably keep you focused and on the right path. For instance, you can say, “My goal today is to complete chapter 1”. Make sure you reward yourself after accomplishing your goal, even if its with something simple like your favorite snack.
3. Create a Realistic Schedule
Make sure you create a study schedule that fits into your daily routine. Block off times of your day for studying that don’t interfere with other plans. Consistency is key, so try to study at the same time each day to build a habit. Passing this exam and getting through the course is important, so if you can, prioritize this over leisure time until the exam is passed.
Check out our Top 10 Tips for studying for your life insurance license exam.
4. Break Down Insurance Exam Topics
Divide your life insurance license exam prep course material into smaller, manageable pieces. Breaking down the material makes it less overwhelming and helps you make steady progress. For example, if you want to study the types of life insurance, make sure that you break it down into the different types of life insurance and focus on those one at a time (term life, universal life, whole life, etc.). Learn one topic at a time and only move on to the next topic once you are confident you can demonstrate clear understanding of the previous topic.
5. Incorporate Various Study Methods
Different subjects may require different study methods to help you fully comprehend the material. Different tools available such as flashcards, videos, diagrams, and text may help you understand the various topics in the course. Some topics are more easily understood with a visual depiction, unlike some other topics which may be more easily understood with just text. This variety helps reinforce learning and keeps your study sessions more complete.
6. Allocate Time for Review
Set aside regular times in your schedule to review the material that you have already covered. You can take life insurance license exam practice tests or even ask ChatGPT to create quizzes for you on various topics to help confirm your knowledge. Revisiting previously covered topics ensures that the information stays fresh in your mind. Other helpful tools for review are review notes from each chapter or flashcards.
Check out this YouTube channel for more tips on studying for your life insurance license exam!
7. Utilize Practice Exams
Practice exams are useful tools. They familiarize you with the exam content and help identify areas where you need to study more. You can utilize practice exams from the course you are taking and also use tools to create your own practice exams.
8. Track Your Progress
Keep a record of your study sessions and what you learned in each session. This helps you look back to see how much you have accomplished, consequently boosting your confidence for exam day. Obviously, can always modify your study plan as needed.
9. Stay Flexible
Life can be unpredictable, so make sure that you keep your study sessions flexible in case something comes up. If you miss a study session an emergency happens, don’t get discouraged. Simply reschedule and keep moving forward. However, make sure you aren’t making excuses not to study, and that you prioritize studying over leisure activities until you pass your life insurance license exam.
10. Maintain a Healthy Balance
Lastly, ensure that you maintain a healthy harmony between studying and other areas of your life. Make sure that you break up your study sessions with exercise breaks and that you eat healthy to maximize focus.
Conclusion
Creating a plan for passing your life insurance license exam involves understanding the exam content, setting clear goals that you know you can accomplish, and maintaining a consistent study schedule that prioritizes learning the content. In short, breaking down the content, utilizing all of the various study tools in your course, and setting deadlines for yourself will help you pass your exam on the first try.
