Illinois Insurance Exam Guides
Pick the license you're studying for. Each guide covers Illinois-specific requirements, fees, and official links — plus a free practice exam. Then scroll down to explore the Illinois exam's state-law material, mapped.
Free study resource
What's actually tested on the Illinois exam — the state regulations, mapped
Every Illinois insurance exam reserves a block of questions for Illinois-specific law — the fees, deadlines, limits, and rules that generic national study guides gloss over. This is that material: 152 facts from the TESTivity Illinois regulations curriculum, organized the way we teach them. Open a branch, explore, and let the structure do some of the remembering for you.
Every fact below carries its source citation and the date we last verified it (most recently August 2026) — and is re-checked on a schedule. Facts marked tested are ones you should expect to see on the exam.
Life 16 facts
The life insurance rules that differ by state — free look, grace, reinstatement.
- Incontestability period testedNot later than 2 years from the date of issue (except for nonpayment of premium)
- Grace period for individual life tested30 days, or one month — a FLAT period that does NOT vary by premium mode. The insurer may charge interest up to 6% a year on the overdue premium. (Contrast accident and health, which IS tiered 7/10/31.)
- Window to reinstate a lapsed policy testedWithin 3 years of premium default, on proof of insurability and payment of arrears
- Max interest chargeable on reinstatement, if capped testedOverdue premiums bear interest not exceeding 6% per year
- Free look for individual life tested10 days from delivery — the owner may surrender the policy with a written request for cancellation and have the premium refunded.
- Does replacement extend the free look? testedNO. Illinois adds no extended free look on a replacement — the ordinary 10 days still applies. What Part 917 adds is PROCEDURE: the producer submits the applicant's replacement statement no later than at the time of taking the application, and the replacing insurer notifies the existing insurer within 3 WORKING days of receiving the application.
- Free look for long-term care tested30 days for long-term care (215 ILCS 5/351A-7); 30 days for Medicare supplement (215 ILCS 5/363)
- Required nonforfeiture provisions testedA paid-up nonforfeiture benefit and a cash surrender value are the statutory requirements. Treat the familiar trio 'cash surrender / reduced paid-up / extended term' as the market convention rather than as statutory language unless you have checked the Illinois Standard Nonforfeiture Law text.
- Registrations required to sell variable products testedThe Life line plus FINRA securities registration; Variable Life and Variable Annuity is a separate Illinois line
- Does the state regulate viatical/life settlements? testedYes — the Viatical Settlements Act of 2009
- Viator's rescission window testedThe earlier of 30 days after the contract is executed OR 15 days after the viator receives the proceeds
- Has the state adopted the NAIC best interest standard? testedYES — the NAIC best-interest standard, 50 Ill. Adm. Code Part 3120, effective February 3, 2023. It carries a ONE-TIME 4-credit training requirement: producers licensed for life before July 31, 2023 had until February 1, 2024; producers licensed on or after February 1, 2024 may not sell annuities until it is complete. Records are kept 7 years.
- Free look on an annuity tested10 days from delivery — and it is its own statute, because 215 ILCS 5/224 expressly EXCLUDES annuities. On an ordinary annuity the insurer refunds the premium including contract fees; on a VARIABLE annuity the refund is instead the difference between premiums paid and amounts allocated to the separate accounts, plus the contract's cash value (or reserve) on the day it is received back.
- Suicide exclusion period testedIllinois fixes NO period — it caps one. A suicide exclusion 'must be confined within the contestability period of the policy,' and incontestability must arrive not later than 2 years, so 2 YEARS is the practical maximum and a shorter contestable period shortens the suicide clause with it.
- Prohibited life policy provisions testedIllinois regulates by prohibition as well as prescription: a life policy may not limit the amount payable, for a death occurring AFTER the contestable period, to less than the face amount on account of the kind or character of the disease that caused death.
- Grace period and conversion on group life tested31 days' grace, during which the death benefit continues in force — and a 31-day conversion privilege on termination of employment, without evidence of insurability. Group life incontestability is 2 years except nonpayment of premium.
Health 24 facts
Health coverage rules — continuation, prompt pay, mandates, public programs.
- Has the state expanded Medicaid under the ACA? testedYES — Illinois expanded Medicaid under the ACA, effective January 1, 2014 (up to 138% of the poverty level)
- Effective date of expansion, if expanded testedJanuary 1, 2014
- Agency administering Medicaid testedIllinois Medicaid, administered by the Department of Healthcare and Family Services (HFS); managed care is delivered as HealthChoice Illinois
- Federal marketplace or state-based exchange testedA fully STATE-BASED exchange — Get Covered Illinois — as of plan year 2026. Note the two-step history the exam may reach for: 215 ILCS 122/5-5 required Illinois to run 'as a State-based exchange using the federal platform by plan year 2025 and as a State-based exchange by plan year 2026.' The Get Covered Illinois platform went live 1 November 2025 for coverage effective 1 January 2026.
- Name of the state CHIP program testedAll Kids is the consumer-facing brand, and it spans both Title XIX children and Title XXI CHIP children. The CHIP statute proper is the Children's Health Insurance Program Act, 215 ILCS 106; the state-funded expansion beyond CHIP income limits sits in the Covering ALL KIDS Health Insurance Act, 215 ILCS 170.
- Deadline to pay a health claim tested30 days after receipt of DUE WRITTEN PROOF OF LOSS — Illinois does not use the phrase 'clean claim' and draws no electronic/paper distinction. A separate 60-day clock covers periodic and capitation payments to a selected provider.
- Does the deadline differ for paper claims? testedNo. The words 'electronic', 'paper' and 'clean claim' appear nowhere in 215 ILCS 5/368a — one 30-day clock covers both. The same rule reaches HMOs, which 215 ILCS 125/5-3 makes subject to 368a by incorporation.
- Notice duty when documentation is short testedThe payor must notify the claimant of any failure to provide sufficient documentation for a due proof of loss within 30 days after receiving the claim.
- Interest / penalty on late claim payment tested9% a year — and note when it starts: interest runs from the 30TH DAY after receipt of proof of loss to the date of late payment, not from receipt. Interest amounting to less than $1 need not be paid, and interest owed must itself be paid within 30 days of the claim payment.
- Is the IRO's external review decision binding on the plan? testedBinding on BOTH sides. 'An external review decision is binding on the health carrier,' and binding on the covered person too 'except to the extent the covered person has other remedies available under applicable federal or State law.' Request within 4 MONTHS of the final adverse determination; the carrier is SOLELY responsible for the cost; standard decisions within 45 days, expedited within 72 hours.
- Employer size at which federal COBRA applies testedFederal COBRA applies at 20+ employees; Illinois's continuation applies to group policies with no minimum employer-size threshold
- Employer size range covered by state continuation testedNo minimum employer-size threshold. But there is a coverage precondition the summaries miss: the employee must have been continuously insured under the group policy, and any policy it replaced, during the ENTIRE 3 MONTHS before termination.
- Duration of state continuation coverage tested12 months for ordinary continuation after termination of employment or membership. Spousal and dependent-child continuation are different animals — both run 2 YEARS, and a spouse aged 55 or older continues until Medicare eligibility.
- Election period for state continuation tested30 days from the later of the termination or the date written notice is presented or mailed — with a hard outside limit: 'In no event, however, may the employee or member elect continuation more than 60 days after the date of such termination.'
- Max premium as % of group rate testedThe full group premium including the employer's share, 'but not more than the group rate' — no percentage cap on ORDINARY continuation. Careful though: spousal and dependent-child continuation DO permit an administrative load of up to 20%.
- Grace period, tiered by premium mode tested7 days for weekly premium policies, 10 days for monthly premium policies, 31 days for every other mode. Illinois writes the tiers into the required provision itself — and note individual LIFE is flat 30 days, not tiered.
- Time limit on certain defenses tested2 years. After two years no misstatement except a FRAUDULENT one may void the policy or deny a claim for a loss commencing after that period — and after two years a claim may not be reduced or denied for a pre-existing condition unless that condition was SPECIFICALLY EXCLUDED BY NAME OR DESCRIPTION at the effective date.
- Free look on individual accident and health tested10 days from delivery, with the notice printed prominently on the first page or attached — except on single premium nonrenewable policies. Medicare supplement and long-term care each get 30 days instead.
- Long-term care producer training tested8 hours one time, then not less than 4 hours before each subsequent renewal, with a 12-month grace period after renewal to finish the ongoing hours; the hours may also count toward the 24-hour CE requirement (50 Ill. Adm. Code 2012.121). Note a source tension worth knowing: the RULE imposes the requirement on any individual who sells, solicits or negotiates long-term care insurance and lists qualified state Partnership programs among its mandated TOPICS, while IDOI's producer page describes the operational requirement as holding the Health line of authority and completing the 'Long Term Care (Partnership) certification course.'
- Flood insurance training testedProducers writing NFIP flood must take the specific course titled 'FEMA-Flood Insurance Requirement.' It is worth 3 CE credits — and the producer must KEEP THE CERTIFICATE, because the Department does not retain a permanent record of it and companies may ask for proof.
- The claim clocks, in the order they run tested20 / 15 / 90 / one year. Notice of claim within 20 DAYS of the loss or as soon as reasonably possible; if the insurer does not furnish claim forms within 15 DAYS the claimant satisfies proof of loss by simply writing out the occurrence, character and extent of the loss; written proof of loss within 90 DAYS; and in no event later than ONE YEAR except in the absence of legal capacity.
- When indemnities must actually be paid tested'Immediately upon receipt of due written proof of such loss' for anything other than a periodic payment, and periodic payments not less frequently than monthly. The 30-day prompt-pay clock in 368a layers on top of this.
- The employer’s continuation notice duty testedWithin 10 DAYS after the termination or reduction in hours, the employer must present or mail written notice of continuation to the employee, with a copy to the insurer — and the insurer may not deny coverage because the employer failed to give it.
- Reinstatement of an accident and health policy testedIllinois puts reinstatement at 215 ILCS 5/357.5 — a common mis-citation, because candidates expect notice of claim there and it is actually at 357.6.
Auto 13 facts
Auto insurance — minimum limits, fault system, required coverages.
- Fault-based (tort) or no-fault testedFault-based (tort). Illinois has no no-fault system and no mandatory PIP.
- Minimum bodily injury liability per person tested$25,000
- Minimum bodily injury liability per occurrence tested$50,000
- Minimum property damage liability tested$20,000
- The memorizable shorthand (e.g. 30/60/25) tested25/50/20
- Uninsured motorist: mandatory / must be offered & rejectable / not required testedMANDATORY and not waivable. No auto policy may be issued, delivered or renewed in Illinois without uninsured motorist bodily injury coverage, at least at the § 7-203 minimums. Uninsured motorist PROPERTY damage is different — it is rejectable by omission, and 'the absence of a premium payment... shall constitute conclusive proof' of rejection, with a maximum $250 deductible.
- Underinsured motorist status testedUnderinsured motorist hangs on 215 ILCS 5/143a-2(4), which requires UIM in 'an amount equal to the total amount of uninsured motorist coverage provided in that policy' wherever that exceeds the 7-203 minimums. Do not weld it to 143a-2(1)-(2), which govern ADDITIONAL UNINSURED motorist coverage — offered at the insured's bodily injury liability limits and rejectable in writing only as to the excess over 7-203.
- Personal injury protection status testedNo PIP — Illinois is a tort state. Medical payments coverage is available but optional.
- Contributory / pure comparative / modified comparative negligence testedModified comparative negligence with a 51% bar. Phrase it precisely: the plaintiff is barred if their contributory fault is MORE THAN 50%. A plaintiff at exactly 50% still recovers, with damages diminished in proportion.
- The bar percentage, if modified comparative testedBarred at MORE THAN 50% — so exactly 50% still recovers. Writing 'barred at 50% or more' is wrong.
- Assigned risk / residual market plan for auto testedThe Illinois Automobile Insurance Plan (assigned risk), for drivers who cannot obtain coverage voluntarily
- Binding arbitration limits on a UM claim testedAn arbitrators' decision binds only up to $75,000 for bodily injury to one person and $150,000 for two or more in one crash — 'or the corresponding policy limits for bodily injury or death, whichever is less.'
- The insurer’s 30-day subrogation trap testedAn insurer may not exercise subrogation against an underinsured tortfeasor where it was given written notice and then failed to advance a payment within 30 days.
CE & Renewal 12 facts
Continuing education and renewal rules — the numbers the exam loves.
- How long a license lasts before renewal testedTwo years (a biennial term)
- What the renewal date keys off (flat term / birthday / birth year) testedBiennial, expiring the last day of the producer's BIRTH MONTH (per NIPR). Note the statute itself does not name a birthday basis — 215 ILCS 5/500-35 leaves the timeline to the Director, and birth-month is the administrative practice. The initial term is prorated to between 18 and 29 months.
- CE hours per renewal period, standard case tested24 hours of Illinois-approved CE every two years. Up to 4 of the 24 may come from participation in a professional insurance association, and no single course over 12 hours will be approved.
- CE hours if holding multiple license types (if different) testedStill 24 total — holding multiple lines does not multiply the hours
- Ethics hours required per period tested3 of the 24 hours must be ethics, and those 3 must be CLASSROOM OR WEBINAR — self-study does not satisfy the ethics requirement.
- Any classroom / in-person requirement testedThe 3 ethics hours must be live classroom or webinar
- What happens if CE is not completed (fine / expiry / cancellation) testedThe license AUTOMATICALLY TERMINATES when a producer fails to meet the CE requirement — the statute uses that word. A lapsed license may be reinstated within 12 months without re-examination on payment of a penalty of double the unpaid renewal fee ($430).
- Late renewal / reinstatement tiers testedReinstate within 12 months of the due date without re-examination, paying double the unpaid renewal fee — $430. Past 12 months you redo pre-licensing AND both exams. NIPR does not process late producer renewals at all; an expired licensee files a fresh Resident License application.
- Any CE exemption (e.g. long-service agents) testedCE and pre-licensing apply to resident producers; nonresidents satisfy Illinois CE through their home state (reciprocity)
- Carryover of surplus CE hours testedA maximum of 12 hours may carry over from the prior licensing period — but NO ETHICS CREDIT MAY BE CARRIED OVER. The ethics 3 must be earned fresh each cycle.
- When CE must actually be on file testedCredit must be banked on State Based Systems at least 10 BUSINESS days before the renewal date. Providers have their own submission window, so IDOI advises finishing coursework about a month before the license extension date.
- Annuity best-interest producer training testedA one-time 4-credit Department-approved course before selling annuities. Producers who had completed an older approved annuity course before August 1, 2023 could instead take a one-time ONE-credit course on sales practices, replacement and disclosure — both routes were due by February 1, 2024.
Property 11 facts
Property insurance — rate regulation, residual markets, catastrophe exposure.
- Rate regulation system (file-and-use / prior approval / use-and-file) testedOPEN COMPETITION for most property and casualty lines — there is no general prior-approval or file-and-use rating law, and that is the outlier answer among the states. But 'no rate law' overstates it twice: 50 Ill. Adm. Code Part 754 requires rates, rating schedules and rating manuals to be FILED with the Director within 10 days after they take effect, and workers' compensation runs on genuine PRIOR APPROVAL under 215 ILCS 5/457, with rates deemed approved if the Director does not act within 30 days.
- Is insurance credit scoring permitted in personal lines? testedPermitted but restricted (the Use of Credit Information in Personal Insurance Act): an insurer may not deny, cancel, nonrenew, or rate SOLELY on credit; may not use income, gender, address, ethnic group, religion, marital status, or nationality; and the credit score must be from a report no more than 90 days old.
- Does the state have a FAIR Plan? testedYES — the Illinois FAIR Plan (Fair Access to Insurance Requirements), administered through the Illinois Industry Placement Facility, provides basic property and homeowners coverage to applicants who cannot obtain it in the standard market. Eligibility is gated on effort, not on refusal in the abstract: an applicant must have sought coverage from at least THREE insurers and been unable to obtain it before the Plan will write the risk.
- Name of the FAIR Plan, if any testedIllinois FAIR Plan (Illinois FAIR Plan Association)
- Dominant catastrophe perils in the state testedTornado and severe thunderstorm (with hail and straight-line wind) are Illinois's dominant perils, along with flooding (river and flash) and winter storms.
- What license you must already hold to write surplus lines testedYou must already hold an Illinois producer license — 'any licensed producer who is a resident of this State, or any nonresident who qualifies under Section 500-40, may be licensed as a surplus line producer upon payment of an annual license fee of $400.'
- Is a diligent-effort search of the admitted market required first? testedYes — and Illinois DOES set a number. Under 50 Ill. Adm. Code 2701.50(a) diligent effort 'shall be deemed to have been exercised if the surplus line producer or the referring insurance producer submits a risk to three or more authorized insurers' that actually write the class of risk. 2701.60 is the recordkeeping layer — the names of the authorized insurers and the individuals contacted at each who declined — and 2701.70 bars manufacturing declinations from insurers that would not write the risk anyway.
- Does Illinois prescribe a standard fire policy? testedYES. 50 Ill. Adm. Code Part 2301 is the Illinois standard fire policy rule: 2301.30 designates the standard form, and 2301.100 requires every fire and lightning policy issued in this State to conform to it. The statutory hook is the Director's duty to 'effect uniformity in all basic policies of fire and lightning insurance issued in this State.' Illinois should not be described as having no standard fire policy.
- Delay letter deadline on a fire or extended coverage claim tested75 days from the date the loss is reported, OR 25 days from receipt of the proof of loss, WHICHEVER IS LESS. The letter must be accompanied by the Notice of Availability of the Department of Insurance.
- Total loss vehicle information deadline tested7 days after the total loss determination, the insurer must furnish the Exhibit A vehicle information.
- Surplus line tax and stamping fee tested3.5% surplus line tax on policies effective July 1, 2003 or later, plus a 0.04% stamping fee for policies effective 1/1/2023 or later. Taxes are filed twice a year, on or before FEBRUARY 1 and AUGUST 1, for the six-month periods ending December 31 and June 30.
Guaranty 14 facts
The safety nets when an insurer fails — and their limits.
- Name of the life & health guaranty association testedIllinois Life and Health Insurance Guaranty Association
- Life death benefit limit tested$300,000
- Life cash surrender / withdrawal value limit tested$100,000 net cash surrender / withdrawal value
- Annuity benefit limit tested$250,000 present value of annuity benefits
- Health benefit limit tested$500,000 for a health benefit plan; $300,000 for disability income and long-term care; $100,000 for other/basic health
- Aggregate per-individual cap, if any tested$300,000 aggregate per life — except up to $500,000 where a health benefit plan is involved; a single owner of multiple nongroup life policies is capped at $5,000,000
- Does the state follow the standard NAIC model limits? testedYes — standard NAIC model limits, with tiered health
- Name of the P&C guaranty association testedIllinois Insurance Guaranty Fund
- Per-claim cap tested$500,000 per covered claim for orders of liquidation entered ON OR AFTER JANUARY 1, 2011. 215 ILCS 5/537.2 is TIERED BY LIQUIDATION DATE and the older rungs stay alive: $100,000 (Oct 1975), $150,000 (Oct 1977), $300,000 (Jan 1988), $500,000 (Jan 2011). Workers' compensation claims are exempt from the cap entirely. Separately, the Fund refunds unearned premium up to $50,000 per policy (raised from $10,000 by P.A. 103-113) less the first $100, and cybersecurity insurance carries its own $500,000 aggregate for all first- and third-party claims from a single insured event.
- Is using the guaranty association as a sales inducement prohibited? testedYes — using the existence of the guaranty association to sell, solicit, or induce a purchase is prohibited
- The P&C Fund’s net-worth exclusion testedAn insured whose net worth, consolidated with its affiliates, exceeds $25,000,000 has no covered claim. Note the size — Illinois sets the bar far higher than most states, which use single-digit millions. The exclusion does not strip third-party claims against an insured that has filed for bankruptcy or had an order of insolvency entered against it.
- Deadline to file against the P&C Fund testedThe EARLIER of the last date fixed for timely proofs of claim in the domiciliary liquidation, or 18 months after the entry of the order of liquidation.
- Lines the P&C Fund does NOT cover testedRead the wording — three of these are narrower than they look. Accident and health written under Class 2(a); mortgage or financial guaranty written as suretyship; fidelity or surety bonds OTHER THAN employee fidelity bonds, which ARE covered; marine OTHER THAN inland marine, so inland marine IS covered; warranties and service contracts; retrospective rating agreements; and coverage under the Federal Crop or National Flood Insurance Program, including NFIP Write Your Own flood.
- Owner of multiple nongroup life policies tested$5,000,000, 'regardless of the number of policies and contracts.' It sits in a different subsection from the $300,000 per-life aggregate and is easy to miss.
Workers Comp 8 facts
Who must carry workers' compensation and what it pays.
- Is workers' compensation mandatory for private employers? testedYes — mandatory, and it applies automatically and without election to essentially all employers with employees
- Employee count at which coverage is required testedOne or more employees — Illinois requires coverage from the first employee (workers' compensation applies automatically to the broad list of covered enterprises)
- Agency administering workers' compensation testedThe Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission (IWCC)
- Temporary total disability wage replacement rate tested66⅔% of the average weekly wage, subject to a statutory maximum tied to the state average weekly wage and a minimum that moves with the Illinois minimum wage. The IWCC resets the rate table every six months and publishes it by January 15 and July 15 — check the current bulletin rather than quoting a dollar figure.
- Deadline to file a claim testedNotify the employer as soon as practicable and no later than 45 DAYS after the accident. File the claim within 3 YEARS of the injury, or within 2 years of the last payment of temporary total disability or a medical bill, whichever is later.
- Ways an employer may comply (insure / self-insure / group) testedInsure with a private carrier or qualify as an approved self-insurer — about 90% of employers buy insurance. Illinois is COMPETITIVE, not monopolistic: 'w.c. insurance is sold in the private sector,' insurers have set their own rates since 1983, and Illinois has more companies writing workers' compensation than any other state. The residual market of last resort is administered by NCCI and costs roughly 50% more than the open market.
- Waiting period before wage benefits start testedTTD is not paid for the first three lost workdays — unless the employee misses 14 OR MORE CALENDAR DAYS because of the injury, in which case benefits are paid retroactively from day one.
- Burial benefit on a compensable death tested$8,000, paid to the widow or widower, other dependent, next of kin, or whoever incurred the burial expense. (It was $4,200 for deaths before February 1, 2006.)
Regulator 9 facts
Who regulates insurance here and what powers the office holds.
- Name of the state insurance regulator testedThe Illinois Department of Insurance (IDOI)
- Title of the person who heads it testedDirector of Insurance
- How the commissioner is chosen: elected / appointed by governor / appointed by other body testedAppointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate — not elected
- Where the state's insurance law is codified testedThe Illinois Insurance Code, 215 ILCS 5, with regulations in Title 50 of the Illinois Administrative Code
- Does the regulator sit somewhere unusual (e.g. inside a constitutional commission)? testedNo — a conventional code department under the Governor, headed by an appointed Director
- Are the claims-handling clocks calendar or business days? testedCALENDAR days, and the rule says so in its own Definitions section: “'Days', for the purpose of this Part, means calendar days.” That matters because other Illinois rules go the other way — replacement is 3 WORKING days, LTC replacement is 5 WORKING days, and CE banking is 10 BUSINESS days. Never generalise across Illinois rules.
- The first-party claim payment clock testedAffirm or deny liability 'within a reasonable time' — Illinois sets NO day count for that step — then offer payment within 30 DAYS after affirmation, where the amount is determined and not in dispute. A denial or a below-claim settlement needs a written explanation within 30 days, citing the policy provision relied on, with the Notice of Availability of the Department of Insurance attached.
- Is there a deadline to acknowledge a claim? testedNo acknowledgment deadline in days exists. Part 919 contains no acknowledgment clock anywhere, and 215 ILCS 5/154.6(b) sets only a standard — 'failing to acknowledge with reasonable promptness pertinent communications with respect to claims' — carrying no number. But know where the familiar figure comes from: 154.6(o) makes it an improper claims practice to fail 'to provide forms necessary to present claims within 15 working days of a request.' Fifteen working days IS Illinois law; it is a claim-forms deadline, not an acknowledgment deadline.
- How long a revoked applicant stays out tested3 years. A person whose license is revoked or whose application is denied under 500-70 is ineligible to apply for any license for three years.
Cancellation 10 facts
When and how policies can be canceled or nonrenewed — heavily tested.
- Initial window during which an insurer may cancel more freely tested60 days, and it applies to BOTH auto and homeowners — but through different sections with different grounds. After 60 days (or on any renewal) a homeowners policy may be cancelled on only THREE grounds, while an auto policy has a much longer enumerated list.
- Notice days to cancel a homeowners policy inside the initial window tested30 days' notice to cancel a homeowners policy, 10 days for nonpayment — and every cancellation notice 'shall include a specific explanation of the reason or reasons for cancellation.'
- Notice days to cancel a personal auto policy inside the initial window tested30 days' notice to cancel personal auto, 10 days for nonpayment, with the reasons stated. Auto, homeowners and other personal lines all share this notice rule.
- Notice days for cancellation for nonpayment tested10 days for nonpayment of premium (auto and property)
- Notice days for cancellation for other permitted causes tested30 days for permitted causes (auto and property)
- Notice days required for nonrenewal tested30 days' advance notice of nonrenewal, with 'a specific explanation of the reasons for nonrenewal,' under 215 ILCS 5/143.17 — which reaches 143.13(a), (b), (c) AND (h), so commercial excess and umbrella liability gets the 30 days too. 143.17a gives 60 days for everything else, and for a renewal carrying a premium increase of 30% or more or a material coverage change. THE EXCEPTION THAT CATCHES PEOPLE: under 143.21.1, a fire and extended coverage policy in force 5 YEARS OR MORE cannot be nonrenewed unless it was obtained by misrepresentation or fraud, the risk originally accepted has measurably increased, or the insured has had 60 DAYS' notice. So 60 days does reach a household — a long-standing one.
- Must the reason be stated proactively, on request, or not at all? testedYes — a specific reason must be stated for cancellation and nonrenewal (auto and property)
- Grounds to cancel a homeowners policy after 60 days testedExactly THREE: nonpayment of premium; the policy was obtained through misrepresentation or fraud; or any act that MEASURABLY INCREASES THE RISK originally accepted. That is the entire list.
- Which section applies to which policy testedEverything keys off 215 ILCS 5/143.13, the definitions section for 143.11 through 143.24, which runs (a) THROUGH (h). Auto is (a). Homeowners is (b), 'fire and extended coverage insurance... covering real property used principally for residential purposes' — capped at a 4-family dwelling. Other personal lines are (c), and (h) is commercial excess and umbrella liability. Get the classification wrong and you apply the wrong notice period.
- Delay letter deadlines on an auto claim tested40 days from notification of loss on a first-party auto COLLISION claim; 60 days on a third-party auto PROPERTY DAMAGE LIABILITY claim. Both letters must carry the Notice of Availability of the Department of Insurance.
Licensing 35 facts
How you get and keep the license — exams, fees, applications, background checks.
- Is there a standalone life license/exam? testedYes — a Life line with its own exam
- Is there a standalone health license/exam? testedYes — an Accident and Health or Sickness line with its own exam
- Is there a combined life+health license/exam? testedNo single combined Life & Health line or exam — Life and Accident & Health are separate lines of authority in Illinois. A candidate pursuing both qualifies each line separately.
- Is there a personal lines license/exam? testedYes — a Personal Lines line with its own exam
- Is P&C one combined license, or split into Property and Casualty? testedSeparate lines — Illinois licenses Property and Casualty as SEPARATE lines of authority, plus a Personal Lines line. There is no single combined P&C line or exam.
- Does the life license cover annuities? testedYes — annuities are sold under the Life line (Variable Life and Variable Annuity is a separate line that also requires FINRA registration)
- Does the P&C license already include personal lines authority? testedNo — Personal Lines is its own line of authority with its own 20 hours and its own two exams. Illinois publishes no exemption letting a Property and Casualty holder skip either.
- Full list of exam-based agent license types testedOne Illinois producer license listing any of: Life · Accident and Health or Sickness · Property · Casualty · Personal Lines · Variable Life and Variable Annuity · Motor Vehicle (limited) — plus separate Surplus Lines and Public Adjuster credentials
- Exam administrator (Prometric / PSI / Pearson VUE) testedPearson VUE — each line requires TWO exams (a General exam and a State exam), both passed within 90 days of each other
- Exam fee tested$92 per examination — but Illinois grants a $92 DISCOUNT when the two exams for a line are processed on the same order. So a line of authority costs $92 in total if you book both portions together, and $184 if you book them separately. The $92 includes the $50 Illinois administrative fee.
- License application fee tested$215 for a resident producer licence, per two-year term (prorated on initial issue to between 18 and 29 months); $380 nonresident. The fee is PER LICENCE, not per line of authority — one licence carries all the lines you qualify for. The $50 examination administrative fee is already inside the $92 exam fee, not billed separately.
- Passing score testedA SCALED score of 70 — not 70% correct. The handbook is explicit: scores 'range from 0 to 100, but should not be interpreted as the percentage or number of correct answers,' and a score below 70 'indicates how close the candidate came to passing, not the actual percentage or number of questions answered correctly.'
- Minimum age to be licensed tested18
- Is pre-licensing education required? testedYES — 20 hours per line of authority, with 7.5 of those hours in a classroom or webinar setting. IDOI's own consumer page still says 'classroom' only; the statute has permitted webinar since P.A. 102-135 (2021) and controls.
- Pre-licensing hours and any exceptions (e.g. Title, adjusters) tested20 hours per line (Life; Accident & Health; Fire/Property; Casualty; Personal Lines), of which 7.5 hours must be in a CLASSROOM OR WEBINAR setting. Motor Vehicle is 12.5 hours with 5 in classroom or webinar. Certificates are valid one year, and IDOI will not issue a licence until the education is on file.
- Fingerprints, state police report, or none testedNo fingerprints for resident producers. Screening runs through the application's background questions (IDOI Company Bulletin #2022-14) plus the ongoing duty to report felony convictions within 30 days. Fingerprints attach only to PUBLIC ADJUSTERS, who must be printed by an Illinois-approved live scan vendor before a license issues.
- Who takes the prints / issues the report testedNo vendor — there are no producer prints to take. The Department reviews the application's disclosures itself, filed through NIPR.
- Deadline to apply after passing the exam testedYou must WAIT 5 DAYS after finishing the exams before you can apply — a system lockout, not advice, and the clock runs from completion of ALL parts, meaning after the second exam. Then apply at nipr.com.
- How long a passed exam remains valid testedTwo different clocks. The General and State exams for a line must be passed WITHIN 90 DAYS OF EACH OTHER, and NIPR gives the passing score a 12-month validity. Separately, the pre-licensing certificate is valid one year from completion.
- Where you apply (Sircon / NIPR / state portal) testedNIPR only. IDOI stopped accepting paper applications and payments on July 1, 2023: 'all applications must be submitted through NIPR.' Do not route an Illinois producer application through Sircon.
- How many exams does one line of authority require? testedTWO. Illinois splits every producer line into a General examination and a State examination, scheduled separately and scored separately, and both must be passed within 90 days of each other. Only Public Adjuster and Motor Vehicle put the general and state material in a single sitting.
- Scored questions and time, per exam testedLife 50 scored / 85 min general and 31 scored / 50 min state. Accident & Health 50 / 80 and 39 / 55. Property 50 / 85 and 30 / 50. Casualty 50 / 80 and 37 / 55. Personal Lines 75 / 90 and 37 / 45. Most general exams carry 5 unscored pretest items.
- Languages the exam is offered in testedEnglish or Spanish (Castilian) — candidates choose at scheduling. Pearson VUE publishes the Illinois content outlines in both.
- Waiting period before a retake tested24 hours before booking a re-examination at a test center. Retake candidates are NOT required to present the pre-licensing certificate again. Illinois publishes no maximum number of attempts for the producer lines. (Public Adjuster is stricter: 7 days after a first failure, 30 days after a second.)
- Can the exam be taken online? testedNo — physical test centre only. Pearson VUE's Illinois page states candidates 'may reserve their appointment in a physical test center,' the handbook never mentions OnVUE, and walk-ins are not available. IDOI's own FAQ page still carries 2021 language announcing online proctored exams; that page is stale.
- Designations that waive the pre-licensing coursework testedLine-specific, and they waive the 20 HOURS ONLY — never the exam. Life: CEBS, ChFC, CIC, CFP, CLU, FLMI, LACP, LUTCF, RICP. Accident & Health: RHU, CEBS, REBC, HIA. Property and Casualty (one combined list): AAI, ARM, CIC, CRM, CPCU. A CLU is exempt for Life, not for Property. 50 Ill. Adm. Code 3119.45(a)(2) carries the same exemptions, adds a parallel route for a COLLEGE DEGREE IN INSURANCE, and applies them only to initial licensure.
- Prior licensure in another state testedWaives BOTH the coursework AND the examination — a different and broader relief than the designation list. You must be currently licensed there, or apply within 90 DAYS of cancellation, and the prior state must issue a Letter of Clearance certifying you were in good standing.
- Does Illinois require producer appointments? testedNO — not for ordinary insurance producers. Article XXXI has no appointment section at all; 500-85 imposes on the insurer a TERMINATION notice to the Director within 30 days, plus a copy to the producer within 15 days. Appointments do exist for the LIMITED LINES producer class, at $50 each renewed annually through NIPR, and for the TEMPORARY PRODUCER class, whose licence issues through the appointing company. What enforces the system instead is 500-80, which bars paying commission to anyone required to be licensed who is not.
- Temporary licence while your application is pending tested90 days, no examination, and ONCE PER LIFETIME. An applicant enrolled in a training course conducted by or for an appointing insurance company may be granted a temporary licence; the sponsoring company files it and pays the $50. If more than 50% of a company's temporary licensees fail to get a full licence in the period, the Director may refuse it further temporary licences.
- Temporary licence on death, disability or military service testedUp to 180 days, renewable for another 180. Available to a surviving spouse or court-appointed personal representative of a deceased or disabled producer, a member or employee of a licensed business entity on the death or disability of its designated individual, or the designee of a producer entering active military service.
- Deadline to report a felony conviction tested30 days after the entry date of the judgment, with a copy of the judgment, the probation or commitment order and any other relevant documents. Note what Illinois did NOT adopt: there is no parallel producer-side duty to report an administrative action in another jurisdiction — that appears only as a ground for discipline under 500-70(a)(9).
- Deadline to report an address change tested30 days after the change, by any means acceptable to the Director. A producer who moves to another state converts to a nonresident licence within 30 days at no charge — miss it and you file a fresh nonresident application at $380.
- When a producer needs a bond testedOnly when placing business with an insurer the producer has NO AGENCY CONTRACT with. The bond is $2,500 or 5% of the premiums brokered in the previous calendar year, whichever is greater, capped at $50,000 aggregate. It is NOT a universal new-producer requirement, though IDOI's own page reads as if it were.
- How a producer must hold premium money testedIn a FIDUCIARY capacity — money received for soliciting, negotiating or effecting insurance 'shall not be misappropriated, converted, or improperly withheld.' Illinois also maintains a premium fund trust account rule at 50 Ill. Adm. Code Part 3113.
- The Article XXXI repeal note testedA red herring, and worth knowing because the printed statutes still show it. Producer licensing sits under the Regulatory Sunset Act, which carried a January 1, 2027 repeal date — but Public Act 104-0730, effective July 31, 2026, moved it to JANUARY 1, 2037. Stale ILCS mirrors still print the 2027 note.