Montana Insurance Exam Guides
Pick the license you're studying for. Each guide covers Montana-specific requirements, fees, and official links — plus a free practice exam. Then scroll down to explore the Montana exam's state-law material, mapped.
Free study resource
What's actually tested on the Montana exam — the state regulations, mapped
Every Montana insurance exam reserves a block of questions for Montana-specific law — the fees, deadlines, limits, and rules that generic national study guides gloss over. This is that material: 161 facts from the TESTivity Montana 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 21 facts
The life insurance rules that differ by state — free look, grace, reinstatement.
- Incontestability period tested2 years from issue
- Grace period for individual life tested30 days
- Window to reinstate a lapsed policy testedWithin 3 years of default (2 years for industrial life), on evidence of insurability and payment of overdue premiums with interest
- Max interest chargeable on reinstatement, if capped testedOverdue premiums bear interest not exceeding 6% per year, compounded annually
- Suicide exclusion period tested2 years from date of issue. The 2-year ceiling is at 33-20-121(1)(b)(v); the money rule is one subsection down at 33-20-121(2), and it is a RESERVE, not a premium refund - a policy carrying any permitted exclusion must pay "an amount not less than a reserve" if death occurs within it. Section does not reach industrial life, group life, disability, reinsurance or annuities, nor disability-benefit or accidental-death rider provisions
- Free look for annuities tested15 days for an annuity where the disclosure document and Buyer's Guide were NOT provided at or before the time of application; it runs CONCURRENTLY with any other free look
- Free look for long-term care tested30 days for long-term care, from policy delivery
- Required nonforfeiture options testedCash surrender value, reduced paid-up insurance, and extended term insurance, under Montana's Standard Nonforfeiture Law
- Registrations required to sell variable products testedMontana's own requirement is the VARIABLE line of authority at MCA 33-17-214(2)(e). The securities registration that also gates variable sales is FEDERAL - no Montana statute or rule names FINRA, the SIE or any series number, and MCA 33-20-601 is a bare short title. MCA 33-20-602 gives the commissioner sole authority over variable contracts except as provided in the Montana Securities Act
- Does the state regulate viatical/life settlements? testedYes — Montana regulates viatical and life settlements under its Viatical Settlements Act; providers and brokers must be licensed
- Viator's rescission window testedThe LONGER of 30 days after the contract is executed BY ALL PARTIES, or 15 days after the viator receives the proceeds. The statute frames it as a mandatory contract provision the provider must include, not as a free-floating right
- Has the state adopted the NAIC best interest standard? testedYES — Montana adopted the NAIC 2020 best interest standard (MCA 33-20-801 et seq.), effective October 1, 2021, with a producer duty of care and a one-time 4-hour annuity training
- Free look on an ordinary individual life policy tested10 days from delivery, or longer if the policy provides - and the statute is NOT in the life chapter. MCA 33-15-415 sits in Chapter 15, The Insurance Contract, and a returned policy is "void from the beginning." Candidates who search Title 33 chapter 20 find nothing and wrongly answer that Montana mandates none
- Free look on a replacement policy or contract tested30 days from delivery, with an UNCONDITIONAL FULL REFUND of all premiums or considerations paid - three times the ordinary 10 days, from a rule rather than a statute, and it is the REPLACING INSURER's duty to give the notice. It reaches direct-response sales too, and it reaches annuities
- What the producer must do on a replacement testedNOTHING on a clock. ARM 6.6.305 imposes no day count at all on the producer - the duties are event-anchored: obtain a signed statement about existing policies, and "present and read to the applicant, NOT LATER THAN AT THE TIME OF TAKING THE APPLICATION," a signed replacement notice. Every numeric replacement clock in Montana belongs to an insurer
- The five-business-day replacement clocks and whose they are testedThe REPLACING insurer notifies any other affected existing insurer within 5 BUSINESS DAYS of receiving a completed application, and mails an illustration or policy summary within 5 business days of an existing insurer's request. The EXISTING insurer furnishes policy-value information within 5 business days of the owner's request. Records are kept 5 years
- Misstatement of age clause testedBenefits are adjusted to what the premium would have purchased at the correct age - and read the reach of Montana's clause, which extends past the insured: it covers a misstatement of the age of "any other person whose age is considered in determining the premium," not just the insured
- Maximum policy loan interest rate testedTwo eras and an election. For policies issued after 1 October 1985 the insurer ELECTS either a fixed maximum of not more than 8% a year or an ADJUSTABLE rate; the adjustable ceiling is the GREATER of the published monthly average or the policy's cash-value crediting rate plus 1%, adjusted at least annually and no more than quarterly, triggered at 0.5% movement. The older regime is 6%, or up to 8% (7.4% if paid annually in advance) for policies issued on or after 1 January 1980 with the commissioner's authorization
- Which section makes the standard life provisions compulsory testedMCA 33-20-103(1) - a life policy "may not be delivered or issued for delivery in this state unless it contains in substance all of the applicable provisions" of 33-20-104 through 33-20-108, 33-20-110 through 33-20-116, and 33-20-131. Subsection (2) takes ANNUITY CONTRACTS out of the regime entirely, saving only 33-20-114
- The funeral director bar on a life or disability licence testedAn applicant for a LIFE OR DISABILITY licence must not be a funeral director, undertaker or mortician, must not be an officer, employee or representative of one, and must not hold an interest in or benefit from such a business. Three limbs, drafted in the negative, at 33-17-211(1)(h)(i)-(iii). The narrow way in is the limited guaranteed-death-benefit funeral policy, face limit $25,000
- The annuity training gate and what triggers it testedA one-time course of at least 4 CE credits, and it attaches to CONDUCT, not to a line: the trigger is selling annuities, so a producer may hold a Life line indefinitely without it. Montana approves it through the ordinary CE approval process, but no Montana source states whether the 4 hours also satisfy part of the 24-hour CE minimum
Health 26 facts
Health coverage rules — continuation, prompt pay, mandates, public programs.
- Has the state expanded Medicaid under the ACA? testedYES — Montana expanded Medicaid through the HELP Act (effective January 1, 2016), and the 2025 Legislature removed the sunset, making expansion PERMANENT (HB 245, signed March 2025)
- Effective date of expansion, if expanded testedJanuary 1, 2016 (made permanent by HB 245 in 2025)
- Agency administering Medicaid testedThe Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS), branded Montana Healthcare Programs
- Federal marketplace or state-based exchange testedA FEDERALLY-FACILITATED marketplace (HealthCare.gov) — Montana does not run a state exchange
- Name of the state CHIP program testedHealthy Montana Kids (HMK), Montana's CHIP program
- Clean-claim payment deadline, electronic tested30 days to pay or deny after receipt of proof of loss (60 days if the insurer reasonably requests additional information) — Montana does not distinguish electronic from paper
- Clean-claim payment deadline, paper tested30 days — the same deadline applies to paper and electronic claims (no split)
- Does the state distinguish electronic vs paper claims? testedNo split — a single 30-day standard (60 days with an information request) for both paper and electronic claims
- Interest / penalty on late claim payment tested10% annual interest, and it is AUTOMATIC - the statute imposes it without the claimant asking, running from the date the claim was due, i.e. the 30-day or 60-day mark. It is waived where it would come to $5 or less
- Is the IRO's external review decision binding on the plan? testedYES — the independent review organization's external-review decision binds the issuer
- Employer size at which federal COBRA applies testedFederal COBRA applies at 20+ employees; Montana has no classic small-employer mini-COBRA, offering a conversion right instead
- Employer size range covered by state continuation testedNONE - Montana mandates no general state continuation at all, so there is no employer-size band to state. What it has instead: a 31-day guaranteed-issue CONVERSION right at 33-22-508, a consent-gated 1-year continuation after a work-schedule reduction at 33-22-507, and a disabled-dependent continuation at 33-22-506. Any answer of the form "Montana: N months" is wrong on its face
- Election period for state continuation tested31 days after termination, and the person must have been insured at least 3 months and be without other major medical coverage. The conversion issues WITHOUT EVIDENCE OF INSURABILITY
- Max premium as % of group rate tested200% of the group's customary rate; 150% only where the person "has been insured for MORE THAN 3 years" - exactly 3 years is still under the 200%; and 150% of the highest rate for an alternative basic plan
- Free look on an individual accident and health policy tested10 days - the SAME statute as life. MCA 33-15-415 reaches "each individual life or disability insurance policy," so Montana has no separate A&H free-look section. The carve-out is the testable part: EXCEPT a single-premium nonrenewable disability policy
- Grace period, tiered by premium mode testedGenuinely mode-tiered, unlike the life grace period: not less than 7 days for weekly premium policies, 10 for monthly premium policies, and 31 for all other policies. Contrast MCA 33-20-104's life grace period, which is 30 days with only an industrial carve-out
- Which sections are compulsory in an individual A&H policy testedMCA 33-22-202 is the incorporating section: the policy "must contain the provisions specified in 33-22-204 through 33-22-215, as those provisions appear" - twelve required provisions running from entire contract to change of beneficiary. Optional provisions come from a separate range, 33-22-221 through 33-22-230 and 33-22-232
- Medicare supplement free look tested30 days from delivery, and the notice must be prominently printed on the FIRST PAGE of the policy or certificate or attached to it. The refund is to be made in a timely manner
- Medicare supplement open enrollment tested6 months, beginning with the first day of the first month in which the individual is BOTH 65 or older AND enrolled for Medicare Part B - an application submitted before or during it cannot be denied, conditioned or priced on health status. With 6 months of continuous creditable coverage there is no preexisting-condition exclusion at all
- Is there a Medicare supplement birthday rule? testedNO. Montana grants no birthday rule and no annual or continuous open enrollment right to switch plans. What it has is the 6-month age-65 window and nine categories of guaranteed-issue "eligible persons," whose window generally ends 63 days after the effective date of the loss of coverage
- Long-term care free look tested30 days from the policy's delivery. And if the application is DENIED, any refund due must be made within 30 days of the denial or return of the application - a second 30-day clock in the same section, attached to a different event
- External review filing window and decision clock tested120 days from receipt of the adverse determination to file; the IRO decides within 45 days. Expedited review is 72 hours for the decision, with written confirmation within 48 hours after notice, and it is NOT available for retrospective determinations. Consumer materials often render the filing window as "4 months" - same rule, but 120 days is the statutory number
- The portfolio safe harbour on claim handling testedA second, different prompt-pay test lives one section over. MCA 33-18-233(1) lets the commissioner fine an insurer that as a GENERAL BUSINESS PRACTICE fails to process or pay claims properly - and (2) is a safe harbour measured on the book, not the claim: 90% of the total dollar amount outstanding paid within 20 WORKING DAYS and all of it within 30 working days, over the 6 months before the hearing
- Can a policyholder sue over a late claim payment? testedNot on the prompt-pay statute. MCA 33-18-232(3) says compliance or noncompliance "may not be the basis of a private cause of action" under 33-18-201 or 33-18-242, and evidence of it is inadmissible in such a proceeding
- Continuation for a disabled dependent child testedA mandate, but a narrow one: group hospital and medical policies must continue coverage for a child with an intellectual or physical disability past the limiting age while the child is incapable of self-sustaining employment and chiefly dependent on the employee for support. Proof within 31 days of the limiting age; after the first 2 years, no more often than annually
- Where the long-term care training requirement lives testedIn a STATUTE, not merely a rule - MCA 33-22-1128(3). The training may be approved as continuing education under Title 33 chapter 17 part 12, it may not be insurer-specific or sales training, and the insurer must verify and retain the records
Auto 17 facts
Auto insurance — minimum limits, fault system, required coverages.
- Fault-based (tort) or no-fault testedTORT (at-fault) — Montana is NOT a no-fault state; there is no mandatory PIP (medical payments coverage is optional). The at-fault driver's liability coverage pays the other party's damages.
- 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 testedMust be OFFERED, at the 61-6-103 limits (25/50), and may be REJECTED - and the rejection PERSISTS: "unless the named insured requests the coverage in writing, the coverage need not be provided in or supplemental to a renewal policy when the named insured had rejected the coverage"
- Underinsured motorist status testedNOT statutorily mandated. MCA 33-23-201 is a UM statute only - its "uninsured motor vehicle" turns on the vehicle being "not insured or bonded," not on inadequate limits - and no section in Chapter 23 Part 2 mandates a UIM offer. Montana regulates UIM stacking without requiring the coverage
- Personal injury protection status testedNot required — Montana is a tort state with no mandatory PIP (medical payments coverage is optional)
- Contributory / pure comparative / modified comparative negligence testedModified comparative negligence — a claimant recovers only if their negligence is NOT GREATER THAN the combined negligence of the parties they claim against, so a claimant exactly 50% at fault still recovers, but one 51% or more at fault recovers nothing; the award is reduced by the claimant's share
- The bar percentage, if modified comparative tested51% bar — a claimant whose fault is greater than the parties they claim against recovers nothing (a claimant exactly 50% at fault still recovers)
- Assigned risk / residual market plan for auto testedA commissioner-approved apportionment plan that ALL authorized auto liability insurers must subscribe to and participate in. The statute's own term is ASSIGNED RISK PLANS and it names no plan; the operating plan is administered under the name Montana Automobile Insurance Plan by AIPSO, which is the administrator's name and not a Montana statutory one
- Any alternative to buying liability insurance (e.g. VA's UMV fee) testedThree routes: a liability policy; a certificate of self-insurance, available only to a person in whose name MORE THAN 25 motor vehicles are registered; or a deposit with the STATE TREASURER of exactly $55,000 in cash or securities of that market value - the statute says $55,000 flat, not "at least" - and the deposit certificate is refused unless it comes with evidence of no unsatisfied judgments against the depositor in the county where the depositor resides
- When may an insurer refuse to stack limits? testedOnly on a condition most summaries drop. MCA 33-23-203(1)(c) permits an anti-stacking clause "IF the premiums charged for the coverage by the insurer actuarially reflect the limiting of coverage separately to the vehicles covered by the policy AND the premium rates have been filed with the commissioner." Subsection (3) adds a written-notice duty, and (4) says the section creates no coverage
- Grounds to cancel a motor vehicle liability policy after 60 days testedExactly TWO, on any "motor vehicle liability policy" - the statute never narrows itself to private passenger risks: nonpayment of premium; or the licence or registration of the named insured or another household or customary operator has been under suspension or revocation during the policy period - or, on a renewal, during its policy period or the 180 DAYS immediately preceding its effective date. Adding a physical-damage deductible of $100 or less is not a cancellation, and the section does not reach nonrenewal
- Auto nonrenewal notice and the reason on request tested45 days' advance notice, with a statement that the insured may request written reasons within 1 MONTH following the termination date, which the insurer answers within 15 days. Three exceptions to the advance notice, and for a term shorter than 6 months a nonrenewal notice is valid only on the two cancellation grounds
- How old a driving record may be, and the not-at-fault rule tested3 years or older is off-limits for a PRIVATE PASSENGER auto policy - and the statute reaches "claims history AND driving record," not the record alone, and only where the decision rests SOLELY on it. Commercial automobile gets 5 years. Separately, no points and no surcharge for a claim where the insured was not at fault
- How long proof of financial responsibility must be maintained tested3 years - proof may be waived or returned at any time after 3 years from the date it was required, provided no qualifying conviction or bail forfeiture was recorded in the preceding 3 years. It is not returned while a damages action is pending, a judgment is unsatisfied, or the depositor has been in a qualifying accident within 1 year. Montana's statutes do not use the term "SR-22"
CE & Renewal 9 facts
Continuing education and renewal rules — the numbers the exam loves.
- How long a license lasts before renewal testedNO Montana statute states a licence term. MCA 33-17-214(5) says only that "each license remains in effect unless it is suspended, revoked, or terminated or the license lapses." The biennial rhythm comes from CE, not from a term - a 24-month CE period and a biennial CE filing. CSI says the renewal date is printed in the upper right-hand corner of the licence
- What the renewal date keys off (flat term / birthday / birth year) testedNeither a birthday nor a birth year. Nothing in Title 33 sets the date; CSI says it is printed on the licence itself, and CE compliance is what keeps the licence alive
- CE hours per renewal period, standard case tested24 CE hours every 2 years, including 3 hours of ethics AND 1 hour of Montana law/regulation update
- CE hours if holding multiple license types (if different) tested24 total each period, per person, regardless of the number of lines held (limited-lines-only licensees need 5 hours)
- Ethics hours required per period tested3 hours of ethics each period (plus a separate 1-hour Montana law/regulation update)
- Limits on who may provide CE credits testedCourses and providers are approved by CSI itself - no third-party CE administrator sits in between. Course completions are reported to CSI BY THE PROVIDER, not by the producer, and CSI warns it can take up to 30 days
- Initial long-term care training requirement testedLong-term care: a one-time course of NOT LESS THAN 8 hours plus ongoing training of not less than 4 hours each 24-month period. Annuity is a one-time 4 credits; flood is a one-time 3 hours. All three attach to CONDUCT - the statutes read "producers selling" and "who sell," not to a line of authority
- What happens if CE is not completed (fine / expiry / cancellation) testedThe licence LAPSES - MCA 33-17-1205(2) is the only statutory lapse trigger Montana publishes: "If an individual fails to comply with this section, the individual's license lapses," and a lapsed licensee may not write business under anyone else's licence. NO reinstatement WINDOW is published in the statute, in ARM 6.6.42 or on CSI's site. MCA 33-2-708(1)(b)(ii) prints a $100 resident reinstatement fee; NIPR's Montana page shows $0
- Any CE exemption (e.g. long-service agents) testedOnly a temporary-licence holder under 33-17-216 and a case-by-case commissioner exemption. There is NO years-licensed and NO age-based exemption, and Montana publishes NO carry-forward of surplus hours anywhere - what it offers instead is a good-cause EXTENSION of up to 1 year
Property 16 facts
Property insurance — rate regulation, residual markets, catastrophe exposure.
- Rate regulation system (file-and-use / prior approval / use-and-file) testedFILE-AND-USE — insurers file rates and may use them, subject to the Commissioner's authority over rates that are excessive, inadequate, or unfairly discriminatory (workers' comp uses prior approval below NCCI loss costs)
- Is insurance credit scoring permitted in personal lines? testedPERMITTED but heavily RESTRICTED — an insurer may not deny, cancel, or nonrenew personal insurance based on credit alone, and may not use income, gender, ZIP code, or ethnicity in a credit model (MCA 33-18-601 to 33-18-612)
- Does the state have a FAIR Plan? testedNO - and the absence has a history. Title 33 chapter 8 is captioned INSURANCE ASSISTANCE PLANS (Terminated) and both of its parts are terminated; ARM subchapter 6.6.23 still bears the name Montana Insurance Assistance Plan but all nine of its rules are repealed. Hard-to-place property, wildfire risk included, goes to surplus lines. The one Montana market that CAN compel issuance is the workers' compensation State Fund
- Dominant catastrophe perils in the state testedWildfire is the dominant peril, with hail, severe winter storms and windstorm as secondary exposures. Hard-to-place wildfire risk has nowhere in-state to go, because Montana operates no FAIR plan
- What license you must already hold to write surplus lines testedA surplus lines license, which requires first holding a Property & Casualty producer license
- Is a diligent-effort search of the admitted market required first? testedYes - a diligent effort to place the business with a MINIMUM OF THREE insurers authorized AND ACTUALLY TRANSACTING that line, or fewer if fewer exist. Two escapes: the search is excused where an authorized insurer's rate is AT LEAST 10% HIGHER than the unauthorized quote, on disclosure; and it is excused for an exempt commercial purchaser who asks in writing after being told authorized coverage may afford greater protection with more regulatory oversight. Appearance on the current APPROVED RISK LIST also satisfies it - Montana's own term, not the "export list" other states use
- Does the state have a valued policy law? testedYES, and it is one of Montana's strongest divergences. On a TOTAL LOSS of insured improvements to real property, without criminal fault by the insured, "the amount of insurance written in the policy must be taken conclusively to be the true value of the property insured and the true amount of loss and measure of damages." Payment of premium is prima facie evidence of ownership; the insurer may still defend on fraud in procurement
- Scheduled personal property with stated valuations testedWhere an insurer places specific valuations on particular listed items and prices the premium on them, a total loss pays AT THE STATED VALUATION with no deductions or offsets except the selected deductible. Motor vehicle policies are excluded from the section by its own terms
- Does the state prescribe a standard fire policy? testedNO. Montana prescribes no standard fire policy form and mandates no appraisal clause - neither Chapter 24 Part 1 nor the policy-provisions and claims parts of Chapter 15 contains one. What Montana regulates instead is the MEASURE of recovery, through the valued policy law
- General property and casualty midterm cancellation tested10 days for EVERY ground, nonpayment included - Montana does not run the national 10-day/30-day split. And the grounds are limited after 60 days to three exceptions at 33-15-1103(1)(a)-(c), the third of which carries a six-item sub-list of policy-stated grounds
- Renewal premium notice window testedNot more than 60 days and not less than 30 days before the due date, and the notice must explain the consequences of nonpayment. Separate from the 45-day nonrenewal notice, which goes to the insured AND the producer
- Is an inquiry a claim? testedNo, and Montana says so three ways: an inquiry may not be used as a ground for nonrenewal, may not raise the premium, and may not be reported to third parties. Separately, a nonrenewal may not rest on a SINGLE loss unless that criterion was disclosed in writing at application or before renewal
- Does one cancellation regime cover personal and commercial? testedYES. MCA 33-15-1101(2) applies the part to the forms of insurance defined in 33-1-206 and 33-1-210 "except to the extent they conflict with chapter 23 of this title," and 33-15-1102 defines nine terms without defining "personal insurance." So the split is not personal against commercial - it is one general regime with chapter 23 carving out the owner-occupied home and the motor vehicle policy
- How old loss experience may be before it is off-limits tested7 years or older for a personal HOMEOWNERS policy - an insurer may not refuse, refuse to continue, charge higher rates or limit coverage based SOLELY on adverse information in loss experience that old. Note the operator: 7 years old OR OLDER, so a 7-year-old loss is already out
- Surplus lines premium tax and stamping fee tested2.75% of net premiums, dropping to 0.75% for legal professional liability. Note the imposing section: MCA 33-2-311(1) puts the collection duty on the SURPLUS LINES PRODUCER and borrows the rate from 33-2-705, which is the admitted market's tax. The 1% STAMPING FEE at 33-2-321(1) is a dormant ceiling - the commissioner "may" collect "not to exceed 1%" and does not; what CSI actually charges alongside the tax is a 0.175% SLIP+ transaction fee, quarterly, plus a 2.50% fire tax on the fire portion of the premium
- Rate regulation system testedFile-and-use, subject to the commissioner's authority over rates that are excessive, inadequate or unfairly discriminatory
Guaranty 14 facts
The safety nets when an insurer fails — and their limits.
- Name of the life & health guaranty association testedThe Montana Life and Health Insurance Guaranty Association
- Life death benefit limit tested$300,000
- Life cash surrender / withdrawal value limit tested$100,000 life cash surrender value
- Annuity benefit limit tested$250,000 present value of annuity benefits
- Health benefit limit tested$500,000 for HEALTH INSURANCE COVERAGE; $300,000 for disability income; $300,000 for long-term care; $100,000 for all other health coverages including cash surrender and withdrawal values. Montana's noun is "health insurance coverage" where the NAIC model says "health benefit plans," and Montana's ordering of the four is not the model's
- Aggregate per-individual cap, if any tested$300,000 aggregate with respect to any ONE LIFE - except that for health insurance coverage the aggregate may not exceed $500,000 with respect to any one INDIVIDUAL. The lead-in operator is "In no event is the association obligated to cover more than"
- Does the state follow the standard NAIC model limits? testedThe dollar figures match NAIC Model 520, but the numbering and the vocabulary do not - Montana orders health, disability, LTC, other where the model runs other, disability/LTC, health benefit plans. Cite Montana's own subsection path, never the model's
- Name of the P&C guaranty association testedThe Montana Insurance Guaranty Association
- Per-claim cap testedAn amount NOT EXCEEDING $300,000 per covered claim - a ceiling, not a "less than" band. Unearned premium is capped at $10,000 FOR EACH POLICY. Workers' compensation and excess workers' compensation claims are paid in FULL, uncapped. The association is never liable beyond the insolvent insurer's own obligation under the policy
- Is using the guaranty association as a sales inducement prohibited? testedOn the LIFE AND HEALTH side only. MCA 33-10-210(1) makes it "a prohibited unfair trade practice for any person to make use in any manner of the protection afforded by this part in the sale of insurance," and (3)(c) puts the same words in the required disclosure. The P&C guaranty act at 33-10-101 through 33-10-117 carries NO counterpart - and 33-10-210 is expressly limited to "this part"
- What makes a claim a covered claim on the P&C side testedAn unpaid claim within the policy's coverage and NOT IN EXCESS of its applicable limits, where the insurer becomes insolvent AFTER JULY 1, 1971, and either the claimant or insured is a Montana resident at the time of the insured event OR the property is permanently located here. Read the modifier carefully: the 1971 date attaches to the INSOLVENCY, not to when the policy was issued
- Is there a high-net-worth insured exclusion? testedNO - and that is a divergence from the NAIC property and casualty guaranty model, which carries one. Neither the scope section 33-10-101 nor the covered-claim definition at 33-10-102(2) carries a net-worth exclusion, and 33-10-105 carries none. What 33-10-102(2)(b) does exclude is punitive and exemplary damages, retrospective-rating premium returns, and reinsurance or subrogation recoveries
- The operator on the life and health caps tested"The benefits for which the association may become liable MAY NOT EXCEED THE LESSER OF" the insurer's contractual obligation or the listed cap - so the association never pays more than the policy promised, whatever the cap says. The life death benefit is $300,000 and the life net cash surrender and withdrawal cap is stated as "not more than $100,000"
- Which kinds of insurance the P&C association does NOT cover testedThe part applies to "all kinds of direct insurance, EXCEPT life, title, surety, disability, credit, mortgage guaranty, and ocean marine insurance" - seven excluded kinds, counted in the source. Disability sits on the life and health association's side instead
Workers Comp 11 facts
Who must carry workers' compensation and what it pays.
- Is workers' compensation mandatory for private employers? testedYes — workers' compensation is mandatory for employers with any non-exempt employee
- Employee count at which coverage is required testedCoverage is required from the first non-exempt employee — Montana has no numeric threshold (sole proprietors, working partners/LLC members, and casual/domestic labor are exempt)
- Agency administering workers' compensation testedThe Montana Department of Labor and Industry, Employment Relations Division (ERD)
- Temporary total disability wage replacement rate tested66 2/3% of the wages received at the time of injury, and the maximum "may not exceed the state's average weekly wage at the time of injury." The determination must be supported by a preponderance of OBJECTIVE MEDICAL FINDINGS. Note 39-71-701 contains no waiting period - that lives in a different section
- Maximum TTD duration testedPayable for the duration of the temporary disability, until the worker reaches maximum medical healing (no fixed weeks cap)
- Deadline to file a claim testedTwo clocks in two sections, and they are routinely swapped. NOTICE of an injury other than death: within 30 days, MCA 39-71-603(1) - excused by the employer's actual knowledge, and it does not apply to occupational disease at all. CLAIM: within 12 months, MCA 39-71-601(1), which THE INSURER may waive up to an additional 24 months on a showing of lack of knowledge of disability, latent injury or equitable estoppel; occupational disease is 1 year from knowledge under 39-71-601(3)
- Ways an employer may comply (insure / self-insure / group) testedThree plans, and Montana calls them by number and organises them as three separate PARTS of chapter 71 - Part 21 Plan No. One (self-insurance), Part 22 Plan No. Two (a private insurer), Part 23 Plan No. Three (the Montana State Fund, statutorily the State Compensation Insurance Fund). MCA 39-71-2313 sits inside Part 23 and creates the State Fund only; it does not enumerate the other two. Its duty: the fund "is required to insure any employer in this state who requests coverage, and it may not refuse" - unless the employer or its principals have defaulted on a state fund obligation and the default remains unsatisfied
- Workers' compensation waiting period tested"The first 32 HOURS OR 4 DAYS of loss of wages, WHICHEVER IS LESS" - an hours-or-days formulation few states use, with eligibility beginning on day five. Medical and hospital services have NO waiting period and run from the date of injury. Where total disability lasts 21 DAYS OR LONGER, compensation is paid retroactively to the first day of total wage loss unless the worker waives it
- Permanent partial disability rate and duration tested66 2/3% of wages, the same fraction as TTD - but the maximum is DIFFERENT: PPD "may not exceed ONE-HALF the state's average weekly wage," against TTD's full state average weekly wage. The award is the 39-71-703(5) percentage multiplied by 400 WEEKS, and the impairment threshold is not a class but a number: 39-71-703(1)(b)(iii) requires a rating that "is more than zero," established by objective medical findings and not based exclusively on complaints of pain. Actual wage loss is required for the PPD award - but 39-71-703(2) gives a worker with a Class 2 or greater whole-person impairment and NO actual wage loss an impairment award instead
- How many exemptions from mandatory coverage testedThe Act "applies to all employers and to all employees" except for the list at 39-71-401(2), which runs from (a) to (z) - TWENTY-SIX enumerated exemptions, from household and casual labour through cosmetologists, jockeys, ministers, petroleum land professionals and contract musicians. Amended in the 2025 session
- Medical fee schedule and payment clock testedThe department sets a schedule ANNUALLY, and may not set a rate more than 10% above the average of the conversion factors used by up to the top five group health insurers or TPAs in the state. Insurers pay at the schedule rate within 30 days of receiving bills on an accepted claim; unpaid balances accrue 12% annual interest
Regulator 14 facts
Who regulates insurance here and what powers the office holds.
- Name of the state insurance regulator testedThe Montana Commissioner of Securities and Insurance (CSI), within the Office of the Montana State Auditor
- Title of the person who heads it testedCommissioner of Securities and Insurance, a role the elected State Auditor holds ex officio. Note MCA 33-1-301 puts the insurance department "under the control and supervision of the commissioner" but never says WHO that is - the identity is in Title 2, not Title 33
- How the commissioner is chosen: elected / appointed by governor / appointed by other body testedELECTED, but not as an insurance commissioner. Mont. Const. Art. VI, Sec. 1(1) lists six executive officers including the AUDITOR, and Sec. 1(2) gives each a four-year term; MCA 2-15-1903 then supplies the whole link in one sentence: "the state auditor shall be ex officio the commissioner of insurance of this state"
- Where the state's insurance law is codified testedTitle 33 of the Montana Code Annotated (Insurance and Insurance Companies), with producer licensing in Chapter 17 and rules in the Administrative Rules of Montana (ARM Title 6)
- Does the regulator sit somewhere unusual (e.g. inside a constitutional commission)? testedYes - one elected officer wears three hats: State Auditor, Commissioner of Insurance and Commissioner of Securities. Montana has no standalone appointed insurance commissioner and no separately named Department of Insurance, which is why the exam vendor's own handbook uses a title the state does not
- Maximum civil penalty, by actor testedFour ceilings in three sections, and merging them gives the wrong answer for the actor the exam is testing. An INSURANCE PRODUCER OR ADJUSTER: not more than $5,000 PER VIOLATION. Any other person, insurers included: $25,000. In the injunction and cease-and-desist track: $5,000 per violation. Violating a cease-and-desist order under 33-18-1004: $1,000 per day, each day a separate violation, capped at a $10,000 aggregate
- Single act or general business practice? testedOne test, and it needs the frequency element. MCA 33-18-201 opens "A person may not, WITH SUCH FREQUENCY AS TO INDICATE A GENERAL BUSINESS PRACTICE, do any of the following" - the qualifier sits once in the flush lead-in and governs all fifteen paragraphs. But the actor is "a person," so the section reaches a PRODUCER, not only an insurer
- Can an insured sue for bad faith? testedNot at common law - Montana ABOLISHED the tort by statute. MCA 33-18-242 says an insured "may not bring an action for bad faith in connection with the handling of an insurance claim," and replaces it with a statutory action available on only SIX of the fifteen unfair-practice paragraphs - (1), (4), (5), (6), (9) and (13) - which DROPS the general-business-practice element. Complete defence: a reasonable basis in law or in fact. Limitations: 2 years for an insured, 1 year for a third-party claimant
- Must a producer hold premiums in trust? testedYes - "all insurance premiums or return premiums received by an insurance producer must be held in a separate trust account," and the producer acts in a FIDUCIARY capacity. Commingling is permitted EXCEPT for title insurance producers, provided each person's share is reasonably ascertainable from the records
- Who files the appointment, and by when? testedTHE INSURER, not the producer - "the insurer shall, not later than 15 days from the date on which the agency contract is executed," file written notice with the commissioner. An appointment is PERPETUAL until cancelled by the insurer. Late filing does not backdate: where notice is filed late the appointment is effective only when the insurer files it
- Montana's twisting definition testedWatch the verb list. The prohibited purpose is inducing a policyholder to "lapse, forfeit, surrender, RETAIN, exchange, or convert" a policy - so in Montana, inducing someone to KEEP a policy by an incomplete comparison is twisting, which is not the reading candidates usually arrive with
- How long a producer keeps transaction records testedAt least 3 YEARS after completion of the transaction, at the place of business - against the 5 years imposed on INSURERS for replacement records. Different actors, different clocks. A resident producer must also maintain a Montana place of business accessible to the public, display the licence, and give the licence number on request
- How many grounds to deny, suspend or revoke a licence testedFOURTEEN, lettered (a) through (n) at MCA 33-17-1001(1) - and the commissioner may suspend, revoke, refuse to renew, refuse to issue, levy civil penalties under 33-1-317, or combine them. A business entity's licence falls if a ground reaches an individual designated in it, and the commissioner keeps authority even after a licence is surrendered or has lapsed
- Do unqualified "days" mean calendar or business days? testedCalendar - but by DRAFTING CONTRAST, not by definition. No Montana insurance rule examined defines "day": ARM 6.6.303 defines eleven terms and ARM 6.6.504 thirteen, and "day" is in neither. Yet the same instruments write "five BUSINESS days" at ARM 6.6.306(1)(b) and "working days" at MCA 33-18-233(2) when they mean them. Teach it as an inference; there is no defined term to cite
Cancellation 8 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 works by lifting the GROUNDS restriction rather than the notice period: 33-15-1103(3) says subsections (1) and (2) do not apply to a policy in effect less than 60 days, and cancellation is still not effective until 10 days after notice. On the auto side 33-23-211(2) does the same, except for a renewal policy
- Notice days to cancel a homeowners policy the insured occupies tested45 days' written notice INCLUDING a statement of the specific reason - and the scope word is DOMICILE: 33-23-401 reaches "any home occupied by the insured as a domicile." A seasonal, rental or unoccupied dwelling is not covered by it and falls back to the general 10 days
- Notice days to cancel a personal auto policy tested45 days, except nonpayment, which requires only at least 10 days' notice accompanied by the reason. Where the notice omits the reason it must tell the insured they may request it in writing at least 21 days before the effective date
- Notice days for cancellation for nonpayment testedThree different numbers by risk: auto 10 days; owner-occupied home NOT LESS THAN 20 days; every other property and casualty risk 10 days. Montana does not run one nonpayment clock
- Notice days for cancellation for other permitted causes tested45 days for an owner-occupied home (with the specific reason stated) and 45 days for auto - but only 10 days for general property and casualty, where 33-15-1103(2) applies one clock to EVERY ground including nonpayment
- Notice days required for nonrenewal tested45 days for general property and casualty, to the insured AND the producer - and separately 45 days with the specific reason for an owner-occupied home, and 45 days for auto with the reason available on request within 1 month of termination, answered in 15 days
- Must the reason be stated proactively, on request, or not at all? testedProactively for an owner-occupied home - 33-23-401 requires the notice to include "a statement of the specific reason or reasons." For auto it is on request. And a nonrenewal may not rest on a SINGLE loss unless that criterion was disclosed in writing at application or before renewal
- Restrictions on nonrenewing because of claims (e.g. weather claims excluded) testedPersonal homeowners: no decision based SOLELY on adverse loss experience 7 years old or older. Private passenger auto: no decision based solely on claims history and driving record 3 years old or older, and no points or surcharge for a claim where the insured was NOT AT FAULT. Commercial auto gets 5 years, not 3
Licensing 25 facts
How you get and keep the license — exams, fees, applications, background checks.
- Is there a standalone life license/exam? testedYes — a standalone Life exam and line of authority (Life includes annuities and endowments)
- Is there a standalone health license/exam? testedYes — a standalone Accident & Health (disability) exam and line of authority
- Is there a combined life+health license/exam? testedNO - and the same is true of P&C. Life and Disability are separate two-part examinations with no combined producer paper. The Life and Disability CONSULTANT exam that appears in the vendor's table is a consultant licence under MCA 33-17-505, not a combined producer route
- Is there a personal lines license/exam? testedA LINE but apparently no EXAM. MCA 33-17-214(2)(f) offers a personal lines line of authority, but the nine examination classifications at MCA 33-17-212(5) do not include it and Pearson VUE's Montana exam table has no personal lines row. No CSI page, statute or rule states how an applicant obtains the line - it is an open question
- Is P&C one combined license, or split into Property and Casualty? testedSPLIT, and there is no combined paper at all - Property and Casualty are separate two-part examinations. The handbook's AVAILABLE EXAMINATIONS table has no combined Property & Casualty producer row; the Property and Casualty CONSULTANT exam in that table is a different licence class under MCA 33-17-505
- Does the life license cover annuities? testedYes - FIXED annuities and endowments are sold under the Life line. VARIABLE life and variable annuities need the separate Variable line at MCA 33-17-214(2)(e); the securities registration that also gates them is FEDERAL, and no Montana statute or rule names FINRA, the SIE or any series number.
- Does the P&C license already include personal lines authority? testedUNRESOLVED, and Montana publishes no answer. Holding Property and Casualty plainly lets you write noncommercial risks, but whether that confers the separate PERSONAL LINES line of authority at MCA 33-17-214(2)(f) is stated nowhere - and the nine examination classifications at 33-17-212(5) omit personal lines entirely. Do not infer the pathway
- Full list of exam-based agent license types testedOne Montana producer license listing any of: Life · Accident and Health or Sickness (Disability) · Property · Casualty · Personal Lines · Variable — plus limited lines (Credit, Surety, Title, Pre-Paid Legal)
- Exam administrator (Prometric / PSI / Pearson VUE) testedPearson VUE administers Montana producer exams (in-person or online via OnVUE); each major line is examined separately
- Exam fee tested$65 per examination, paid to Pearson VUE at reservation by card or voucher. Fees are not accepted at the test center, and they are non-refundable and non-transferable
- License application fee tested$0. MCA 33-2-708(1)(b)(ii) contains exactly one resident-producer line in the entire fee schedule - a $100 lapsed-licence reinstatement fee - and prints no original and no biennial renewal amount, while printing both for nonresident producers, surplus lines producers, adjusters, consultants, viatical brokers and navigators
- Fee per insurer appointment tested$0 - the handbook's LICENSE FEES section prints "Appointment of producer, each insurer ... no fee" for resident and nonresident alike, and MCA 33-2-708 imposes no appointment fee
- Passing score tested75, and it is a SCALED score - the handbook says the number reported "is neither the number of questions you answered correctly nor the percentage of questions you answered correctly." Whether each of the two parts carries its own independent pass standard is NOT stated in the handbook. CSI's own steps page calls it "75% or better," which the vendor document contradicts
- Minimum age to be licensed tested18
- Is pre-licensing education required? testedNO - and this is an affirmative finding, not an absence. MCA 33-17-212 imposes only an examination, and the statute's single use of "prelicensing education" sits inside a NONRESIDENT exemption at (7)(a). MCA 33-17-211's qualification list contains no education element, and CSI's four-step resident sequence has no education step
- Pre-licensing hours and any exceptions (e.g. Title, adjusters) testedNone — no pre-licensing course is required. Candidates study the Pearson VUE content outlines and sit the exam directly.
- Fingerprints, state police report, or none testedFingerprints, but the statute is PERMISSIVE: MCA 33-17-220(2) says the commissioner "may require" a full set of fingerprints and then "shall submit the fingerprints to the Montana department of justice." CSI exercises it - no resident licence issues without a completed background check
- Who takes the prints / issues the report testedThe Montana Department of Justice, Criminal Records Division - a state agency, not a private vendor. A PAPER fingerprint card and a $30 fee go directly to Criminal Records, not to CSI, and not to the exam vendor. Pearson VUE does NOT capture fingerprints at Montana test centers
- Deadline to apply after passing the exam testedA passed exam is valid for 1 year; apply for the license within that window
- How long a passed exam remains valid testedA passed exam remains valid for 1 year from the exam date
- Waiting period before retaking a failed exam tested24 hours before you may even BOOK the retake - "reservations for reexamination cannot be made at the test center, and candidates must wait 24 hours before making one." A retake is the whole examination again, Parts 1 and 2; nothing carries over
- Notice required to reschedule/cancel without forfeiting the fee tested48 hours to change or cancel without forfeiting the fee; 24 hours minimum to BOOK in the first place. Walk-ins are not accepted. Miss the 48-hour window and the fee is forfeited outright
- Where you apply (Sircon / NIPR / state portal) testedNIPR (nipr.com); post-license services run through the NAIC State Based Systems (SBS)
- Are temporary licenses available? testedYes, and on FIVE grounds, not three: death of a licensed producer; disability by injury or illness; death or disability of the individual designated in a partnership or corporate licence; a producer entering active service in the U.S. armed forces; and any other circumstance the commissioner finds serves the public interest. Qualified only as to age, residence and trustworthiness
- Temporary license duration and training requirement testedUp to 90 days, extendable at the commissioner's discretion for up to 90 more, no exam, no fee. One exception runs longer: a temporary licence issued to an executor or administrator on a producer's death may continue until the insurance business is disposed of, NOT TO EXCEED 15 MONTHS