TESTivity

Virginia Life & Health Study Guide

Failed the Virginia Life & Health exam? There's a good chance it wasn't you.

The most common complaint from people who don't pass isn't the test — it's the study material. And the part they point to most? The state regulations: a few generic, watered-down national pages that looked nothing like the real Virginia exam. TESTivity is built the other way around. Below is a real chapter from the Virginia Life & Health manual — written for Virginia specifically, not national prep with a state name slapped on the cover. Read it and see the difference for yourself.

Virginia · Life & Health Sample chapter

Chapter 9 Virginia Insurance Regulations

Virginia does a few things its own way, and the exam knows it. Before the life-and-health provisions, you have to know who runs insurance in Virginia — because it isn’t the setup you’ll see in most states — and you have to get comfortable with Virginia’s vocabulary. Nail those and the rest drops into familiar NAIC patterns.

Who regulates — the SCC, not a typical DOI

Most states run insurance through a Department of Insurance under a governor-appointed (or elected) commissioner. Virginia runs it through the Bureau of Insurance, which sits inside the State Corporation Commission (SCC) — a constitutional body whose three commissioners are elected by the General Assembly, not the governor or the voters. The Commissioner of Insurance is then appointed by the SCC. Virginia’s insurance laws live in Title 38.2 of the Code of Virginia.

Licensing — and Virginia’s vocabulary

Pre-licensing is 20 hours per major line. Renewal is every 2 years, but here’s the Virginia wrinkle: CE is only 16 hours with 2 of ethics — lower than the 24-hour/3-hour standard most states use. And Virginia calls its health line Accident and Sickness (A&S), not the “Accident and Health” you’ll see elsewhere.

Variable products still require the Virginia Life license plus FINRA Series 6/7 and Series 63 — and in Virginia even securities run through the SCC’s Division of Securities. The guaranty association (VLASIGA) follows standard NAIC limits: $300K life death benefit, $100K cash value, $250K annuity, $500K A&S.

The life provisions — familiar bones, Virginia free look

Standard NAIC across the board: 2-year incontestability (Va. Code § 38.2-3221), 30-day grace, 3-year reinstatement, the C-R-E nonforfeiture options, and a 2-year suicide exclusion. Where Virginia gets tested is the free look — 10 days on a new policy, 30 days on a replacement.

And viatical settlements: a Virginia viator can rescind within 15 days of signing or 15 days after the proceeds arrive — whichever is later.

Health — where Virginia’s specifics surface

A handful of Virginia-only health facts the exam reaches for:

  • The A&S license (20-hour pre-licensing; 8-hour LTC training before you can sell long-term care).
  • ASD coverage is mandated only up to age 10 — one of the lower caps in the country.
  • Virginia’s CHIP program is FAMIS (Family Access to Medical Insurance Security).
  • Virginia adopted Medicaid expansion in January 2019 — a tested date.

Key terms so far

SCC / Bureau of Insurance
Virginia’s regulator; SCC commissioners are elected by the General Assembly.
Accident and Sickness (A&S)
Virginia’s name for the health insurance license line — not “A&H.”
FAMIS
Virginia’s CHIP program (Family Access to Medical Insurance Security).

Prompt-pay and continuation — two more Virginia numbers

Virginia’s prompt-pay rule is unusual: clean claims paid within 40 days for both paper and electronic (most states split 30/45), with floating interest at the prime rate plus 1%. And state continuation for small employers (2–19 employees) runs 12 months, with a slightly-longer 31-day