West Virginia Life & Health Licensing at a Glance
West Virginia treats Life and Accident & Health (officially "Accident and Health or Sickness") as two distinct lines of authority. Most people who want to sell both sit for both exams and hold both licenses, but there is no combined L&H exam the way some states offer.
Each exam has a general-knowledge portion (product knowledge, terms, and concepts) and a West Virginia state-law portion, mixed together into one test. You need a scaled score of 70 to pass, and you have two hours per exam.
The good news: the two exams share a large block of common state law - the Insurance Commissioner's powers, licensing rules, and unfair trade practices show up on both. Study that once and it pays off twice.
Two Separate Exams: Life and Accident & Health
Life (exam code InsWV-Life01): 90 scored questions plus a handful of unscored pretest questions, 2 hours. The general portion covers types of policies, provisions and riders, completing the application and underwriting, and retirement and other concepts. The state portion covers WV law common to life and health plus WV law specific to life.
Accident & Health or Sickness (exam code InsWV-AcSi02): 90 scored questions plus pretest questions, 2 hours. The general portion covers disability income, medical expense plans, social insurance (Medicare/Medicaid), and field underwriting. The state portion covers the shared WV law block plus WV law specific to accident and sickness.
Both are computer-based at Pearson VUE, both require a 70 scaled score, and you walk out with your official score report in hand.
Pre-Licensing Education: 20 Hours Per Line
West Virginia requires 20 hours of approved pre-licensing education per line of authority - so 40 hours total if you're pursuing both Life and Accident & Health.
You complete the course through a state-approved provider, pass a proctored certification exam at 70% or better, and receive a Certificate of Course Completion. That certificate is valid for six months, and you must take your state exam within that window.
Bring a paper copy of the certificate (or the PL 789E) to the test center. Electronic versions are not accepted, and showing up without the paper copy means being turned away and forfeiting your exam fee.
TESTivity recommends [Achievable](https://app.achievable.me/study/insurance-life-health/purchase#a_aid=getthelicense) to satisfy your West Virginia pre-licensing requirement. Achievable is an approved provider, its insurance courses were built by the same subject-matter expert behind TESTivity, and completing the Achievable course earns you the certificate of completion West Virginia requires.
One important distinction: TESTivity is not an approved pre-licensing provider in West Virginia and does not issue certificates of completion. The TESTivity learning tools and study packages will absolutely help you pass the exam — but treat them as a supplement to your Achievable course, not a substitute for it.
Disclosure: TESTivity has a partnership with Achievable and may earn a commission if you enroll through links on this page.
Life and Health Exam Content
On the Life exam, expect heavy coverage of policy types (whole life, universal, variable, term, annuities), riders and provisions (waiver of premium, beneficiary designations, nonforfeiture, settlement options), and underwriting concepts like insurable interest and risk classification.
On the Accident & Health exam, expect disability income, medical expense plans (HMO, PPO, POS, HDHP/HSA), Medicare and Medicaid, long-term care, and field underwriting procedures including HIPAA privacy and the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
Both exams reward applying concepts to scenarios rather than memorizing definitions. The state's own handbook warns that candidates who only memorize catch phrases struggle - so practice with situational questions.
West Virginia Life & Health Law You Must Know
Shared block (both exams): the Insurance Commissioner's broad powers and penalties, licensing and appointment rules, definitions (domestic/foreign/alien insurers, stock vs. mutual), unfair trade practices (rebating, coercion, misrepresentation, defamation, advertising), the Mass Marketed Life and Sickness rules, and the WV Life and Health Guaranty Association.
Life-specific: replacement rules and the duties of producers and companies (Rule 114-8), policy clause protections for beneficiaries and creditors, group life conversion on termination, suitability in annuity transactions (Rule 114-11B), and insurable interest.
Health-specific: required disclosure and replacement standards for individual A&S minimum standards, Medicare Supplement rules, the Health Maintenance Organization Act, coverage for newborn children (WV Code 33-6-32), long-term care, and small employer group rules.
Fingerprinting, Background Check, and Applying
After you pass, schedule fingerprinting with IdentoGo (online at identogo.com or by phone). Report West Virginia OIC service code 228NS5 so your results route correctly. The fee is $45.75 ($12.50 fingerprint + $20.00 WVSP + $13.25 FBI).
Fingerprints are valid for 60 days - if you don't complete the process in time they expire and you pay again. You'll get a receipt with a 12-digit TCN number that goes on your license application.
Apply online at NIPR (www.nipr.com). Submit your passing score report, your pre-licensing certificate, the TCN, and the $50 license fee per line. Remember: you must be licensed within one year of passing or you start over.
Renewal and Continuing Education
West Virginia resident producers renew every two years, due the last day of your birth month. You need 24 hours of approved CE per renewal period, including 3 hours of ethics.
Product-specific training stacks on top of the 24 hours: an 8-hour initial long-term care course plus a 4-hour LTC refresher each period if you sell LTC, and approved annuity training if you sell annuities.
West Virginia has no grace period for late renewal, and CE can take up to 30 days to post after course completion - so finish your hours well ahead of your birth-month deadline.
Quick Reference
Official Links
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