Free Practice Questions for Insurance Licensing Hawaii-Life-Producer Exam

D. a policyholder is the intended and legally supported answer. Under Hawaiʻi group life insurance law, the individual insured designates the beneficiary to receive the amount payable because of the insured's death. HRS §431:10D-213 requires group life policies to provide that death proceeds are payable to the beneficiary designated by the individual insured , subject to the policy's provisions. A spouse, child, or properly established trust can therefore be designated where legally permissible.

The critical distinction concerns the group policyholder , particularly an employer. HRS §431:10D-202 states that an employer group life policy generally insures employees for the benefit of persons other than the employer . Accordingly, the employer/policyholder ordinarily cannot be designated to receive an employee's group life death benefit.

Hawaiʻi law contains a narrow statutory exception when the employer bears the entire insurance cost and uses benefits for purchasing employer securities distributed through a qualifying retirement arrangement. That specialized exception does not change the general rule tested in this question.

The certificate holder therefore normally selects a beneficiary who is distinct from the group policyholder. This separation prevents employer-sponsored group life insurance from becoming primarily insurance for the employer's own benefit.

Reference topics: HRS §§431:10D-202 and 431:10D-213; Group Life Beneficiary Designation; Policyholder versus Insured.

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C. 30 days is correct. Hawaiʻi's life insurance illustration requirements provide ongoing consumer protection after a policy has been issued. Under HRS §431:10D-408, when the annual policy report does not itself include an in-force illustration , the report must prominently inform the policyowner that a current illustration may be requested annually without charge.

The required notice further advises that the policyowner should not consider replacing the policy or making significant changes in coverage without first obtaining current information about how the policy is performing. If the requested current illustration is not received within thirty days , the policyowner is directed to contact the state insurance department.

This requirement is particularly relevant for policies containing non-guaranteed elements , such as certain dividends, interest credits, or other illustrated policy values. An in-force illustration allows the owner to compare actual policy development with current assumptions and guarantees.

The requirement also supports informed replacement decisions because an owner should understand existing policy values before surrendering or replacing coverage.

Ten and fifteen days are shorter than the prescribed period, while sixty days exceeds it.

Reference topics: HRS §431:10D-408; Life Insurance Illustrations; Annual Reports; In-Force Illustrations; Consumer Disclosure.

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B. $25,000 is correct. The Whole Life policy provides a basic death benefit of $25,000 . The Accidental Death Benefit rider can provide an additional amount only when the insured's death satisfies the rider's contractual definition of death resulting from a covered accident .

Here, R dies from a heart attack . The fact that the heart attack occurs while R is driving does not transform the medical event into an accidental death. No automobile collision, external accidental injury, or other qualifying accidental cause is identified. Therefore, the Accidental Death Benefit rider does not add an additional payment. The beneficiary remains entitled to the underlying $25,000 whole life death benefit, assuming the policy is in force and no other contractual adjustment applies.

Option C would generally correspond to the $25,000 basic death benefit plus an equal accidental-death amount if the rider provided “double indemnity” and a qualifying accident occurred. Option D would imply an additional double amount beyond the face value, which the facts do not establish. Option A is incorrect because death from illness does not eliminate the ordinary whole-life benefit.

The Hawaiʻi examination outline expressly tests Accidental Death and/or AD & D riders .

Reference topics: Policy Riders — Accidental Death and Accidental Death & Dismemberment; Whole Life Death Benefits.

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A. Primary Insurance Amount (PIA) is correct. Social Security Disability Insurance benefits are calculated from the worker's Social Security earnings record. The central benefit figure produced from that earnings record is the worker's Primary Insurance Amount .

The Social Security Administration states directly that a disabled worker's monthly disability benefit is generally equal to the worker's PIA. The PIA itself is computed using the worker's indexed earnings under the Social Security benefit formula. SSA also describes the PIA as the basic figure used to determine cash benefits payable to workers and, where applicable, their dependents and survivors.

Option B is incorrect because national wage levels may influence indexing factors used within Social Security calculations but do not themselves constitute the individual worker's disability benefit. Option C is incorrect because Social Security Disability Insurance is a federal program; a person's state of residence does not set an average wage used as that individual's benefit amount. Option D confuses the Social Security taxable wage base with benefit computation.

The examination logic therefore requires distinguishing the worker-specific benefit measure—PIA—from broader wage statistics and payroll-tax concepts.

Reference topics: Social Insurance and Retirement Concepts; Social Security Disability Benefits; Primary Insurance Amount.

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C. once every three months is correct. Hawaiʻi's life settlement statute places explicit restrictions on post-settlement contact with the insured. Under HRS §431C-33, a provider, broker, or authorized representative may contact the insured for the limited purpose of determining health status or verifying an address once every three months when the insured's life expectancy exceeds one year .

Where the insured's life expectancy is one year or less , the statute permits contact no more frequently than once per month. The distinction balances the settlement provider's legitimate administrative need to determine policy status with the insured's privacy and freedom from intrusive or excessive monitoring.

A life settlement purchaser has an economic interest in the death benefit after acquiring the policy, which makes restrictions of this kind particularly important. Without them, an insured could face frequent, disturbing inquiries about declining health.

The statute restricts both the purpose and frequency of the contact. It is not authority for unlimited communication about unrelated matters.

Weekly or monthly health-status inquiries would therefore be excessive for an insured expected to live more than one year. Six months is more restrictive than required but does not state the statutory maximum frequency.

Reference topics: HRS §431C-33; Life Settlement Consumer Protections; Insured Privacy; Health-Status Contacts.

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