Free Practice Questions for Insurance Licensing NY-Life-Accident-and-Health Exam

The correct answer is Hospital indemnity . A hospital indemnity policy is a form of limited benefit health insurance that pays a fixed dollar amount for each day the insured is confined in a hospital. The benefit is paid directly to the insured , not necessarily to the hospital or physician, and it is paid regardless of any other health insurance coverage the insured may have. This means the insured may use the money for hospital bills, deductibles, coinsurance, lost income, transportation, or any other expenses resulting from illness or injury.

This type of policy differs from major medical insurance, which reimburses covered medical expenses subject to deductibles, copayments, and policy limits. It also differs from Medigap , which is designed specifically to supplement Medicare, and from blanket coverage , which insures groups without naming specific individuals. Although “limited-amount per diem” describes a style of benefit, the established policy name used in licensing materials for a daily hospitalization benefit paid directly to the insured is hospital indemnity .

Therefore, the policy that pays a stated daily amount for hospitalization regardless of other coverage is A. Hospital indemnity .

The correct answer is the named living primary beneficiaries . In life insurance beneficiary designations, per capita means “by the head,” or equally among the living members of the named class or group . When policy proceeds are distributed per capita, each living beneficiary at the same beneficiary level receives an equal share of the death benefit. If one of the named primary beneficiaries dies before the insured, that deceased beneficiary’s share is not passed to that beneficiary’s estate or descendants unless the policy specifically provides otherwise. Instead, the proceeds are divided equally among the remaining living primary beneficiaries .

This is what distinguishes per capita from per stirpes . Under per stirpes, the share of a deceased beneficiary would pass down to that beneficiary’s descendants. But under per capita, only the surviving named beneficiaries in the class receive the proceeds.

The other options are incorrect because a deceased beneficiary’s estate does not automatically receive the share, the children of a deceased primary beneficiary are not paid under per capita unless specifically named, and contingent beneficiaries are paid only if no primary beneficiaries survive. Therefore, D is correct.

The correct answer is The cost of insurance is averaged throughout the life of the contract . Level premium term life insurance provides protection for a specified period—such as 10, 20, or 30 years—while keeping the premium amount the same each year during the term period . Even though the insured’s probability of death increases as they age, the premium remains level because the insurer averages the cost of insurance over the entire term of the policy .

In the early years of the policy, the insured is statistically less likely to die, so the premium collected is somewhat higher than the actual cost of protection at that time. In later years, the risk of death increases, but the premium remains unchanged because the earlier excess premiums help offset the higher cost of coverage later in the term. This structure creates stable and predictable premium payments for the policyowner.

The other options are incorrect. Term life insurance does not build cash value , and the benefit amount is not necessarily lower or tied to life expectancy calculations in the manner described. The defining feature is the level premium created by averaging the cost over the policy term .

The correct answer is A. mandatory. In accident and health insurance policies, the reinstatement provision is one of the Uniform Individual Accident and Sickness Policy Provisions , which are required by law to appear in individual health insurance contracts. These provisions are designed to ensure consistency and consumer protection in policy wording. Because they are mandated by regulation, insurers must include them in individual accident and health insurance policies.

The reinstatement provision explains how a policy that has lapsed because of nonpayment of premium may be restored. Typically, reinstatement occurs when the insurer accepts a late premium payment after the grace period has expired. When reinstated, the policy again becomes active, but the provision generally states that coverage for sickness begins after a specified waiting period (often 10 days) from the date of reinstatement, while coverage for accidents is usually restored immediately .

Since the reinstatement clause is one of the required uniform policy provisions mandated for accident and health insurance policies, it is not optional or elective . Therefore, the reinstatement provision in health insurance policies is mandatory .

Life insurance underwriting relies on multiple sources to evaluate an applicant’s insurability and assign an appropriate risk classification. Beyond the application, the Medical Information Bureau (MIB), and consumer reports, insurers commonly obtain additional medical information through medical questionnaires (supplemental health questions), attending physician statements (APS) from the applicant’s doctor, and physical examinations (often including measurements, vitals, and sometimes lab work) when required by the insurer’s underwriting guidelines. These tools help confirm medical history, clarify conditions disclosed on the application, and verify current health status so the insurer can make a fair underwriting decision.

However, insurers generally do not obtain information through genetic testing as part of routine underwriting. Licensing materials typically treat genetic testing as an excluded underwriting source because of legal and regulatory protections that restrict requesting or using genetic test results in insurance decisions. Therefore, while questionnaires, APS reports, and physical exams are standard underwriting information sources, genetic testing is the exception.

A tax liability is incurred upon surrender of a life insurance policy when the cash surrender value received exceeds the total premiums paid into the policy , excluding any amounts previously withdrawn tax-free. In life insurance taxation, the policyowner’s cost basis is generally the sum of premiums paid. If the amount received at surrender is greater than that basis, the excess is treated as taxable ordinary income . For that reason, A is correct.

Choice B is incorrect because if the cash value is less than the premiums paid, there is generally no taxable gain. Choice C is incorrect because an exchange of one life insurance policy for another policy of equal value may qualify as a 1035 exchange , which allows the transaction to occur without immediate taxation, provided it meets the tax code requirements. Choice D is not the best answer to this question because the issue asked is specifically about surrender for cash value, and the taxable event in that context depends on whether the policyowner receives more than the policy’s basis. On licensing exams, “cash value exceeds premiums paid” is the key rule.

The Accelerated Death Benefit Rider is designed to allow an insured who is terminally ill to receive all or part of the policy’s death benefit before death . This rider is intended to help with serious financial needs that can arise at the end of life, such as medical expenses, long-term care costs, hospice care, or other personal obligations. Because the benefit is paid early, the amount ultimately payable to the beneficiary at the insured’s death is typically reduced by the amount accelerated, plus any applicable charges.

This rider does not increase the death benefit by a stated percentage, so A is incorrect. It is also not primarily intended to reduce estate taxes, making C incorrect. Choice D describes a cost-of-living or inflation-related adjustment feature, not an accelerated death benefit. In licensing materials, the key phrase tied to this rider is early payment of the death benefit due to terminal illness . Therefore, the correct answer is B , because the rider’s main purpose is to give the insured access to policy proceeds while still living when specific qualifying conditions are met

An annuity contract is a financial product specifically designed to provide a steady stream of income , typically during retirement. Annuities are issued by insurance companies and are commonly used as part of retirement planning. The purchaser (annuitant or owner) contributes funds either through a lump-sum payment or periodic premiums during the accumulation phase , where the money grows on a tax-deferred basis . Later, during the annuitization phase , the accumulated value is converted into a series of regular payments that may last for a specified period or for the lifetime of the annuitant.

These payments can be structured in several ways, such as life-only, life with period certain, joint and survivor, or fixed period payments , allowing flexibility depending on the annuitant’s retirement needs.

Option B, tax-deferred growth , is a feature of certain financial products, not a product itself. Option C, variable life insurance , is primarily designed to provide a death benefit with an investment component rather than retirement income. Option D, modified endowment contract (MEC) , is a tax classification for certain life insurance policies that exceed premium limits and is not designed primarily to provide retirement income streams.

The correct answer is adverse selection . In group life insurance, underwriting is generally based on the characteristics of the group as a whole rather than on extensive medical underwriting of each individual member. Because of this simplified underwriting approach, insurers must rely on certain group underwriting standards to protect themselves against the possibility that only those individuals who expect to need coverage most urgently will enroll. This danger is known as adverse selection .

Adverse selection occurs when people with a higher-than-average likelihood of loss are more motivated to obtain insurance than lower-risk individuals. In group life insurance, underwriting controls such as minimum participation requirements, employer contributions, eligibility rules, and actively-at-work provisions help ensure that the risk is spread across a broad base of insured persons rather than concentrated among poor risks. These requirements preserve the stability of the insurance pool and support fair premium pricing.

The other answer choices are incorrect because “risk selection” and “risk underwriting” are not the specific underwriting problem being tested, and “medical underwriting” is a process, not the danger the insurer is trying to avoid. Therefore, the correct answer is C. adverse selection .