IIQE Paper 6 exam-day guide
IIQE Paper 6 · Prepare for the day ahead.
Your checklist
Confirm the exam format and venue logistics with the provider
IIQE papers are administered in Hong Kong through the official administering body, and scheduling, venue, and paper-delivery details can change. Re-check your booking confirmation and the provider's candidate information page in the final week rather than relying on second-hand summaries. If anything in your confirmation is ambiguous, confirm with the provider directly.
Bring the exact identity document named on your booking
Use the same document type and number you registered with; a mismatch between the name or number on your booking and your ID is a common reason for being turned away. Confirm with the provider which document types are accepted and whether a signature-bearing photo ID is required. Keep it in a single known pocket of your bag so you are not searching at the desk.
Print or save your appointment/confirmation record
Have the confirmation number, date, time, and venue address accessible offline. Screenshot it in addition to any email, because venue Wi-Fi and mobile data can be unreliable. Marked needs_review: check whether your provider requires a printed copy or accepts an electronic one.
Carry a black or blue pen and a pencil with eraser
Even where answer sheets are machine-read, having both a dark pen for candidate details and a pencil for any corrections protects you if the venue does not supply stationery. Marked needs_review: confirm with the provider whether stationery is provided and whether only specified pens are permitted.
Know the permitted calculator policy before you travel
Some insurance-technical papers involve premium, bonus, and claims arithmetic. Do not assume a programmable or graphing calculator is allowed. Confirm with the provider whether a calculator is permitted, and if so which models, and whether it must be a non-programmable type. If in doubt, practise the arithmetic by hand so you are not dependent on one.
Leave prohibited items at home or in a bag you will not touch
Smart watches, fitness bands, and phones are typically required to be switched off and stored away, not merely silenced. A vibrating watch during a reading period can be treated as a conduct issue. Decide in advance where these items will sit during the test.
Plan the journey with a buffer for registration time
Arrive earlier than the stated reporting time to allow for ID checks and seating. Build in extra time for Hong Kong transport disruptions and for finding the correct floor or room in a large commercial building. Being late may mean being refused entry, so treat the reporting time as a hard deadline, not a target.
Rehearse the paper's structure and time per question
Know the number of questions, the time allowed, and whether questions are multiple-choice with one correct option. Compute your average seconds per question and set two checkpoint times (for example, halfway and three-quarters of the way through) at which you will assess whether you are on pace.
Prepare a one-page summary sheet for the final review
Limit it to items you repeatedly get wrong: definitions, regulatory roles, policy provisions, and calculation steps. Reading a single condensed sheet in the last hour is more effective than re-reading a textbook, and it reduces the temptation to cram new material on the morning of the test.
Check your physical readiness the day before
Confirm sleep, hydration, and any medication needs, and plan a light meal that will not make you sluggish during a long sitting. Avoid an all-night revision session; recall of definitions and procedural sequences degrades sharply with fatigue.
Confirm what happens if you are unwell or cannot attend
Marked needs_review: rebooking, withdrawal, and medical-evidence rules are set by the provider and vary. Check the provider's policy before the exam day so you know the deadline and any documentation required, rather than discovering it after a missed sitting.
Read the candidate instructions for the paper you are sitting
Different IIQE papers cover different technical domains, so confirm the exact paper number and title on your confirmation matches the one you prepared for. Sitting the wrong paper is avoidable and usually not refundable.
Plan the day
Stop introducing new material. Spend the time on timed practice under exam conditions, then mark your answers and group every error by cause: unknown fact, misread question, or calculation slip. Misreading and calculation slips are usually fixable faster than knowledge gaps, so address those first. Build your one-page summary sheet from the errors that repeat.
Re-confirm logistics: venue address, reporting time, ID document, and the provider's rules on calculators, phones, and stationery. Confirm with the provider anything you cannot resolve from the official candidate information. Print or screenshot the confirmation record.
Do one full-length timed paper at roughly the time of day your real sitting begins, so your concentration pattern is trained. Afterwards, review only the questions you flagged or got wrong. Do not re-score yourself repeatedly on papers you have memorised; their value is in pacing, not in the score.
Do a light, structured review of your summary sheet and the highest-yield areas for your paper, such as core principles, regulatory roles and conduct requirements, and the main product and claims provisions. Finish early. Prepare your bag with ID, confirmation record, pens and pencil, and any permitted calculator, and lay out clothes and travel money.
Check transport arrangements and set two alarms. Avoid studying late into the night; a final hour of revision at midnight costs more in alertness than it gains in recall. If you feel unprepared, prioritise the summary sheet and the question types you most often misread rather than starting a new topic.
Eat a normal meal and arrive with a buffer. Do not attempt to learn new topics in the queue. Read only your summary sheet, and stop ten minutes before registration so you go in calm rather than mid-panic. Switch off your phone and store it before you enter the test room.
Present the ID you registered with, confirm your name and paper number on any attendance record, and ask the invigilator about anything unclear, such as where to leave bags or whether a calculator has been inspected. Sit where directed and set out only permitted items on the desk.
Read the instructions and check the number of questions and any penalty for wrong answers. Work through the paper answering the questions you know, and flag rather than stall on the rest. Answer every question if there is no penalty for guessing, since an unanswered question scores the same as a wrong one but gives you no chance of being right.
Return to flagged questions and eliminate options before choosing. Watch for absolute wording such as always or never, and for questions asking which statement is NOT correct. For calculation questions, write the formula first, then substitute, then sanity-check the magnitude of the answer.
Use your checkpoint times to confirm you are on pace. In the last few minutes, check that every question has an answer, that your candidate details are completed correctly, and that no answer has been shifted by one line on the answer sheet. Do not change answers on impulse; change them only when you can identify a specific reason the original was wrong.
Rules to check
Bring the identity document you registered with and present it at registration. Name and document-number mismatches are a frequent cause of refused entry, so if your registered details are wrong, contact the provider before the exam day rather than at the desk.
Electronic devices, including phones and smart watches, must be switched off and stored as instructed for the whole session, including any reading time. Do not keep a device on your person, and do not check it during any break if you leave the room, because the test may still be in progress for others.
Follow the invigilator's instructions on timing, starting and stopping, and permitted materials. If you believe there is an error in a question or a disturbance in the room, raise it with the invigilator rather than discussing it with other candidates during the session.
Do not communicate with other candidates during the test, and do not copy, photograph, or remove question papers or answer materials. Marked needs_review: the precise rules on removing materials and on reporting misconduct are set by the provider, so confirm them in the candidate information.
If you need to leave the room, attract the invigilator's attention and follow their direction; you may be escorted and may not be permitted to make up lost time. Confirm with the provider whether comfort breaks are allowed and whether they stop the clock.
Scoring is based on the number of correct answers, and there is typically no deduction for wrong answers, so leave no question blank unless the provider states otherwise. Confirm with the provider whether any paper applies negative marking and what the pass mark is for your paper.
Answer sheets must be completed as instructed, including candidate number and question numbering. Misaligned answers are treated as wrong answers, so check the alignment of the final block of answers before time is called.
If you are unwell or cannot attend, contact the provider as soon as possible and follow their documented procedure for withdrawal, rebooking, or medical evidence. Do not simply fail to appear, because absent-without-notice outcomes are usually less favourable than a documented request.