LOMA 291 study plan

Define the core risk-management vocabulary (pure versus speculative risk, exposure, peril, hazard, retention, avoidance, transfer) and illustrate each term with one original example of your own.

Distinguish the legal characteristics of insurance from other financial products by explaining insurable interest, indemnity, utmost good faith, and adhesion in plain language.

Compare stock, mutual, fraternal, and reciprocal insurers and list who owns each structure and how surplus is distributed.

Map the main functional areas of an insurer (product development, underwriting, actuarial, claims, distribution, compliance) and state the output each produces.

Trace the life insurance application from solicitation through underwriting, policy issue, and delivery, naming the documents produced at each stage.

Explain the roles of the agent, the underwriter, the actuary, and the claims examiner in a single new-business scenario you construct.

Calculate a simple mortality-based premium illustration using a provided mortality table and interest assumption, and identify which component covers expenses versus reserves.

Describe how reinsurance transfers mortality risk and why an insurer's retention limit matters to a large-face policy.

Differentiate term, whole life, universal life, and variable life by premium flexibility, cash value, and investment risk borne by the owner.

Explain the components of a whole life policy (face amount, cash value, loan value, surrender value, dividends) and how they relate to one another.

Describe how universal life credits interest, deducts cost of insurance, and uses a no-lapse guarantee, and identify which policy elements the owner can change.

Identify the policy provisions that most often appear in exam scenarios (incontestability, grace period, reinstatement, suicide clause, misstatement of age) and state the consequence of each.

Match common riders and supplemental benefits (waiver of premium, accelerated death benefit, long-term care, accidental death, child term) to the need each addresses.

Explain annuity accumulation and payout mechanics, including immediate versus deferred annuities and fixed versus variable payout options.

Describe the suitability information a producer should gather before recommending a product, and explain why replacing an existing policy raises suitability concerns.

Practice explaining a product recommendation to a hypothetical client in under two minutes without using jargon.

Outline the new-business workflow and identify where errors most often cause delays or declined applications.

Explain how premium billing modes, grace periods, and policy loans affect persistency and company cash flow.

Describe the claims process from notification through proof of death, beneficiary verification, and settlement options, and list red flags that trigger further investigation.

Summarize the purpose of actuarial reserves and separate accounts and how each appears in an insurer's financial statements.

Identify the state-level regulatory framework for life insurance, including the roles of the insurance department, the commissioner, and the NAIC model laws.

Explain the purpose and mechanics of state guaranty associations and the coverage limits that typically apply to life insurance and annuities.

Describe producer licensing requirements, appointment, continuing education, and the consequences of rebating, twisting, and misrepresentation.

Explain the market-conduct examination process and how replacements, illustrations, and advertising are reviewed for compliance.

Summarize privacy and data-handling obligations that apply to customer information, including consent, safeguarding, and permitted disclosures.

Explain anti-money-laundering and fraud-detection expectations for producers, including suspicious-activity escalation paths.

Describe the customer experience touchpoints across the policy lifecycle and identify two service failures that most often generate complaints.

Practice resolving a hypothetical complaint by applying the company's escalation and documentation standards.

Re-take practice questions for every domain and log each miss by domain and by error type (knowledge gap, misread, or guess).

Re-study only the two weakest domains using the glossary, comparison table, and checklists built in earlier weeks.

Rehearse the exam's terminology traps, especially pairs such as reserve versus cash value and replacement versus conversion.

Simulate a timed exam session under test-day conditions and review every incorrect item before stopping.