SC Life & Health study plan

Explain why insurance is state-regulated, describing the commissioner's authority (licensing, market conduct, rate review, cease-and-desist) and the effect of the McCarran-Ferguson Act on federal oversight.

Classify insurers by authority (authorized/admitted vs. unauthorized/nonadmitted), by domicile (domestic, foreign, alien), and by structure (stock, mutual, fraternal, reciprocal, Lloyd's), and predict which classification applies to a given fact pattern.

Apply the elements of a valid contract and the distinctive characteristics of insurance contracts (offer and acceptance, consideration, legal purpose, insurable interest, indemnity, utmost good faith, adhesion, aleatory, conditional) to short scenarios.

List producer responsibilities: licensing and appointment, fiduciary handling of premiums, commingling prohibitions, replacement rules, and fair-credit reporting obligations.

Work 30 practice items across Domains 1-2 and log every miss with the correct reasoning.

Compute a client's life insurance need using both the human life value approach and the needs (DIME) approach, then explain why the two figures differ.

Decompose a gross life premium into mortality, interest, and expense components, and predict the direction of premium change when each factor moves.

Contrast term, whole life, universal life, indexed universal life, and variable life on cash value accumulation, premium flexibility, and who bears investment risk.

Sequence the underwriting and delivery process: application parts, field underwriter's role, MIB, paramedical exam vs. attending physician statement, conditional receipt, policy issue, and free-look period.

Distinguish ordinary, group, and industrial/debit distribution methods and identify which policy features (dividends, paid-up additions, policy loans) belong to participating whole life.

Identify the mandatory and optional life policy provisions (entire contract, incontestability, grace period, reinstatement, misstatement of age or sex, suicide clause, free look, policy loan, automatic premium loan) and state the consequence of each for a claim decision.

Explain the dividend options, nonforfeiture options (cash surrender, reduced paid-up, extended term), and settlement options (lump sum, interest only, fixed-period, fixed-amount, life income).

Differentiate the major riders (waiver of premium, disability income, guaranteed insurability, accidental death and dismemberment, term rider, payor benefit, long-term care, accelerated death benefit) by what each adds to the base contract.

Apply beneficiary designation rules: primary vs. contingent, revocable vs. irrevocable, per stirpes vs. per capita, common disaster clause, and facility-of-payment.

Explain policy loans, surrender, assignment, and replacement as they affect cash value and the death benefit.

Contrast fixed, indexed, and variable annuities on crediting method, downside protection, and who bears investment risk, and identify which requires a securities license.

Distinguish the accumulation phase from the annuitization phase and explain surrender charges, market value adjustment, and the free-withdrawal provision.

Compare payout options (straight life, life with period certain, installment/refund, joint and survivor, fixed-amount) and predict which option pays the largest monthly income.

Calculate the exclusion ratio and the taxable portion of annuity payments for both a nonqualified and a qualified contract.

Explain qualified vs. nonqualified annuity funding, the 10% early withdrawal penalty, and the role of a 1035 exchange.

Define deductible, coinsurance, copayment, out-of-pocket maximum, waiting period, and preauthorization, and trace how each shapes the insured's share of a claim.

Distinguish indemnity (fee-for-service) plans from managed care models (HMO, PPO, POS) on provider networks, referrals, and out-of-network cost sharing.

Compare basic medical expense, major medical, hospital indemnity, critical illness, cancer, accident, and short-term medical policies on benefit trigger and typical limits.

Explain the ACA marketplaces, guaranteed issue, essential health benefits, metal tiers, dependent coverage to age 26, and the premium tax credit.

Apply HIPAA and ACA rules on pre-existing conditions, creditable coverage, and portability to individual and group enrollment scenarios.

Differentiate own-occupation from any-occupation definitions of disability and predict how the definition changes the likelihood and size of a benefit payment.

Explain elimination period, benefit period, residual/partial disability, presumptive disability, recurrent disability, and the taxation of disability benefits paid with employer vs. employee dollars.

Apply the standard LTC benefit triggers (unable to perform two of six ADLs for at least 90 days, or severe cognitive impairment) and describe levels of care, elimination periods, and inflation protection riders.

Identify business disability uses: key-person disability, business overhead expense, disability buy-out, and payroll deduction arrangements.

Compare the tax treatment of LTC premiums and benefits and describe partnership-qualified LTC programs and Medicaid interaction.

Explain group health eligibility, open enrollment, actively-at-work requirements, and the mechanics of coordination of benefits and nonduplication provisions.

Map COBRA obligations: employer size, qualifying events, 18/29/36-month durations, the 60-day election window, premium limits, and notice deadlines.

Sequence Medicare Part A, B, C, and D: eligibility, initial and general enrollment periods, late-enrollment penalties, and what Medigap and Medicare Advantage each add.

Distinguish Medicaid eligibility and benefit structure from Medicare and explain dual-eligible coordination.

Summarize ERISA reporting and fiduciary basics and HIPAA portability/creditable coverage rules as they apply to employer plans.

Re-drill every item in the error journal until each is answered correctly twice without notes.

Complete two full-length timed practice exams (100 questions each) under exam conditions and analyze results by domain.

Recompute the high-yield calculations (exclusion ratio, coinsurance and out-of-pocket maximum, DI benefit with elimination period, human life value vs. needs approach) from memory.

Memorize the frequently tested numbers: grace periods, incontestability and suicide clauses, free-look windows, COBRA durations, Medicare enrollment windows, LTC ADL count, and annuity penalty age.

Target the two weakest domains from practice-exam analysis with a focused final review session.