How hard is the New York life, accident and health insurance exam (17-55)?

What the official numbers say

Insurance Law § 214 requires DFS to publish a yearly report on the agent licensing exams, with pass rates for each exam. In 2025, 13,164 people took the English-language 17-55 exam, and 46.63% passed. The average score was 66.48%, just under the 70% pass mark. The Spanish-language exam was much harder going: 21.69% of its 166 examinees passed.²

The pass rate has stayed close to that level. DFS's 2023 report gives 46.49% of 13,685 examinees passing the English-language exam, with an average score of 66.59%.³

In other words, fewer than half of the people who sit the 17-55 pass it. The reports count examinees per exam category, but they don't say whether someone who took the exam twice in a year is counted once or twice.²

New York law is spread through the exam

The Insurance Regulation section, 7% of the exam, is mostly New York Insurance Law and DFS regulations. But PSI's outline also cites New York law inside the general sections. Life Insurance Basics includes the best-interest rule for annuities (Reg 187) and replacement (Reg 60). Life policy provisions are tested as the required provisions of Insurance Law § 3203. The health sections cite § 3216, and the government plans section includes New York's Disability Benefits Law. General study material doesn't cover these points.¹

Start the New York-law topics here

• New York producer licensing: process, definitions, and license types (Ins. Law 2101-2109, 2136) Free · practice set
• New York best interest standard for life and annuity sales (Reg 187) and senior-specific designations (Reg 199)
• New York life insurance and annuity replacement (Ins. Law 2123; Reg 60)
• New York required life policy provisions: misstatement of age, statements of the applicant, and proof of death (Ins. Law 3203-3204)
• New York State Disability Benefits Law

The biggest sections

The biggest single section is life insurance policy provisions, options and riders, at 10% of the exam. Next come Life Insurance Basics and Life Insurance Policies at 8% each, then Insurance Regulation and Annuities at 7% each. Together, those five sections are 40% of the exam.¹

Start the biggest sections here

• Core contract provisions: entire contract, insuring clause, free look, consideration, owner's rights Free · practice set
• Underwriting: insurable interest, medical information, and risk classification Free · practice set
• Term life insurance types Free · practice set
• New York producer licensing: process, definitions, and license types (Ins. Law 2101-2109, 2136) Free · practice set
• The annuity principle Free · practice set

Topics that are easy to mix up

Each group below is on the content outline. The terms in each group sound alike, or they apply to the same policy at different times, so they are easy to confuse.¹

Grace period vs reinstatement vs incontestability

• Premium payment modes and grace period
• Reinstatement, policy loans, and nonforfeiture options
• Dividends, incontestability, assignment, suicide, and accelerated death benefits
• New York required life policy provisions: misstatement of age, statements of the applicant, and proof of death (Ins. Law 3203-3204)

Immediate vs deferred annuities

• Annuity premium and timing structures
• Annuity classification and payout options
• Deferred annuity surrender and withdrawal charges, nonforfeiture, and death benefits

HMO vs PPO vs POS

• Managed care structures: HMO, PPO, and POS plans
• Managed care concepts

Medicare vs Medicare supplement

• Medicare Parts A, B, C, and D
• Medicare supplement policies Free · practice set
• New York Medicare supplement regulation: open enrollment, marketing, compensation, suitability, replacement, and disclosure (Reg 193)

Workers' compensation vs New York disability benefits

• Workers' compensation Free · practice set
• New York State Disability Benefits Law

Noncancelable vs guaranteed renewable

• Rights of renewability

How to study for it

You need 70% (105 of the 150 scored questions). You have 2.5 hours for the whole exam. If you fail: Pay the fee again each time; you can't book a retake on the day you test. The score report then shows your strengths and weaknesses, so use it to choose what to study next.^1,2

Divide your time the way the outline weights the sections, starting with the biggest. Don't save New York law for the end: it is spread through the life, annuity and health sections, so study it alongside each one.¹

Every lesson is audio you can play on a commute. Free to start:

• Core contract provisions: entire contract, insuring clause, free look, consideration, owner's rights Free · practice set
• Medicare supplement policies Free · practice set
• New York producer licensing: process, definitions, and license types (Ins. Law 2101-2109, 2136) Free · practice set

Frequently asked questions

What is the pass rate for the New York 17-55 exam?

DFS's report for 2025 gives 46.63% for the English-language exam (13,164 examinees) and 21.69% for the Spanish-language exam (166 examinees).²

How many questions do I need to get right?

105 of the 150 scored questions, which is 70%.^1,2

Official sources

1. PSI Services LLC: New York Department of Financial Services Insurance Candidate Information Bulletin (updated 4/28/2023)
2. New York State Department of Financial Services: Annual Report on Insurance Agent Licensing Examinations, year ending December 31, 2025
3. New York State Department of Financial Services: Report on Insurance Agent Licensing Examinations, 2023

Checked against these sources as of October 13, 2026.