Exam vs examP&C vs life and health
P&C vs life and health: two licenses, two exams
A P&C license lets you sell coverage on property and on legal liability: homes, cars, businesses and the lawsuits that follow them. A life and health license covers people: life insurance plus accident and health coverage. They are separate state licenses with separate exams, so an agent who wants to quote both a client's car and a client's life policy needs both.
The two licenses side by side
| Point | P&C | Life and health | ≠ |
|---|---|---|---|
| What you sell | Homeowners, dwelling, personal auto, commercial property and liability, workers compensation | Life insurance, accident and health coverage | differs |
| What is insured | Property and legal liability | A person's life and health | differs |
| Insurable interest must exist | At the time of loss | When the policy is issued | differs |
| Words the stems lean on | Peril, hazard, coinsurance, occurrence, named insured | Policyowner, insured life, beneficiary | differs |
| Who issues the license | Your state's insurance department | Your state's insurance department | same |
| Exam | A separate state exam | A separate state exam | same |
marks a row where the two differ. Exam numbers differ by state; the next table shows five states, each with its source.
The two exams in five states we checked
| State | P&C | Life and health | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 130 scored + 15 pretest items, 150 min, $49 exam fee | 150 min, $49 exam fee | Pearson VUE Texas candidate handbook checked October 8, 2026 |
| California | 150 items, 3 h, 60% to pass | 150 items, 3 h, 60% to pass | CDI exam times and questions checked October 8, 2026 |
| Michigan | 150 items, 2.5 h, 74% to pass | 150 items, 2.5 h, 75% to pass | PSI Michigan candidate bulletin checked October 8, 2026 |
| New York | 90 h of pre-licensing education | 40 h of pre-licensing education | PSI New York bulletin (updated 2023-04-28) checked October 8, 2026 |
| Ohio | 20 h Property + 20 h Casualty pre-licensing | 20 h per line of pre-licensing | PSI Ohio candidate bulletin checked October 8, 2026 |
Which client each license serves
Start from the client you picture. A roof claim, a sixteen-year-old added to the family auto policy, a restaurant's slip-and-fall exposure, a contractor's payroll: that is P&C work. Income for a family after a death, a disability that stops paychecks, a health plan: that is life and health. Neither license outranks the other. The right first license is the one your job uses on day one.
An agency that writes both lines may want you licensed in both, because a household that buys auto and home from you is the obvious next life-insurance conversation. Adding the second license later is ordinary: it is its own exam and, in Texas, its own application fee of $50 per license type (TDI general lines application page, checked October 8, 2026). The order of steps for the P&C side is on how to get a P&C license.
If you plan to sit both exams
Take them one at a time. The vocabulary looks alike on the surface (insured, premium, underwriting, application), but on a P&C item only the P&C meaning counts. Finish one exam, then build the second around its own outline. For the P&C side, the P&C study plan spreads the general block over 4, 8 or 12 weeks.
Where the narrower licenses fit
Two other licenses sit close to these. A personal lines license covers auto and home only, and New York, Michigan, California and Pennsylvania test it on an exam of its own: see full P&C vs a personal lines license. If settling claims appeals more than selling policies, the P&C producer vs adjuster comparison sets those two licenses side by side.
Holding both licenses
Can one agent hold a P&C license and a life and health license?
Yes. They are separate licenses, or separate lines of authority on one producer license, and each needs its own exam. Requirements differ by state, so read your state insurance department's rules before booking either exam.
Does passing the P&C exam count toward life and health?
No. Each exam stands alone. The content shares little beyond contract basics such as offer, acceptance and consideration.
Which pays more, P&C or life and health?
Federal pay data does not split them. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports one figure for all insurance sales agents: a median of $62,280 a year in May 2025 (BLS OEWS 41-3021, checked October 8, 2026). The P&C agent salary page has the full range.
Is the P&C exam harder than the life and health exam?
No state we checked publishes a comparison, so we do not rank them. What differs is the material: property valuation, liability triggers and commercial forms on one side, life policy provisions on the other. Our page on what the P&C exam tests breaks down the P&C side.