New York Property & Casualty Exam Overview
Key Takeaways
- New York requires 90 hours of approved pre-licensing education for a full Property & Casualty license; Personal Lines authority requires only 40 hours.
- The combined Property & Casualty exam has 150 multiple-choice questions, a 150-minute (2.5-hour) limit, and a 70% overall passing score, delivered by PSI Services.
- New York compulsory auto limits are 25/50/10 bodily injury and property damage, plus $50,000 No-Fault PIP and 25/50 uninsured motorist coverage.
- Applications are filed electronically through NIPR; the resident producer fee is $80 ($40 if the initial term is under 12 months), and IdentoGO fingerprinting is mandatory.
- Producers complete 15 CE hours every two years, including 1 hour each of insurance law, ethics, flood, and diversity/elimination-of-bias instruction.
Welcome to OpenExamPrep's FREE New York Property & Casualty (P&C) Insurance exam prep guide. This resource targets the New York-specific regulations, licensing logistics, and statutory thresholds you must know to pass in 2026.
About the New York P&C Exam
The New York P&C Agent/Broker examination is administered by PSI Services LLC on behalf of the New York Department of Financial Services (DFS). Every line exam blends two question pools: general items (federal insurance principles, products, contract law, agent duties) and state-specific items (New York Insurance Law and DFS regulations). You must master both — a strong national score will not save you if you ignore New York's No-Fault statute, free-trade-zone excess-line rules, and Regulation 60 replacement disclosures.
Exam Structure
| Component | Detail |
|---|---|
| Testing vendor | PSI Services LLC (DFS@psionline.com) |
| Regulator | NY Department of Financial Services (DFS) |
| Question count | 150 multiple-choice |
| Time limit | 150 minutes (2.5 hours) |
| Passing score | 70% overall (not per section) |
| Delivery | PSI test center or live online proctoring |
| Results | Pass/fail issued immediately at the center |
| Exam validity | Apply within 2 years of passing |
Trap: the 70% threshold is on the combined score. Candidates obsess over one weak topic, but a 73% national / 65% state split still passes if the overall is 70%+. Do not skip state law to chase general questions.
Pre-Licensing Education
New York mandates DFS-approved pre-licensing coursework before you may sit the exam (CPCU holders excepted — see below).
| License sought | Required hours |
|---|---|
| Property & Casualty (full) | 90 hours |
| Personal Lines only | 40 hours |
The 90-hour curriculum spans property forms (dwelling, homeowners, commercial property), casualty/liability (personal and commercial auto, general liability, workers' compensation), and New York statutory material. Approved providers issue a certificate of completion you present at registration; PSI will not seat a non-exempt candidate without it.
License Types
New York separates the agent and broker roles, a distinction the exam tests directly:
| Role | Whom they represent |
|---|---|
| Agent | The insurer; appointed by and binds on the carrier's behalf |
| Broker | The insured/applicant; shops the market, does not bind |
Exam & Education Waivers
- CPCU designation: A Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) is exempt from pre-licensing education but must still pass the Laws and Regulations portion.
- Experience waiver (brokers): at least one year of responsible underwriting/adjusting employment with an insurer, broker, or agent within the prior three years can substitute for education.
Memorize that CPCU — not CLU, CIC, or ARM — is the designation New York recognizes for the P&C education waiver; the exam loves to bait you with the wrong acronym.
On the New York P&C exam, how is the 70% passing standard applied?
Step-by-Step Licensing Path
- Complete 90 hours of DFS-approved P&C pre-licensing (or qualify for the CPCU/experience waiver) and obtain the completion certificate.
- Register with PSI at psiexams.com, choose the P&C exam and a center or online-proctored slot, and pay the exam fee.
- Pass at 70%+; PSI prints a result notice you keep for your application.
- Get fingerprinted through IdentoGO Live Scan — required for every applicant; prints feed a state and federal criminal-history review.
- File electronically through NIPR (National Insurance Producer Registry) within two years of passing; miss the window and you must retest.
Typical Costs
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Pre-license education (90 hrs) | $200-$400 |
| PSI exam fee | ~$33 per attempt |
| IdentoGO fingerprinting | ~$100 |
| License application (NIPR) | $80 ($40 if initial term < 12 months) |
| Total | ~$400-$600 |
Correction to watch: the resident producer application fee is $80, not $50 — and it drops to $40 only when the first license term runs under twelve months. The biennial license cycle and prorated first-term fee are favorite distractor numbers.
New York Compulsory Auto Insurance
Because New York is a No-Fault state, its mandatory auto package is heavily tested. Commit these limits to memory:
| Coverage | Minimum |
|---|---|
| Bodily injury liability | 25/50 ($25,000 per person / $50,000 per accident) |
| Property damage liability | $10,000 |
| Personal Injury Protection (PIP, No-Fault) | $50,000 |
| Uninsured Motorist (UM) | 25/50 |
The shorthand is 25/50/10 plus $50,000 PIP. PIP pays an injured insured's economic loss — medical, 80% of lost wages, and incidental expenses — regardless of fault, which is the defining feature of No-Fault. New York also mandates a wrongful-death benefit within liability and requires UM at the same 25/50 floor. Trap: $10,000 is property damage, not PIP; candidates flip the two. PIP is $50,000, among the highest No-Fault floors nationally.
Flood Training & Continuing Education
Before selling federal flood policies, a producer must complete National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) basic training; the credit counts toward CE.
New York producers complete 15 CE hours per two-year cycle, and dual life/health + P&C licensees complete 30 hours (15 in each area). Required topic minimums each cycle include 1 hour insurance law, 1 hour ethics/professionalism, 1 hour flood insurance, and 1 hour diversity/inclusion and elimination-of-bias instruction.
Numbers to Memorize
| Topic | Value |
|---|---|
| Full P&C pre-license hours | 90 |
| Personal Lines hours | 40 |
| Exam questions / time | 150 / 150 min |
| Passing score | 70% overall |
| BI / PD limits | 25/50 / $10,000 |
| PIP (No-Fault) | $50,000 |
| CE (single / dual line) | 15 / 30 hrs |
Next, Chapter 1 dives into DFS authority, Insurance Law Article 21, and Regulation 60.
Which figure correctly states New York's minimum property damage liability limit for a private passenger auto policy?
A candidate completes the New York P&C exam in February 2026 but does not file a license application until June 2028. What is the result?
How many hours of continuing education must a New York producer who holds BOTH a life/health and a property & casualty license complete each two-year cycle?
Which professional designation lets a New York candidate waive P&C pre-licensing education (while still passing the exam)?