- What the 18 NY-LAH Domains Actually Are
- How Domains Map to the 150-Question Exam
- Life Insurance Domains (3-9)
- Accident & Health Domains (10-18)
- Foundation Domains: Regulation & General Insurance
- Domain Weight Reference Table
- Sequencing Your Study Around the Domain Weights
- Who Hires Around These Domains
- Frequently Asked Questions
- The Series 17-55 content outline covers exactly 18 domains, weighted from 2% to 10% of the 150 scored questions.
- Life Insurance Policy Provisions, Options, and Riders (Domain 5) is the single largest domain at 10%.
- You need 105 correct answers out of 150 (70%) within 2 hours 30 minutes to pass.
- Life-related domains (3-9) and health-related domains (10-18) each form roughly half the exam by weight.
What the 18 NY-LAH Domains Actually Are
The New York Life, Accident & Health Insurance Agent/Broker Exam (Series 17-55) is built from a topic locator maintained by the New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) and administered through PSI testing centers or remote online proctoring. That locator - currently labeled 2018-2019 by DFS - breaks the entire exam into 18 discrete content domains, each assigned a percentage weight that tells you roughly how many of the 150 scored, multiple-choice questions will come from that area.
Unlike a generic "insurance exam," the NY-LAH domain structure is deliberately split into two halves: a life insurance and annuities cluster (Domains 3-9) and an accident and health insurance cluster (Domains 10-18), bookended by two foundational domains covering regulation and general insurance concepts. If you're still getting oriented to the exam overall, our What Is NY-LAH? overview and the NY-LAH Requirements guide are good starting points before you dig into domain-level detail.
How Domains Map to the 150-Question Exam
Every Series 17-55 exam session presents 150 electronically administered multiple-choice questions, and candidates have 2 hours 30 minutes to complete them. A passing result requires 105 correct answers - exactly 70%. There is no separate pass/fail threshold per domain; your raw score across all 18 domains combined determines whether you pass. That said, understanding domain weight helps you predict roughly how many questions you'll see from each area, which is a more useful planning tool than treating the exam as one undifferentiated pool of trivia.
For a deeper breakdown of the scoring math and what 105 correct really means in practice, see NY-LAH Passing Score 2026. And if you want the full mechanics on registration timing, retake rules, and license application windows, our NY-LAH Exam Dates article covers scheduling in detail.
Key Takeaway
Because Domain 5 alone carries 10% weight, treat Life Insurance Policy Provisions, Options, and Riders as your highest-priority single domain - it likely generates more questions than any other topic on the exam.
Life Insurance Domains (3-9)
Domains 3 through 9 form the life insurance and annuities half of the NY-LAH content outline. Together they touch policy mechanics, contract riders, tax treatment, retirement vehicles, and the increasingly relevant topic of life settlements.
Domain 3: Life Insurance Basics (8%)
Covers the fundamental building blocks of life insurance: insurable interest, the parties to a policy, underwriting classifications, and how mortality and premium concepts connect.
- Insurable interest requirements and who can be named as owner, insured, or beneficiary
- Underwriting risk classes and how they affect premium
Domain 4: Life Insurance Policies (8%)
Focuses on the major policy types - term, whole life, universal life, and variable products - and how their structures differ in cash value accumulation and premium flexibility.
- Distinguishing level term from decreasing/increasing term structures
- How universal life's flexible premium design differs from traditional whole life
Domain 5: Life Insurance Policy Provisions, Options, and Riders (10%)
The single largest domain on the exam. Expect deep coverage of standard contract provisions, nonforfeiture options, settlement options, and common riders.
- Grace periods, incontestability, reinstatement, and misstatement-of-age provisions
- Waiver of premium, accelerated death benefit, and guaranteed insurability riders
Domain 6: Annuities (7%)
Covers accumulation and annuitization phases, fixed versus variable products, and payout options.
- Differences between immediate and deferred annuities
- Surrender charges and free-look provisions specific to annuity contracts
Domain 7: Federal Tax Considerations for Life Insurance and Annuities (2%)
A narrow but testable domain on the tax treatment of death benefits, cash value growth, and annuity distributions.
- Tax-deferred growth inside annuities versus taxable withdrawal ordering rules
Domain 8: Qualified Plans (2%)
Introduces retirement plan structures that intersect with life insurance and annuity products sold by licensed agents.
- Basic distinctions between qualified and nonqualified plan tax treatment
Domain 9: Life Settlement (3%)
Covers the sale of an existing life insurance policy to a third party for a lump sum, including disclosure obligations.
- How a life settlement differs from a policy surrender or viatical settlement
Taken together, Domains 3 through 9 represent a substantial share of the exam. If this cluster feels heavier than you expected, that difficulty curve is well documented in our How Hard Is the NY-LAH Exam? guide, which breaks down where most candidates lose points.
Accident & Health Domains (10-18)
The second half of the outline shifts entirely to accident and health insurance - a broad category spanning individual policies, disability income, group coverage, and government programs.
Domain 10: Accident and Health Insurance Basics (5%)
Establishes core terminology: perils, exclusions, elimination periods, and the general structure of indemnity versus service-benefit plans.
- Understanding pre-existing condition definitions and waiting periods
Domain 11: Individual Health Insurance Policy General Provisions (4%)
Focuses on mandatory and optional policy provisions required in individual accident and health contracts.
- Time limits on certain defenses and proof-of-loss requirements
Domain 12: Disability Income and Related Insurance (6%)
Covers how disability income policies define "disability," benefit periods, and elimination periods.
- Own-occupation versus any-occupation definitions of disability
Domain 13: Medical Plans (6%)
Covers major medical, basic hospital-surgical, and managed care plan structures.
- HMO versus PPO network and referral structures
Domain 14: Federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (6%)
Tests knowledge of ACA-driven requirements affecting individual and small-group health coverage sold in New York.
- Essential health benefits and guaranteed-issue requirements
Domain 15: Long-Term Care (LTC) Insurance (6%)
Covers benefit triggers, elimination periods, and inflation protection features unique to LTC policies.
- Activities-of-daily-living triggers used to determine benefit eligibility
Domain 16: Group Health and Blanket Insurance (5%)
Distinguishes group underwriting and eligibility rules from individual coverage, plus blanket policy characteristics.
- COBRA-style continuation concepts and conversion privileges
Domain 17: Government Health Insurance Plans (5%)
Covers Medicare Parts A, B, C, and D along with Medicaid basics as they relate to licensed agent responsibilities.
- Medicare Supplement standardized plan structures
Domain 18: Private Insurance for Senior Citizens and Special Needs Individuals (6%)
Covers products marketed specifically to seniors and special needs populations, including suitability considerations.
- Suitability and replacement rules when selling to older applicants
Foundation Domains: Regulation & General Insurance
Two domains sit outside the life and health clusters but touch every product line tested on the exam.
Domain 1: Insurance Regulation (7%)
Covers DFS licensing authority, agent and broker duties, unfair trade practices, and New York-specific compliance rules.
- Licensing requirements, appointment rules, and DFS enforcement authority
Domain 2: General Insurance (4%)
Introduces core insurance concepts that apply broadly before the exam narrows into life and health specifics.
- Risk, indemnity, and contract law principles underlying all insurance products
Because Domain 1 carries meaningful weight relative to some later domains, don't treat regulation as an afterthought. Many candidates underestimate it precisely because it feels less "product-based" than the life and health domains - a gap our NY-LAH Cheat Sheet is designed to help close quickly.
Domain Weight Reference Table
| Domain | Weight |
|---|---|
| 1. Insurance Regulation | 7% |
| 2. General Insurance | 4% |
| 3. Life Insurance Basics | 8% |
| 4. Life Insurance Policies | 8% |
| 5. Life Insurance Policy Provisions, Options, and Riders | 10% |
| 6. Annuities | 7% |
| 7. Federal Tax Considerations for Life Insurance and Annuities | 2% |
| 8. Qualified Plans | 2% |
| 9. Life Settlement | 3% |
| 10. Accident and Health Insurance Basics | 5% |
| 11. Individual Health Insurance Policy General Provisions | 4% |
| 12. Disability Income and Related Insurance | 6% |
| 13. Medical Plans | 6% |
| 14. Federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act | 6% |
| 15. Long-Term Care (LTC) Insurance | 6% |
| 16. Group Health and Blanket Insurance | 5% |
| 17. Government Health Insurance Plans | 5% |
| 18. Private Insurance for Senior Citizens and Special Needs Individuals | 6% |
Sequencing Your Study Around the Domain Weights
You don't need a generic study calendar - you need one built around where the points actually live. A practical approach is to spend early weeks on the heaviest domains while they're fresh, then use later weeks to reinforce lower-weight domains just before test day so they're not forgotten.
Anchor the biggest domain first
- Master Domain 5 (Life Insurance Policy Provisions, Options, and Riders) since it's worth 10%
- Layer in Domains 3 and 4 (Life Insurance Basics and Policies) at 8% each
Cover the health cluster's core weight
- Work through Domains 12-15 (Disability Income, Medical Plans, ACA, LTC), each worth 6%
- Add Domain 1 (Insurance Regulation) at 7% since it applies across every product
Fill in mid-weight and low-weight domains
- Cover Domains 6, 10, 16, 17, 18 and the remaining individual/general provisions domains
- Finish with Domains 7, 8, and 9, which are lower weight but still scored questions
For a full walkthrough of pacing, practice-question strategy, and how to structure review sessions around these domain weights, see the NY-LAH Study Guide. Running timed practice sets on our practice test platform alongside this schedule is one of the most direct ways to see which of the 18 domains still need attention before you sit for the real thing.
Who Hires Around These Domains
Because the NY-LAH license authorizes selling both life/annuity and accident/health products in New York, the domain structure reflects the dual nature of the roles it supports - captive and independent life insurance agents, health and Medicare-focused brokers, and financial services firms that bundle life, annuity, and health products under one licensed producer. Agents pursuing variable life or variable annuity authority also need FINRA registration and a CRD number in addition to the state license. If you're evaluating whether the license is worth pursuing given career and earnings potential, our Is the NY-LAH Certification Worth It? and NY-LAH Salary Guide articles go into that decision in more depth, and NY-LAH Jobs covers the types of roles that typically require this license.
Frequently Asked Questions
The Series 17-55 content outline is organized into 18 domains, covering everything from insurance regulation and general insurance concepts to specific life, annuity, disability, medical, and government health insurance topics.
Life Insurance Policy Provisions, Options, and Riders (Domain 5) is the largest single domain at 10% of the exam, making it the highest-priority area for focused review.
Domains 3 through 9 (life insurance and annuities) and Domains 10 through 18 (accident and health) each account for a substantial share of the 150 questions, with the life cluster carrying slightly more weight per domain on average due to Domain 5's 10% share.
No. The passing standard is 105 correct answers out of 150 total questions (70%) across the entire exam, not a minimum score within each individual domain.
DFS links to a Series 17-55 topic locator, currently labeled 2018-2019, which lists all 18 domains and their weights. This article mirrors that structure so you can plan study time around each domain's actual share of the exam.