Alabama Property & Casualty Insurance License Exam — All Questions

The entire contract provision in a property and casualty policy means that:

• a.The agent's spoken promises modify the contract
• b.The insurer's underwriting file is part of the deal
• c.The company's advertising becomes a warranty
• d.The policy and application are the whole contract✓

The provision confines the agreement to the written policy plus whatever is attached to it, so nothing outside the four corners of the document adds to or subtracts from coverage. That is why an agent's oral assurance cannot rewrite the form and why the underwriting file and the company's brochures are not part of the bargain. Any change must be made by a written endorsement made part of the contract.

An applicant says nothing about a fire that destroyed an earlier building at the same location, and the insurer does not ask about it. This is best described as:

• a.Concealment of a material fact✓
• b.A warranty the insured breached
• c.A misrepresentation of a fact
• d.An immaterial omission of history

Concealment is silence about a material fact the applicant knew and had a duty to disclose; a misrepresentation, by contrast, is an untrue statement actually made. Loss history at the very same location is plainly material, since it would change how an underwriter rates or accepts the risk, so calling it immaterial fails. A warranty is a promise written into the contract, not information withheld before it issues.

Immediately after a covered fire, which action is a duty the policy places on the insured?

• a.Discard the damaged property to clear the site
• b.Protect the property from further damage✓
• c.Begin permanent repairs before an inspection
• d.Settle directly with anyone who was injured

Duties after loss include giving prompt notice, protecting the property from additional damage, preparing an inventory, cooperating with the investigation and submitting to examination under oath. Making permanent repairs or throwing out damaged goods first destroys the evidence the adjuster needs to value the claim, and settling voluntarily with a claimant is barred because it prejudices the insurer's defense.

In the claim process, a proof of loss is best described as:

• a.The insurer's formal offer to settle a claim
• b.A receipt showing the insured paid the premium
• c.The adjuster's written estimate of repair cost
• d.A sworn statement of the loss and its amount✓

The proof of loss is the insured's own signed and sworn statement of the time, cause and amount of the loss and of the insured's interest in the property, and the policy requires it before the insurer must pay. It is not the adjuster's estimate, which is the insurer's own valuation of the same damage, and it is not a settlement offer, which comes later once the claim has been reviewed.

The insured and the insurer agree the fire loss is covered but cannot agree on what it is worth. Under the appraisal condition:

• a.The insurer's adjuster sets the binding amount
• b.Each picks an appraiser and they pick an umpire✓
• c.The claim is denied until the parties agree
• d.A court decides the amount before any payment

Appraisal is a valuation mechanism, not a coverage mechanism: each side names a competent independent appraiser, the two of them select an umpire, and agreement between any two of the three sets the amount of loss. It is available only where coverage itself is not in dispute. Nothing in it lets the adjuster fix the figure alone or forces the insured into court, and the claim is not denied merely for want of agreement.

The suit against us condition in a property policy provides that the insured may sue the insurer only if:

• a.The insured hires counsel approved by the insurer
• b.The loss exceeds the deductible by a wide margin
• c.The insurer has refused arbitration in writing
• d.The insured has complied with the policy terms✓

The condition bars an action unless there has been full compliance with the terms of the policy, including notice, proof of loss and cooperation, and unless suit is brought within the time the policy allows, a period that varies by jurisdiction. Its purpose is to make the insured exhaust the claim process first. The insurer does not select the insured's lawyer, and the size of the loss is not a condition of suing.

After a covered glass loss, the insurer notifies the insured that it will replace the glass rather than pay cash. This is permitted because:

• a.The deductible was not yet collected
• b.The insured waived cash by filing a claim
• c.Repair is required whenever it costs less
• d.The policy gives the insurer that option✓

Loss settlement conditions reserve to the insurer the choice of paying the loss in money or of repairing or replacing the damaged property with material of like kind and quality, after telling the insured what it intends to do. It is the insurer's election, not a rule that the cheaper route must be taken, and not something the insured surrenders by filing. The deductible is subtracted from the settlement either way.

A warehouse is covered by two policies on the same property, one for $100,000 and one for $300,000, each with a pro rata other-insurance clause. A $40,000 covered loss occurs. The $100,000 policy pays:

• a.$10,000✓
• b.$20,000
• c.$40,000
• d.$30,000

Pro rata sharing gives each policy the share its limit bears to the total insurance in force: $100,000 out of $400,000 is one quarter, so that policy pays one quarter of the $40,000 loss, or $10,000, while the larger policy pays $30,000. Splitting the loss evenly at $20,000 apiece ignores the limits, and no single policy pays the whole loss where a pro rata clause governs.

A policy contains an excess other-insurance clause. When another policy also covers the same loss, the excess policy:

• a.Shares in proportion to the two policy limits
• b.Pays half the loss alongside the other insurer
• c.Is void because of the duplicate coverage
• d.Pays only after the other insurance is used up✓

An excess clause puts that policy behind any other collectible insurance, so it pays nothing until the primary limit is exhausted and then only what remains. That differs from pro rata sharing, where each policy contributes according to its limit. When two policies are written on different terms, the resulting non-concurrency can leave the clauses in conflict and the insured with less than expected.

After a driver damages the insured's fence, the insured signs a paper releasing that driver from all claims and then files with his own insurer. The effect is that:

• a.The release transfers to the insurer on payment
• b.The insurer's recovery right has been impaired✓
• c.The insurer must still pay and pursue the driver
• d.The driver's insurer now owes the whole loss

The subrogation condition requires the insured to do nothing after a loss that would prejudice the insurer's right to step into his shoes and recover from the party at fault. Signing a release destroys that right, and the insurer may reduce or deny the claim to the extent it was harmed. A waiver given before any loss can sometimes stand, but a release signed afterward cannot be handed on to the insurer.

A homeowner intentionally sets fire to his own insured house. Under the standard mortgage clause, the mortgagee:

• a.Receives only the unearned premium back
• b.Is paid to the extent of its interest✓
• c.Loses its claim along with the owner's
• d.Must first sue the owner for the balance

The standard mortgage clause creates a separate contract between the insurer and the mortgagee, so the mortgagee's interest survives acts of the owner that would defeat the owner's own claim, arson and misrepresentation included. Having paid, the insurer takes an assignment of the mortgage or subrogates against the owner. The mortgagee need not sue first, and it is owed its interest rather than a premium refund.

An insured sells his building and tries to hand the property policy to the buyer. That assignment is effective only if:

• a.The policy has run half of its term
• b.The buyer assumes the unpaid premium
• c.The insurer consents to it in writing✓
• d.The deed and policy are recorded together

A property policy is a personal contract between the insurer and the particular insured whose character, loss history and use of the property were underwritten, so it cannot be handed to a stranger without the insurer's written consent. Paying the outstanding premium or recording documents at the courthouse does nothing to bind an insurer to someone it did not evaluate, and the age of the policy is irrelevant.

The difference between cancellation of a policy and non-renewal of a policy is that cancellation:

• a.Returns the entire premium to the insured
• b.Terminates the contract before it expires✓
• c.Declines to continue it past expiration
• d.Requires the insured's written agreement

Cancellation cuts the contract short while the term is still running, and either party may do it on the terms the policy and the law of the jurisdiction allow. Non-renewal is a decision made at the end of a term not to offer another one, so the contract simply runs out on schedule. Neither one needs the other party's agreement, and cancellation returns unearned premium only, not the whole premium.

A policy carries a $1,000 deductible for each occurrence. A windstorm damages the roof for $12,000 and, three months later, a separate hailstorm causes $4,000 of damage. The insurer pays in total:

• a.$14,000✓
• b.$16,000
• c.$11,000
• d.$15,000

A per-occurrence deductible is subtracted from each separate loss, so the insured absorbs $1,000 twice: $11,000 is paid on the wind claim and $3,000 on the hail claim, a total of $14,000. Applying one deductible to the whole year yields $15,000, and ignoring the deductible altogether yields the full $16,000. The deductible reduces the payment; it is not a bill sent to the insured.

A bank that financed the insured's equipment is shown on the declarations as a loss payee. That means the bank:

• a.Owes the premium if the insured does not
• b.Can cancel the policy and collect a refund
• c.Is paid for damage to that equipment✓
• d.Receives liability coverage as an insured

A loss payee has a financial interest in specific property and is named so that payment for damage to that property runs to it along with the insured; its rights reach no further than that property. An additional insured, by contrast, is brought under the liability coverage. Only the named insured holds the right to change or cancel the policy and the duty to pay the premium.

A customer slips in the insured's store and sues him. What the insured presents to his liability insurer is:

• a.A third-party claim, defended by the insurer✓
• b.A subrogation claim against the customer
• c.An excess claim over the customer's health plan
• d.A first-party claim for the insured's own loss

A first-party claim is the insured presenting his own loss to his own insurer, such as fire damage to the store itself. When someone outside the contract asserts a claim against the insured, it is a third-party claim, and the liability policy owes both a defense and payment of damages up to the limit. Subrogation runs the other way, against whoever caused the insured's loss.

Which agency issues resident property and casualty producer licenses in Alabama?

• a.The federal National Association of Insurance Commissioners
• b.Alabama Department of Insurance✓
• c.Alabama Secretary of State
• d.Alabama Department of Motor Vehicles

Alabama's insurance regulator is the Alabama Department of Insurance, led by the Commissioner of Insurance appointed by the Governor. It issues producer licenses and enforces the state insurance code — not the DMV, the Secretary of State, or the NAIC.

After a producer is licensed in Alabama, what must occur before he or she can transact business for a specific insurer?

• a.The insurer must appoint the producer and file that appointment with the Alabama Department of Insurance✓
• b.The producer must first sell ten policies as a supervised trainee
• c.The producer must post a personal surety bond with the state treasurer
• d.Nothing further; the license alone authorizes representing any insurer

A license lets a person act as a producer, but to represent a particular company the insurer must appoint the producer and file the appointment with the Alabama Department of Insurance. A producer may hold appointments from several insurers at once.

Which statement best describes Alabama's continuing education (CE) requirement for resident P&C producers?

• a.CE can be satisfied only by retaking the state licensing examination
• b.No CE is ever required once the license is issued
• c.State-approved CE, including an ethics component, must be completed each renewal period to keep the license active✓
• d.CE is required only in the first renewal cycle and never again

Like other NAIC-model states, Alabama requires resident producers to complete approved CE each renewal cycle, including a required ethics portion, plus the renewal fee. Exact hour totals are set by the Alabama Department of Insurance; confirm the current hours before renewing.

What are Alabama's minimum auto liability limits for bodily injury (per person / per accident) and property damage?

• a.$100,000 / $300,000 / $50,000
• b.There is no minimum; auto liability coverage is optional
• c.$25,000 / $50,000 / $25,000✓
• d.$10,000 / $20,000 / $10,000

Under Alabama's Mandatory Liability Insurance Act (Ala. Code Title 32, Chapter 7), Alabama's minimum auto liability limits are $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident for bodily injury, plus $25,000 for property damage (written 25/50/25). Always verify current figures with the Alabama Department of Insurance.

For settling auto injury claims, Alabama follows which system?

• a.A tort ('at-fault') system in which the at-fault driver's liability coverage pays the other party✓
• b.A federal single-payer auto injury system
• c.A system with no financial-responsibility requirement of any kind
• d.A pure no-fault system in which each driver's own insurer always pays regardless of fault

Alabama is a traditional tort ('at-fault') state, not a no-fault state; the at-fault driver's liability coverage pays third-party claims. This determines how injury claims are paid in Alabama.

Under Alabama law, when an insurer cancels or does not renew a personal auto or homeowners policy, it must generally:

• a.Provide the policyholder advance written notice stating the reason, within the period fixed by state law✓
• b.Refund triple the premium as a statutory penalty
• c.Give no notice, because policies simply end at expiration
• d.Obtain the policyholder's written consent before it may nonrenew

Alabama regulates midterm cancellation and nonrenewal of personal-lines policies. Insurers must give advance written notice stating the reason within the number of days set by state law (shorter for nonpayment, longer for other reasons). Verify the exact notice periods with the Alabama Department of Insurance.

A property owner in Alabama needs coverage on a one-to-four-family dwelling that is rented to tenants (not owner-occupied). Which policy is typically appropriate?

• a.A Dwelling (DP) policy, which is designed for rental or non-owner-occupied dwellings✓
• b.A commercial crime policy
• c.A personal auto policy endorsement
• d.An HO-3 homeowners policy, which fits any dwelling

Homeowners (HO) forms require owner-occupancy. For a rental or non-owner-occupied dwelling, a Dwelling Property (DP) policy is the standard product in Alabama and nationwide. This national concept is applied to Alabama risks on the exam.

A Alabama producer offers a prospect part of the producer's own commission in cash to induce the purchase of a policy. This practice is:

• a.Prohibited as unlawful rebating under the state's unfair trade practices law✓
• b.Required to be reported but otherwise lawful
• c.Permitted for personal auto policies only
• d.Permitted if the producer discloses it to the insurer

Rebating — giving any part of the premium or commission, or other valuable consideration, to induce a purchase — is prohibited under Alabama's unfair trade practices law because it can create unfair discrimination between similar policyholders.

Premiums a Alabama producer collects from clients before remitting them to the insurer are:

• a.Automatically forfeited to the state guaranty association
• b.The producer's personal income as soon as they are received
• c.Exempt from any trust-accounting requirement
• d.Held in a fiduciary capacity and must not be commingled or converted for personal use✓

Alabama, like other states, treats collected premiums as fiduciary funds belonging to the insurer or the insured. Commingling or converting them is grounds for license discipline and can be a crime; accurate trust accounting is required.