- The exam has 150 scored questions plus up to 10 unscored pretest items in 2 hours 30 minutes.
- You need a 75% cut score to pass Series 16-80 through PSI.
- Insurance Regulation is the single largest domain at 11.5% of the exam.
- Michigan eliminated remote testing in June 2025 - you must test at a physical PSI center.
What the MI L&H Exam Actually Covers
The Michigan Life, Accident and Health Producer license - MI L&H - is the credential that lets you legally sell life insurance, annuities, disability income, medical plans, and related products in Michigan. It's regulated by the Michigan Department of Insurance and Financial Services (DIFS) but the actual test is built and delivered by PSI under the exam code Series 16-80. If you've never sat for a state insurance licensing exam before, it helps to first understand exactly what the MI L&H credential is and how it differs from other insurance lines before you dive into content review.
This guide is written specifically around the Series 16-80 outline, not general insurance exam advice. Everything below reflects the current PSI candidate bulletin, effective June 10, 2025, with the underlying content outline and 75% cut score that have been in place since May 1, 2020.
Registration, Fees, and Testing Logistics
Before you can sit for the exam, Michigan requires 40 hours of combined Life and Health prelicensing education, unless you qualify for an exemption. Once you complete that education, your prelicensing certificate is only valid for 12 months, so don't let it sit unused. If you're unsure whether you qualify for an exemption or need the full 40 hours, the MI L&H requirements guide walks through eligibility in detail.
Here's what the actual test day mechanics look like:
- Exam fee: $41, paid directly to PSI when you schedule.
- Question count: 150 scored multiple-choice questions, plus 1 to 10 unscored experimental items mixed in (you won't know which is which).
- Time allowed: 2 hours 30 minutes.
- Passing score: 75%, unchanged since the May 2020 outline update.
- Testing location: In-person only. Michigan discontinued remote insurance examinations in June 2025, so every candidate now tests at an authorized PSI test center.
Once you pass, that result is also only good for 12 months for licensing purposes, so treat your exam date as the start of a countdown, not a finish line. If you want the exact fee structure laid out alongside education costs and any retake fees, check the MI L&H certification cost breakdown. And if you're still mapping out when to schedule relative to your prelicensing completion, the exam dates and scheduling guide covers the deadlines you need to track.
Key Takeaway
Because remote testing is gone, build travel time to a PSI center into your test-day plan - arriving late or unprepared for in-person ID checks is an avoidable way to waste a $41 attempt.
The 15 Domains That Decide Your Score
Series 16-80 is built from 15 content domains, each weighted differently. Studying every domain "equally" is the single most common mistake candidates make. Instead, allocate your time in proportion to how much of the exam it represents.
| Domain | Weight |
|---|---|
| 1. Insurance Regulation | 11.5% |
| 2. General Insurance | 10% |
| 3. Life Insurance Basics | 10% |
| 8. Accident and Health Insurance Basics | 10% |
| 5. Life Insurance Policy Provisions, Options, and Riders | 10% |
| 11. Medical Plans | 9% |
| 14. Health Insurance for Senior Citizens and Special Needs Individuals | 8% |
| 10. Disability Income and Related Insurance | 5.5% |
| 4. Life Insurance Policies | 5% |
| 9. Individual Accident and Health Insurance Policy General Provisions | 5% |
| 12. Group Health Insurance | 5% |
| 6. Annuities | 4% |
| 7. Federal Tax Considerations for Life Insurance, Annuities, and Qualified Plans | 3.5% |
| 15. Federal Tax Considerations for Health Insurance | 2% |
| 13. Dental Insurance | 1.5% |
Notice that Insurance Regulation, by itself, outweighs Annuities and both tax domains combined. Yet many candidates skip regulation content because it feels "administrative" compared to product mechanics. That's a mistake worth avoiding - for a full walkthrough of what each domain actually tests, see the complete MI L&H exam domains guide.
Domain 1: Insurance Regulation (11.5%)
This is your single highest-value domain, and it's tested heavily on Michigan-specific producer conduct rules, not generic insurance theory.
- Producer licensing, appointment, and renewal rules under DIFS
- Unfair trade practices, replacement rules, and consumer protection statutes
- Penalties for violations and grounds for license revocation
Domain 8: Accident and Health Insurance Basics (10%)
This domain covers the core mechanics of A&H products before you layer on specific policy types elsewhere in the outline.
- Underwriting concepts and risk classification
- Basic policy provisions common across health products
- Terminology that resurfaces in Domains 9, 10, 11, and 12
Domain 5: Life Insurance Policy Provisions, Options, and Riders (10%)
Expect scenario-based questions that test whether you understand how a rider or provision changes a policy's behavior, not just its definition.
- Nonforfeiture options and settlement options
- Common riders: waiver of premium, accidental death, guaranteed insurability
- Dividend options on participating policies
A Domain-Weighted Study Timeline
You don't need a generic six-week template pulled from unrelated study advice - you need a plan built around these 15 specific domains. Here's how to sequence a five-week review if you're studying part-time while finishing prelicensing hours.
Regulation and Foundations
- Domain 1: Insurance Regulation (11.5%)
- Domain 2: General Insurance (10%)
Life Insurance Core
- Domain 3: Life Insurance Basics (10%)
- Domain 4: Life Insurance Policies (5%)
- Domain 5: Provisions, Options, and Riders (10%)
Annuities and Tax Rules
- Domain 6: Annuities (4%)
- Domain 7: Federal Tax Considerations for Life/Annuities (3.5%)
- Domain 15: Federal Tax Considerations for Health (2%)
Accident and Health Core
- Domain 8: A&H Basics (10%)
- Domain 9: Individual A&H Policy Provisions (5%)
- Domain 10: Disability Income (5.5%)
Medical, Group, and Special Populations
- Domain 11: Medical Plans (9%)
- Domain 12: Group Health Insurance (5%)
- Domain 13: Dental Insurance (1.5%)
- Domain 14: Senior and Special Needs Health Insurance (8%)
Weeks 1 and 2 alone cover more than a third of your total exam weight, which is exactly why front-loading regulation and life fundamentals pays off before you get into denser tax and health domains later. If you want a compact reference to cycle through during review weeks, the MI L&H cheat sheet condenses the must-know facts from all 15 domains onto one page.
Where First-Time Candidates Lose Points
Given the first-time pass rate sits at 45.28%, more than half of candidates don't clear the bar on attempt one. A few patterns show up repeatedly among people who retake the exam:
- Treating tax domains as skippable. Domains 7 and 15 are small individually (3.5% and 2%), but together with annuities they still represent real points, and their rules are frequently confused with each other.
- Underestimating Domain 14. Health Insurance for Senior Citizens and Special Needs Individuals carries 8% weight - nearly as much as Medical Plans - yet it's often reviewed last and rushed.
- Confusing similar provisions across life and health. Nonforfeiture options in Domain 5 and renewability provisions in Domain 9 use similar-sounding language but apply to different product types.
- Running out of time. With 150 scored items plus experimental questions in 2 hours 30 minutes, pacing matters - practicing under timed conditions before test day is non-negotiable.
For a more detailed breakdown of exactly why the exam trips people up structurally, not just topically, read how hard the MI L&H exam really is. And if your target is simply hitting the number itself, the MI L&H passing score guide explains what 75% actually translates to in raw questions answered correctly.
Your Final Week Before Test Day
In the last week, shift from learning new material to closing gaps. Run at least two full-length, 150-question timed practice exams under the same 2 hour 30 minute constraint you'll face at the PSI center. Score each domain separately rather than just looking at your overall percentage - a candidate averaging 80% overall but scoring 55% on Insurance Regulation is at real risk, since that single domain is worth more than any other.
Review your prelicensing certificate expiration date and confirm it's still within its 12-month validity window before you schedule. If it has lapsed, you'll need to retake the education hours before PSI will let you sit for Series 16-80 again.
Finally, revisit any domain-box style summaries or a one-page reference the night before - not to cram new content, but to reinforce recall on high-weight domains like Regulation, General Insurance, Life Basics, A&H Basics, and Provisions/Riders, which together make up over half the exam's total weight.
Key Takeaway
Score your practice exams by domain, not just overall percentage - a weak score in an 11.5% domain hurts far more than a weak score in a 1.5% domain.
Frequently Asked Questions
The exam contains 150 scored multiple-choice questions plus 1 to 10 unscored experimental questions, and you're given 2 hours 30 minutes to complete it.
You need a 75% cut score, which has been the standard since the May 1, 2020 content outline update.
No. Michigan discontinued remote insurance examinations in June 2025. All candidates must test in person at an authorized PSI test center under the current bulletin, effective June 10, 2025.
The PSI exam fee is $41. This is separate from any prelicensing education costs you incur to meet the 40-hour requirement.
Insurance Regulation, at 11.5%, is the single largest domain on the exam, followed closely by General Insurance, Life Insurance Basics, Accident and Health Insurance Basics, and Life Insurance Policy Provisions, Options, and Riders, each at 10%.
Getting through Series 16-80 comes down to respecting the domain weights, understanding the PSI-specific mechanics, and testing yourself under real timed conditions before you ever step into a center. Work through the domains in proportion to their weight, lean on a full practice test platform to simulate the real thing, and treat your certificate and score validity windows as hard deadlines rather than suggestions.