- Exam Overview: How the 16 Domains Fit Together
- Life Insurance Domains (3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
- Regulation, General Insurance and Customer Relations (1, 2, 8)
- Accident and Health Domains (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16)
- Senior Citizens and Special Needs Coverage (15)
- Domain Weighting Table and Question Counts
- Mapping a Study Schedule to the Domains
- Frequently Asked Questions
- The NELH exam covers 16 domains across 150 scored questions in 150 minutes.
- Insurance Regulation is the single largest domain at 15% of the exam.
- You need 105 correct answers (70%) to pass the combined Life and Health exam.
- Domains 8, 14, and 16 each carry only 1-2%, so budget study time proportionally.
Exam Overview: How the 16 Domains Fit Together
The Nebraska Life & Health Insurance Producer Exam (NELH) is administered through PSI as Series 13-03, combining Life and Annuities content with Accident and Health or Sickness Insurance content into a single test. Candidates answer 150 scored multiple-choice questions in 150 minutes, and a score of 70% (105 correct answers) is required to pass. The exam costs $47, and Nebraska's open eligibility model means there is no state-mandated prelicensing course requirement before you sit for it.
What makes this exam distinct is that it isn't organized around one product line. Instead, PSI's content outline splits the material into 16 domains that blend regulatory knowledge, life insurance mechanics, annuity concepts, and accident and health provisions. Understanding how these domains are weighted is the fastest way to prioritize study time - a topic we break down in full detail in our complete domain weighting guide.
Life Insurance Domains (3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
Life insurance content makes up a substantial share of the NELH exam once you combine the five domains below. Together they test whether you understand how life policies are built, sold, and taxed.
Domain 3: Life Insurance Basics (8%)
Candidates must understand the fundamental structure of life insurance: insurable interest, the parties to a policy, and how term versus permanent coverage differs.
- Definitions of insured, owner, and beneficiary roles
- Term life versus whole life mechanics
- Premium calculation basics and mortality tables
Domain 4: Life Insurance Policies (9%)
This domain drills into specific policy types candidates will encounter in the field, including universal life, variable life, and endowment contracts.
- Differences between whole, universal, and variable life products
- Group versus individual life policy structures
- Policy application, underwriting, and issue process
Domain 5: Life Insurance Policy Provisions, Options and Riders (9%)
Riders and nonforfeiture options are frequently tested because they trip up candidates who only memorize product names without understanding contract mechanics.
- Nonforfeiture options: cash surrender, extended term, reduced paid-up
- Common riders: waiver of premium, accelerated death benefit, guaranteed insurability
- Settlement options and dividend options
Domain 6: Annuities (6%)
Annuity questions focus on payout structures and how annuities differ functionally from life insurance despite sharing similar sales channels.
- Immediate versus deferred annuities
- Fixed, variable, and indexed annuity distinctions
- Annuitization and payout options
Domain 7: Federal Taxation of Life Insurance and Annuities (4%)
Tax treatment questions are precise and fact-based, so approximate answers won't earn credit here.
- Tax-deferred growth of cash value and annuity accumulation
- Taxation of death benefits versus surrendered cash value
- 1035 exchanges between life and annuity contracts
Key Takeaway
Domains 3 through 7 together account for a large portion of scored questions, so treat life insurance product knowledge as a core study block rather than a quick review pass.
Regulation, General Insurance and Customer Relations (1, 2, 8)
These three domains cover the legal and ethical framework around producing insurance in Nebraska. Domain 1 is the single largest domain on the entire exam.
Domain 1: Insurance Regulation (15%)
As the largest domain, Insurance Regulation deserves the most dedicated study time of any topic on the exam. It covers producer licensing, appointment rules, and the Nebraska Department of Insurance's authority.
- Producer licensing requirements and application timelines
- Unfair trade practices and penalties for violations
- Continuing education obligations for license renewal
Domain 2: General Insurance (10%)
General Insurance covers concepts that apply across all product lines rather than being specific to life or health coverage.
- Risk management and the concept of insurable risk
- Contract law basics: offer, acceptance, and consideration
- Underwriting principles common to every policy type
Domain 8: Customer Relations and Privacy (1%)
Though small in weight, this domain tests producer conduct standards and privacy obligations that examiners still expect candidates to know cold.
- Confidentiality of applicant and policyholder information
- Disclosure requirements during the sales process
Because Insurance Regulation alone represents 15% of the exam, many candidates ask exactly how the passing threshold is calculated across all domains combined - that math is explained fully in our passing score breakdown.
Accident and Health Domains (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16)
The health insurance side of the NELH exam spans seven domains, ranging from underwriting principles to specific product categories like dental and group plans.
Domain 9: Sickness and Accident Risk and Underwriting (8%)
This domain tests how insurers evaluate applicants for health coverage and classify risk.
- Underwriting factors for accident and sickness policies
- Preexisting condition evaluation
- Rating classifications and risk pools
Domain 10: Individual Accident and Sickness Insurance Policy General Provisions and Clauses (6%)
Standard policy provisions are tested heavily here, including required and optional clauses under Nebraska law.
- Mandatory versus optional policy provisions
- Grace periods, reinstatement, and claims filing time limits
- Exclusions and limitations in health contracts
Domain 11: Disability (3%)
Disability income concepts focus on how benefits are triggered and calculated.
- Definitions of total, partial, and residual disability
- Elimination periods and benefit periods
Domain 12: Medical Plans (6%)
Medical plan structures - including managed care models - appear frequently in scenario-based questions.
- HMO, PPO, and indemnity plan structures
- Basic hospital, surgical, and major medical coverage
Domain 13: Group Plans (6%)
Group insurance questions test how coverage differs when issued to employers rather than individuals.
- Group underwriting and eligibility rules
- Conversion privileges when group coverage ends
Domain 14: Dental Insurance (2%)
A small but distinct domain covering dental-specific plan features.
- Basic dental plan types and coverage tiers
- Common dental plan exclusions
Domain 16: Federal Tax Considerations for Sickness and Accident Insurance (2%)
This closing domain mirrors Domain 7 but applies tax rules to health-related benefits instead of life insurance.
- Taxation of disability income benefits
- Deductibility of health insurance premiums
Senior Citizens and Special Needs Coverage (15)
Domain 15: Insurance for Senior Citizens and Individuals with Special Needs (5%)
This domain covers products and regulations specific to older applicants and individuals with special needs, an area many producers work in directly after licensing.
- Medicare Supplement policy standardization
- Long-term care insurance basics
- Suitability rules for senior consumers
Because this domain touches products that generalist producers may not encounter in everyday personal lines work, it's worth extra review even though it sits in the middle of the weighting scale. If you're evaluating whether this line of work fits your career goals, our overview of roles that use this license explains where senior-market specialists typically work.
Domain Weighting Table and Question Counts
Below is the approximate question distribution based on domain weight applied to the 150 scored questions. Use this to build a realistic study allocation.
| Domain | Weight | Approx. Questions |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Insurance Regulation | 15% | ~23 |
| 2. General Insurance | 10% | ~15 |
| 4. Life Insurance Policies | 9% | ~14 |
| 5. Life Policy Provisions, Options and Riders | 9% | ~14 |
| 3. Life Insurance Basics | 8% | ~12 |
| 9. Sickness and Accident Risk and Underwriting | 8% | ~12 |
| 6. Annuities | 6% | ~9 |
| 10. Individual A&S Policy Provisions | 6% | ~9 |
| 12. Medical Plans | 6% | ~9 |
| 13. Group Plans | 6% | ~9 |
| 15. Senior Citizens and Special Needs | 5% | ~8 |
| 7. Federal Taxation of Life & Annuities | 4% | ~6 |
| 11. Disability | 3% | ~5 |
| 14. Dental Insurance | 2% | ~3 |
| 16. Federal Tax for A&S Insurance | 2% | ~3 |
| 8. Customer Relations and Privacy | 1% | ~2 |
For a deeper look at how this scoring math translates into your pass/fail outcome on test day, see our NELH passing score guide, and for candidates weighing whether the effort matches the payoff, our salary guide and ROI analysis cover that ground in detail.
Mapping a Study Schedule to the Domains
Because Nebraska requires no prelicensing coursework, candidates are entirely responsible for organizing their own review. The most efficient approach ties each study week directly to domain weight rather than working through material alphabetically or in the order it appears in a textbook.
Regulation and General Insurance Foundation
- Master Domain 1 (Insurance Regulation) since it's worth more than any other single domain
- Cover Domain 2 (General Insurance) concepts that underpin later material
Life Insurance Core
- Work through Domains 3, 4, and 5 together since they build on each other
- Drill riders and nonforfeiture options with practice questions
Annuities and Tax Rules
- Study Domain 6 (Annuities) alongside Domain 7 (life/annuity taxation) since they overlap conceptually
- Review 1035 exchange rules and tax-deferred growth
Health, Group, and Senior Market Topics
- Cover Domains 9-14 and 16 in sequence, then finish with Domain 15 (senior/special needs)
- Take full-length timed practice exams to simulate the 150-minute format
This four-week structure is a starting point, not a rule - some candidates need longer on regulation-heavy material while others move faster through health domains. For a more granular week-by-week plan, see our full NELH study guide, and if you want a condensed reference for the final days before your test, the one-page cheat sheet is built specifically around these 16 domains.
If you're still deciding whether this exam is the right fit for your goals or how it compares in difficulty to other tests, our exam difficulty breakdown and pass rate analysis give additional context. And once you've mapped the domains, running through realistic practice test questions is the fastest way to see which of the 16 areas still need work before scheduling at a PSI testing site.
Frequently Asked Questions
There are 16 content domains covering life insurance, annuities, accident and health insurance, regulation, and specialized topics like senior citizen coverage and taxation.
Insurance Regulation is the largest domain at 15% of the exam, followed by General Insurance at 10%.
No. Domain weights range from 1% to 15%, so allocating study time proportionally to each domain's weight is more efficient than treating every topic equally.
Question counts are proportional to domain weight across the 150 scored questions; the 15% Insurance Regulation domain yields roughly 23 questions, while a 1% domain yields only 1-2.
No. Nebraska uses open eligibility with no state-mandated prelicensing education, so candidates typically rely on self-study resources and practice exams to cover all 16 domains before testing at a PSI site.