- What Does HI-PC Actually Stand For?
- Why the Meaning Splits Into Two Exams
- The Anatomy of the Property Producer Exam
- The Six Domains Behind the Name
- How Registration and Testing Actually Work
- Who Uses This Credential in Practice
- What the Meaning Extends To After Licensing
- Turning the Name Into a Study Plan
- Frequently Asked Questions
- HI-PC stands for Hawaii Property & Casualty Insurance Producer Exam, administered through Pearson VUE for the Hawaii DCCA Insurance Division.
- Hawaii treats Property and Casualty as two separate 90-minute-plus exams, each with its own fee and question count.
- The Property Producer exam costs $75, has 93 total questions (83 scored, 10 pretest), and runs 120 minutes.
- Hawaii Laws and Rules Common to Life, Accident and Health, Property, Casualty and Personal Lines Insurance is the single largest domain at 27.7%.
What Does HI-PC Actually Stand For?
HI-PC stands for the Hawaii Property & Casualty Insurance Producer Exam, the licensing test that candidates must pass to sell property and casualty insurance products in the state of Hawaii. The exam is administered on behalf of the Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Insurance Division, with Pearson VUE handling delivery, scheduling, and scoring at test centers and through the OnVUE remote-proctoring option.
That is the whole meaning: not a corporate certification, not a national designation, and not a program tied to any other industry that happens to share the same four letters. If you land on this page after searching a different "HI-PC" acronym from another field, this site is not it. Everything here refers specifically to the Hawaii producer licensing exam covering property and casualty lines. For a broader definitional overview, see What Is HI-PC? and What Does HI-PC Stand For?.
Why the Meaning Splits Into Two Exams
A detail that trips up new applicants is that Hawaii does not bundle "Property and Casualty" into one single test the way some states do. The Insurance Division tests Property and Casualty separately, meaning a producer who wants to write both lines typically sits for two distinct exams rather than one combined session.
This site's primary reference point is the Property Producer exam, priced at $75, delivered as a closed-book, computer-based test with 93 total multiple-choice questions - 83 of which are scored and 10 of which are unscored pretest items used to evaluate future exam content. Candidates get 120 minutes to complete it, and a scaled score of 70 is required to pass.
The companion Casualty exam runs on a similar but not identical structure: also $75, but with 103 total questions (91 scored and 12 pretest) and 135 minutes on the clock. Understanding that these are two separate assessments - each with its own fee, timing, and question count - is part of correctly understanding what "HI-PC" means in practice.
| Detail | Property Producer Exam | Casualty Producer Exam |
|---|---|---|
| Fee | $75 | $75 |
| Total Questions | 93 (83 scored, 10 pretest) | 103 (91 scored, 12 pretest) |
| Time Allowed | 120 minutes | 135 minutes |
| Passing Score | Scaled score of 70 | Scaled score of 70 |
If your goal is to write both property and casualty business in Hawaii, you'll want to plan for both sessions. For a deeper walkthrough of what each attempt costs once fees, materials, and retake possibilities are factored in, see HI-PC Certification Cost 2026: Complete Pricing Breakdown.
The Anatomy of the Property Producer Exam
Beyond the name, candidates need to understand the shape of the actual test. The Property Producer exam is closed book - no reference materials, notes, or outside resources are permitted at the testing station. It is delivered on a computer, either at a physical Pearson VUE test center or remotely through OnVUE.
One scheduling nuance worth knowing: Pearson allows a candidate to take two exams back-to-back in a single test-center session, but that back-to-back option is not available through OnVUE. If you're planning to knock out both the Property and Casualty exams in one visit, you'll need to book an in-person center session rather than a remote one.
There is no specific prelicensing education program mandated before sitting for the exam, and applicants must simply be at least 18 years old. That low procedural bar makes the content mastery itself the real gatekeeper - which is exactly why understanding the domain breakdown matters more here than in exams with heavy coursework prerequisites. For a full rundown of eligibility mechanics, see HI-PC Requirements 2026: Eligibility, Prerequisites & How to Qualify, and for scheduling logistics, see HI-PC Exam Dates 2026: Testing Windows, Deadlines & Scheduling.
Key Takeaway
Because no prelicensing course is required, the content outline itself - not a textbook curriculum - is your syllabus. Treat the six domains as the definitive list of what to study.
The Six Domains Behind the Name
The current content outline takes effect January 1, 2026, and its published Property section counts add up to 81 of the 83 scored questions on the exam. Six domains define what "Property and Casualty" knowledge actually means on test day:
Domain 1: Types of Policies (26.5%)
Covers the specific policy forms a producer must recognize and differentiate - the second-largest share of the exam.
- Know how coverage forms differ from one another at a structural level
Domain 2: Insurance Terms and Related Concepts (18.1%)
Tests foundational vocabulary and conceptual understanding that underlies every other domain.
- Precise terminology matters - many wrong answers hinge on a single misunderstood term
Domain 3: Policy Provisions and Contract Law (13.3%)
Focuses on how policy language functions as a legal contract, including standard provisions.
- Understand the legal skeleton that every policy form sits inside
Domain 4: Hawaii Laws and Rules Common to Life, Accident and Health, Property, Casualty and Personal Lines Insurance (27.7%)
The single largest domain on the exam, covering statewide regulatory rules that cut across multiple insurance lines.
- Because this is the biggest slice of the exam, it deserves the most dedicated review time
Domain 5: Hawaii Laws and Rules Common to Property and Casualty Insurance Only (4.8%)
A narrower, P&C-specific regulatory domain - smaller in weight but still a distinct scored section.
- Don't skip it just because it's small; every scored question counts equally toward your total
Domain 6: Hawaii Laws and Rules Pertinent to Property Insurance Only (7.2%)
Rules specific to property coverage rather than casualty or general lines.
- Pair this with Domain 1 review since both concern property-specific policy mechanics
Together, Domains 4, 5, and 6 - all Hawaii-specific law and rules content - account for close to two-fifths of the scored exam. That's a striking amount of state-specific regulatory knowledge for an exam that many assume is mostly generic insurance theory. For an item-by-item breakdown of each domain's subtopics, see HI-PC Exam Domains 2026: Complete Guide to All 6 Content Areas.
How Registration and Testing Actually Work
Because Pearson VUE administers the exam for the DCCA Insurance Division, registration and scheduling both run through Pearson's systems rather than a state office directly. Candidates choose between a physical test center or the OnVUE remote-proctoring platform, pay the applicable exam fee ($75 for Property, $75 for Casualty), and select an available time slot.
A few mechanical details are easy to overlook:
- The exam is entirely multiple-choice and computer-delivered - there is no written or oral component.
- Pretest questions (10 on the Property exam) are mixed in with scored questions and are not distinguishable to the candidate, so every question should be treated as if it counts.
- Two exams can be scheduled together only at a physical test center, not via OnVUE.
- There is no minimum age other than 18, and no mandated prelicensing course, which shifts the burden of preparation entirely onto self-directed study.
For a plain-language explanation of what a passing scaled score of 70 actually represents, see HI-PC Passing Score 2026: Exactly What You Need to Pass. And if you want a realistic sense of how challenging the exam tends to be for candidates without an insurance background, How Hard Is the HI-PC Exam? Complete Difficulty Guide 2026 walks through that in more depth, while HI-PC Pass Rate 2026: What the Data Shows looks at outcome data.
Who Uses This Credential in Practice
Passing the HI-PC Property and/or Casualty exams is the gateway credential for anyone who wants to work as a licensed property and casualty insurance producer in Hawaii. That includes agents at independent agencies, captive agents working for a single carrier, brokers placing commercial risk, and staff at agencies that write homeowners, auto, commercial property, and general liability lines across the islands.
Because Hawaii's insurance market includes unique exposures - hurricane and lava-flow risk zones, condominium association coverage, and interisland logistics for claims adjusting - employers value producers who understand both the national P&C fundamentals covered in Domains 1 through 3 and the state-specific rules in Domains 4 through 6. If you're mapping out where this license can take you professionally, HI-PC Jobs and HI-PC Salary Guide 2026: Complete Earnings Analysis cover the employment landscape and compensation considerations in more detail, and Is the HI-PC Certification Worth It? Complete ROI Analysis 2026 weighs the licensing investment against career upside.
What the Meaning Extends To After Licensing
Passing the exam is not the end of the story - the "meaning" of holding an HI-PC license also includes ongoing compliance. A producer licensed for P&C-only lines in Hawaii must complete 24 continuing education credits to renew, and that total must include 21 P&C-specific credits plus 3 credits in ethics and/or Hawaii law and rules.
That CE structure mirrors the exam itself: a heavy emphasis on state-specific law layered on top of core P&C knowledge. Producers who studied Domain 4 carefully for the original exam often find the ethics/law CE requirement far less intimidating later on, since the regulatory framework doesn't change dramatically between initial licensing and renewal cycles.
Key Takeaway
The 3 ethics/Hawaii-law CE credits at renewal echo the exam's Domain 4 weighting - treat your original exam prep as a head start on long-term compliance, not a one-time hurdle.
Turning the Name Into a Study Plan
Once the acronym and its exam structure are clear, the next step is converting that knowledge into a study sequence. A simple, domain-weighted approach works well: spend the most time on the domains carrying the most points, and don't let smaller domains fall to zero review time just because they're worth less individually.
Foundational Terms and Policy Types
- Work through Domain 2 vocabulary and Domain 1 policy forms, since later domains build on this base
Contract Law and Provisions
- Study Domain 3's provisions and legal structure while terminology is still fresh
Hawaii Law - The Heavy Lift
- Dedicate the most hours here to Domain 4, given its 27.7% weight, then cover Domains 5 and 6
Full Review and Timed Practice
- Run full-length timed practice sessions and revisit weak domains before scheduling the real exam
For a structured, week-by-week plan built specifically around these domain weights, see HI-PC Study Guide 2026: How to Pass on Your First Attempt. If you want a condensed, single-page reference to keep handy during final review, HI-PC Cheat Sheet 2026: One-Page Review of Must-Know Facts distills the must-know facts into one document. And when you're ready to test your recall under exam-like time pressure, practice tests on the main site are the fastest way to see where the gaps are before test day.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. On this site, HI-PC refers exclusively to the Hawaii Property & Casualty Insurance Producer Exam administered through Pearson VUE for the Hawaii DCCA Insurance Division. Other fields use the same four letters for unrelated credentials.
Hawaii tests Property and Casualty separately. The Property Producer exam has 93 total questions (83 scored) over 120 minutes; the Casualty exam has 103 total questions (91 scored) over 135 minutes. Each costs $75.
A scaled passing score of 70 is required on the Property Producer exam. See HI-PC Passing Score 2026: Exactly What You Need to Pass for more detail on how scaled scoring works.
No specific prelicensing education program is required. Applicants must be at least 18 years old, but the content outline itself is your main study reference since there's no mandated coursework.
Domain 4, Hawaii Laws and Rules Common to Life, Accident and Health, Property, Casualty and Personal Lines Insurance, carries the largest weight at 27.7% and deserves the most review time, followed by Domain 1's 26.5%.