- HI-PC means the Hawaii Property and Casualty Insurance Producer Exam, administered for the Hawaii DCCA Insurance Division by Pearson VUE.
- Hawaii tests Property and Casualty as two separate exams, each costing $75, not one combined "HI-PC" test.
- The Property exam has 93 total questions (83 scored) in 120 minutes; the passing score is a scaled 70.
- Six domains structure the content, led by Types of Policies (26.5%) and Hawaii Laws and Rules Common to Life, Accident and Health, Property, Casualty and...
What Does HI-PC Mean?
HI-PC stands for the Hawaii Property and Casualty Insurance Producer Exam. It's the state licensing exam that insurance professionals in Hawaii must pass before they can legally sell, solicit, or negotiate property and casualty insurance products in the state. If you're researching this acronym, it's worth noting up front that "HI-PC" is used by other unrelated credentials elsewhere - but on this site, and for the purposes of this article, it refers exclusively to the Hawaii insurance producer licensing pathway.
Unlike a professional designation you earn once and display on a resume, HI-PC is a regulatory requirement. Passing it is the gateway to holding an active Hawaii P&C producer license, which in turn is required to work in most property and casualty insurance sales roles in the islands. For a deeper walkthrough of exactly what this license involves, see What Is HI-PC Certification? and HI-PC Certification.
Who Administers the HI-PC Exam
The exam is administered for the Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs (DCCA), Insurance Division, with Pearson VUE handling the actual test delivery. This matters because it tells you exactly where authority for content, eligibility rules, and scoring sits: the state sets the requirements, and Pearson VUE runs the testing logistics - scheduling, test centers, and score reporting.
Because the DCCA owns the licensing framework, any changes to fees, question counts, or content outlines come from the state, not from Pearson VUE. The current content outline for the HI-PC exams is effective January 1, 2026, so candidates studying close to that date should confirm they're using materials aligned to the updated outline rather than an older version.
Property and Casualty: Two Separate Exams
One of the most misunderstood parts of "HI-PC" is that Hawaii does not administer a single combined Property-and-Casualty exam. Property and Casualty are tested as two distinct exams, each with its own fee, question count, and time limit.
| Detail | Property Producer Exam | Casualty Producer Exam |
|---|---|---|
| Fee | $75 | $75 |
| Total Questions | 93 (83 scored, 10 pretest) | 103 (91 scored, 12 pretest) |
| Time Limit | 120 minutes | 135 minutes |
| Passing Score | Scaled 70 | Scaled 70 |
This site's primary reference point is the Property Producer exam, since it's the more commonly referenced HI-PC exam among new producers, but candidates pursuing full P&C authority will eventually sit for both. For a granular breakdown of what each dollar and question count buys you, read HI-PC Certification Cost 2026: Complete Pricing Breakdown.
Key Takeaway
Budget and schedule for two separate exam sessions if you need both Property and Casualty authority - they are not bundled into one sitting, though Pearson does allow two exams in a single test-center visit.
HI-PC Exam Format and Registration
Both HI-PC exams are closed-book, computer-based, and multiple-choice. There's no essay component, no simulation exercises, and no oral portion - just scored questions plus a set of unscored pretest items mixed in to evaluate future exam content. On the Property exam, 83 of the 93 total questions count toward your score; the remaining 10 are pretest items you can't distinguish from scored ones, so every question deserves full attention.
Registration and delivery run through Pearson VUE, and candidates have two options:
- Pearson VUE test centers - in-person testing at a physical location.
- OnVUE online proctoring - remote testing from an approved location.
One scheduling nuance worth knowing: Pearson permits candidates to take two exams back-to-back during one test-center session, but that convenience is not available through OnVUE. If you're planning to knock out both Property and Casualty in a single day, you'll need to book a physical test center rather than testing remotely. Details on booking windows and rescheduling logistics are covered in HI-PC Exam Dates 2026: Testing Windows, Deadlines & Scheduling.
The Six Domains Behind the HI-PC Acronym
Understanding what HI-PC "means" in practice requires looking at the content outline itself. The Property exam's published outline (effective January 1, 2026) breaks scored content into six domains, and the weighting tells you exactly where to spend your study hours.
Domain 1: Types of Policies (26.5%)
The single largest content-specific domain. Expect deep coverage of homeowners forms, dwelling policies, commercial property forms, and how coverage triggers differ across policy types.
- Know the distinctions between named-peril and open-peril coverage structures
Domain 2: Insurance Terms and Related Concepts (18.1%)
Foundational vocabulary and concepts - indemnity, insurable interest, underwriting basics, and how these terms apply specifically to property risks.
- Master definitions before attempting scenario-based questions built on them
Domain 3: Policy Provisions and Contract Law (13.3%)
Covers standard policy provisions, conditions, endorsements, and the contract-law principles that govern how insurance agreements are formed and enforced.
- Focus on how provisions modify or limit standard coverage
Domain 4: Hawaii Laws and Rules Common to Life, Accident and Health, Property, Casualty and Personal Lines Insurance (27.7%)
The largest published section on the exam. This is state-specific regulatory content that applies across multiple license lines, not just P&C.
- Treat this as required reading - it carries more weight than any single policy-type domain
Domain 5: Hawaii Laws and Rules Common to Property and Casualty Insurance Only (4.8%)
A narrower, P&C-specific slice of state regulation. Smaller in weight but still tested directly.
- Don't skip it just because it's a small percentage - every scored question counts
Domain 6: Hawaii Laws and Rules Pertinent to Property Insurance Only (7.2%)
Rules and requirements specific to property insurance transactions in Hawaii.
- Pair this with Domain 1 since both concern property-specific mechanics
Together, Domains 1 and 4 alone account for more than half of the Property exam's scored weight. For a domain-by-domain study breakdown with more detail than fits here, see HI-PC Exam Domains 2026: Complete Guide to All 6 Content Areas.
Key Takeaway
Hawaii Laws and Rules Common to Life, Accident and Health, Property, Casualty and Personal Lines Insurance is the single largest published section at 27.7% - allocate your heaviest review time there.
Who Actually Needs a HI-PC License
The HI-PC exam exists to license people who will sell, solicit, or negotiate property and casualty insurance in Hawaii. That typically includes:
- Independent and captive insurance agents selling homeowners, dwelling, or commercial property coverage
- Producers handling casualty lines such as liability coverage
- New hires at agencies and carriers who need an active P&C producer license before writing business
- Professionals adding a Hawaii resident or non-resident license to an existing book of business in other states
If you're weighing whether pursuing this license fits your career plans, Is the HI-PC Certification Worth It? Complete ROI Analysis 2026 and HI-PC Jobs both dig into where this license opens doors. For general orientation before you commit to a study plan, What Is HI-PC? and HI-PC Meaning cover the same core definition from different angles.
Eligibility Basics
Hawaii keeps the entry requirements for sitting the HI-PC exam relatively straightforward compared to some other states:
- Minimum age: 18 years old
- Prelicensing education: No specific prelicensing program is required before sitting the exam
- Exam format: Closed-book, computer-based, multiple choice
That absence of a mandatory prelicensing course puts more responsibility on the candidate to self-study the outline thoroughly, since there's no built-in classroom safety net before test day. A full rundown of what you need before registering - including any documentation steps - is in HI-PC Requirements 2026: Eligibility, Prerequisites & How to Qualify.
Renewal and Continuing Education
Passing the HI-PC exam gets you licensed, but keeping that license active requires ongoing continuing education. For a producer holding P&C-only authority, Hawaii requires 24 CE credits per renewal cycle, broken down as:
- 21 credits in property and casualty subject matter
- 3 credits in ethics and/or Hawaii law and rules
This CE structure mirrors the exam itself in one important way: state-specific law content (echoed in Domains 4, 5, and 6 on the exam) remains relevant to your license long after test day. Producers who build strong familiarity with Hawaii's regulatory framework while studying for the exam tend to find the ethics/law CE requirement far less burdensome later.
Turning the Meaning Into a Study Plan
Once you understand what HI-PC actually tests, the practical next step is mapping study time to domain weight rather than studying everything equally. A simple two-part approach works well given the outline:
Heavy-Weight Domains
- Types of Policies (26.5%) and Hawaii Laws and Rules Common to Life, Accident and Health, Property, Casualty and Personal Lines Insurance (27.7%)
- Build a vocabulary base from Insurance Terms and Related Concepts (18.1%) alongside these
Remaining Domains + Full Timed Practice
- Policy Provisions and Contract Law (13.3%), plus both property-and-casualty-specific Hawaii law domains (4.8% and 7.2%)
- Run full 120-minute timed practice sessions to build stamina against the 93-question format
This is the only place in this article where general study mechanics get discussed, because the sequencing itself is dictated by HI-PC's own domain weights rather than a generic template. For a complete week-by-week plan and first-attempt strategy, see HI-PC Study Guide 2026: How to Pass on Your First Attempt. And if you want a sense of how demanding the exam actually feels relative to its structure, How Hard Is the HI-PC Exam? Complete Difficulty Guide 2026 and HI-PC Pass Rate 2026: What the Data Shows are useful companion reads.
Once you've built familiarity with the terminology in What Does HI-PC Stand For? and reviewed a condensed summary like the HI-PC Cheat Sheet 2026: One-Page Review of Must-Know Facts, run a few full-length sessions on the practice test site to simulate the actual 120-minute Property exam clock. If salary expectations factor into your decision to pursue this license, HI-PC Salary Guide 2026: Complete Earnings Analysis and HI-PC Training round out the picture, and What Is A HI-PC? offers one more framing of the core definition if you want it stated a different way.
Frequently Asked Questions
HI-PC refers to the Hawaii Property and Casualty Insurance Producer license path, but Property and Casualty are tested as two separate exams, each with its own $75 fee, question count, and time limit.
The Property Producer exam has 93 total multiple-choice questions: 83 scored and 10 unscored pretest questions, delivered in a 120-minute session.
No. Hawaii does not require a specific prelicensing education program before sitting the exam. Candidates must simply be at least 18 years old to test.
Yes, but only at a Pearson VUE test center - Pearson allows two exams in one test-center session. That option is not available through OnVUE online proctoring.
Both the Property and Casualty exams use a scaled passing score of 70. Scaled scoring converts raw correct answers to a standardized scale rather than a simple percentage.