- HI-PC refers specifically to the Hawaii Property & Casualty Insurance Producer Exam, administered via Pearson VUE.
- The Property exam costs $75 and includes 93 total questions (83 scored) over 120 minutes.
- The Casualty exam costs $75 separately, with 103 total questions (91 scored) over 135 minutes.
- A scaled score of 70 is required to pass, and the exam is closed book and computer-based.
What Is HI-PC Certification?
The term "HI-PC" refers to the Hawaii Property & Casualty Insurance Producer Exam - the licensing test that individuals must pass before they can sell property and casualty insurance products in the state of Hawaii. It is not a designation you earn once and keep forever like a professional certification issued by a private credentialing body. Instead, it is a state-mandated producer licensing exam overseen by the Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Insurance Division, with day-to-day test delivery handled by Pearson VUE.
Because Hawaii separates its property and casualty lines of authority, candidates actually sit for two distinct exams rather than one combined test: a Property Producer exam and a companion Casualty exam. Passing the relevant exam (or both, if you intend to hold a full P&C license) is the gateway step toward becoming a licensed insurance producer in Hawaii. If you're still getting oriented, our overview pages on What Is HI-PC? and HI-PC Meaning break down the terminology further, while What Does HI-PC Stand For? clarifies the acronym itself.
Who Administers the HI-PC Exam
The Hawaii Insurance Division sets the licensing rules, content outline, and passing standard, while Pearson VUE handles scheduling, delivery, and scoring. Candidates can test at a physical Pearson VUE center or remotely through OnVUE, Pearson's online proctoring platform. There's one important scheduling nuance worth knowing before you register: Pearson allows candidates to take two exams back-to-back during a single test-center visit, but that flexibility does not extend to OnVUE remote sessions, where only one exam can be scheduled per appointment.
For candidates pursuing both lines of authority, this means a trip to a physical test center can be more time-efficient than testing remotely twice on separate days. For exact scheduling windows and how far in advance you should book, see HI-PC Exam Dates 2026: Testing Windows, Deadlines & Scheduling.
Exam Format, Questions, and Fees
The two exams are priced and structured independently, and it's easy to conflate them if you're only glancing at headline numbers. Here's how they actually break down:
| Detail | Property Exam | Casualty Exam |
|---|---|---|
| Fee | $75 | $75 |
| Total Questions | 93 | 103 |
| Scored Questions | 83 | 91 |
| Pretest (Unscored) Questions | 10 | 12 |
| Time Allowed | 120 minutes | 135 minutes |
| Passing Score | 70 (scaled) | 70 (scaled) |
Both exams are delivered as closed-book, computer-based multiple-choice tests. The pretest questions are mixed in with scored items and are not identifiable to the candidate - they're used by the Insurance Division to evaluate future exam content, so every question should be treated as if it counts. For a full cost breakdown that also accounts for prelicensing materials and study resources, see HI-PC Certification Cost 2026: Complete Pricing Breakdown. If you're still deciding how tough the format actually is relative to your background, How Hard Is the HI-PC Exam? Complete Difficulty Guide 2026 walks through that in more depth, and HI-PC Passing Score 2026: Exactly What You Need to Pass explains what a scaled score of 70 actually means in practice.
Key Takeaway
Budget 120 minutes and $75 for the Property exam alone; if you also need Casualty authority, plan for a separate $75 fee, 135 minutes, and a second study cycle covering slightly different content weighting.
The Six HI-PC Exam Domains
This site's primary reference point is the Property Producer exam outline, effective January 1, 2026, which organizes content into six domains. Notably, the published Property section counts account for 81 of the 83 scored questions on that version of the exam - a detail worth remembering when you're mapping study time to expected question volume.
Domain 1: Types of Policies (26.5%)
Covers the structure and purpose of various property and casualty policy forms. Candidates should be able to distinguish between policy types and identify what each is designed to cover.
- Recognize coverage triggers and typical exclusions by policy type
Domain 2: Insurance Terms and Related Concepts (18.1%)
Tests foundational vocabulary and concepts that underpin every other domain - things like risk, peril, hazard, indemnity, and insurable interest.
- Master precise definitions; many questions hinge on subtle wording differences
Domain 3: Policy Provisions and Contract Law (13.3%)
Focuses on the legal elements that make an insurance contract valid, along with standard provisions found across policy forms.
- Know the elements of a legal contract and common policy conditions
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 outline. Covers statewide licensing rules, producer conduct standards, and regulatory requirements that apply across multiple lines of authority, not just P&C.
- Treat this as the highest-priority domain given its weight
Domain 5: Hawaii Laws and Rules Common to Property and Casualty Insurance Only (4.8%)
Narrower in scope, addressing statutes and rules specific to P&C lines rather than shared across all insurance types.
- Small weight, but tightly focused - efficient to master quickly
Domain 6: Hawaii Laws and Rules Pertinent to Property Insurance Only (7.2%)
Covers rules that apply exclusively to property lines, distinct from the casualty-specific and shared-law domains.
- Pair this with Domain 1 review since both concern property-specific content
For a deeper walkthrough of each domain with sample topic lists, visit HI-PC Exam Domains 2026: Complete Guide to All 6 Content Areas. A quick reference version of these weights and key terms is also available in the HI-PC Cheat Sheet 2026: One-Page Review of Must-Know Facts.
Who Pursues HI-PC Licensing
Passing the HI-PC exam is typically pursued by individuals entering roles such as independent insurance agents, captive agents for carriers writing homeowners, dwelling fire, commercial property, general liability, and auto policies in Hawaii, as well as brokers and account representatives at agencies that place P&C business. Some candidates are transitioning from adjuster or underwriting support roles and need producer authority to round out their career path; others are new to insurance entirely and are entering through an agency training program.
Because Hawaii licenses Property and Casualty separately, many working producers eventually hold both lines, which is why understanding the fee and scheduling structure for each exam matters early in your planning. If you're curious how licensure translates into actual job opportunities and compensation ranges, HI-PC Jobs and HI-PC Salary Guide 2026: Complete Earnings Analysis cover that territory, and Is the HI-PC Certification Worth It? Complete ROI Analysis 2026 weighs the licensing effort against the career upside.
Eligibility Requirements
Hawaii keeps the eligibility bar for sitting the exam relatively straightforward. Applicants must be at least 18 years old, and there is no specific prelicensing education program mandated before you can register for the exam. That said, "no requirement" doesn't mean "no preparation needed" - the exam still tests specific statutory and conceptual knowledge, so most successful candidates complete some form of structured study regardless of whether a course is legally required.
For the full eligibility checklist, including what documentation you'll need when scheduling with Pearson VUE, see HI-PC Requirements 2026: Eligibility, Prerequisites & How to Qualify.
Renewal and Continuing Education
Once licensed, staying compliant is an ongoing responsibility. A producer holding a P&C-only license in Hawaii must complete 24 continuing education (CE) credits per renewal cycle. That total breaks down into 21 P&C-specific credits plus 3 credits in ethics and/or Hawaii insurance law and rules. This CE structure mirrors the exam's own emphasis on Hawaii-specific statutes - the state consistently reinforces regulatory knowledge both at initial licensing and throughout a producer's career.
Planning your CE schedule alongside your original exam prep can save time later, since much of the regulatory material you study for Domain 4 and Domain 5 overlaps conceptually with ongoing ethics and law requirements.
How to Prepare by Domain Weight
Because the domains carry unequal weight, an efficient study plan allocates time proportionally rather than spending equal hours on every topic. Given that Domain 4 (27.7%) and Domain 1 (26.5%) together account for more than half of the scored Property questions, they deserve the earliest and heaviest attention.
Foundational Vocabulary
- Work through Domain 2 terminology (insurable interest, indemnity, peril vs. hazard)
- Build a running glossary you'll reference in later weeks
Policy Types and Provisions
- Study Domain 1 policy forms and Domain 3 contract law elements together, since provisions often reference specific policy types
Hawaii Law - Broad and Shared Rules
- Focus heavily on Domain 4, the largest single domain
- Cross-reference with any CE ethics material you may reuse later
Property- and Casualty-Specific Rules, Then Full Review
- Cover Domain 5 and Domain 6, both narrower in scope
- Run full-length timed practice sets to simulate the 120-minute format
A four-week runway isn't a fixed rule - some candidates need longer, especially if they're also preparing for the Casualty exam separately. For a more detailed week-by-week methodology tailored to first-attempt success, see HI-PC Study Guide 2026: How to Pass on Your First Attempt. And if you want context on how your prep timeline compares to typical outcomes, HI-PC Pass Rate 2026: What the Data Shows is a useful companion read.
Key Takeaway
Prioritize Domain 4 and Domain 1 first - together they represent the largest share of scored Property questions - then layer in the narrower law domains before your final timed practice run.
If you want to practice against realistic question formats before exam day, the full-length simulations on our practice test platform are built around this same six-domain structure, so your practice time maps directly onto how the real exam is weighted. Working through timed sets on the practice site also helps you get comfortable with the 120-minute pacing for Property or the 135-minute pacing for Casualty before you're sitting in front of a Pearson VUE proctor.
Frequently Asked Questions
It functions as a licensing exam. Passing the Hawaii Property & Casualty Insurance Producer Exam is a required step toward obtaining an active insurance producer license in Hawaii, not an optional professional credential.
Hawaii tests Property and Casualty as separate exams, each with its own fee, question count, and time limit. You'll need to pass both if you want authority in both lines.
No specific prelicensing program is mandated in Hawaii. The only baseline eligibility requirement is being at least 18 years old, though most candidates still study independently before testing.
Pearson VUE allows two exams to be scheduled during a single visit at a physical test center, but this option is not available through OnVUE remote testing, where only one exam can be booked per session.
Both the Property and Casualty exams use a scaled passing score of 70. See HI-PC Passing Score 2026: Exactly What You Need to Pass for more on how scaled scoring works.