Overview
This guide explains how to prepare for the Florida Property and Casualty licensing exam, the test you must pass to hold the 2-20 general lines agent license. The exam has 160 questions, you have 180 minutes to finish, and you must score 70 percent or higher to pass. The content is a deliberate blend of national insurance fundamentals that apply in every state and Florida-specific statutes and rules that exist only in Florida law and the rules of its regulators. To pass, you need both halves working together: a working knowledge of how property and casualty products, terms, and policy provisions actually behave, and accurate recall of the Florida legal framework that governs how agents are licensed, how insurers operate, and how consumers are protected. The casualty products domain and the two main Florida statute domains are the most heavily weighted at 15 percent each, so do not treat any large block as background reading. The most reliable path is steady study spread over several weeks, frequent self-testing against practice questions, and honest tracking of which domains you keep missing. This guide breaks the exam into its weighted domains, tells you what each one tests, and gives you a study plan, exam-day tactics, and answers to common questions so you can walk in calm and prepared.
The Florida 2-20 exam rewards candidates who pair national property and casualty fundamentals with precise recall of Florida statutes; about a third of the exam is Florida law that does not transfer from any other state, so study it as Florida law rather than general principle.
What is actually on this exam
How this exam thinks
The exam favors the single best answer over the merely acceptable one and tests whether you can apply a defined rule to a short fact pattern. Many items give you a scenario and ask what an insurer must do, which coverage responds, or what a Florida rule requires, so read for the controlling rule before scanning the options.
What each domain tests, and how to study it
Types of Property Policies
14%Match a stated occupancy or property risk to the correct homeowners, dwelling, commercial, or specialty property form.
Know who each property form is built for and whether it insures on a named-peril or open-peril basis.
What it tests. This domain tests the major property product forms: homeowners forms HO-2, HO-3, HO-4, HO-5, HO-6, and HO-8, dwelling policies DP-1, DP-2, and DP-3, commercial lines such as the commercial package policy, commercial property and causes-of-loss forms, business income, the businessowners policy, builders risk, and cyber first-party coverage, inland marine floaters, the National Flood Insurance Program, and other property forms such as earthquake, mobile home, watercraft, farm owners, and windstorm.
How to study it. Make a comparison table of the homeowners and dwelling forms that shows who each one is built for and whether it covers on a named-peril or open-peril basis. Learn that HO-4 fits a renter and HO-6 fits a condo unit owner, and practice matching an occupancy or risk to the single correct form, since the exam often gives a need and asks for the right policy.
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- Which homeowners form is built for a tenant who rents and wants to cover personal property and liability?
- What is the key difference between how the HO-2 and the HO-3 decide whether dwelling damage is covered?
- What does the loss assessment feature on an HO-6 respond to?
Easy to confuse
- HO-4 versus HO-6. HO-4 is the renters form covering a tenant's personal property and liability with no building coverage, while HO-6 is the condominium unit-owner form that adds coverage for the owner's interior and loss assessment.
- HO-3 versus HO-5. HO-3 covers the dwelling on an open-peril basis but personal property on a named-peril basis, while HO-5 extends open-peril coverage to both the dwelling and personal property.
Worked example
Property Insurance Terms and Related Concepts
10%Apply the correct property term, valuation method, or risk concept to a described situation.
This is precise-vocabulary territory, so learn the defined terms exactly and know how coinsurance penalizes underinsurance.
What it tests. This domain tests the property insurance vocabulary and underlying concepts: insurance and the law of large numbers, insurable interest, pure versus speculative risk, the hazards (moral, morale, physical), perils and direct versus indirect loss, proximate cause, loss valuation methods such as actual cash value and replacement cost, deductibles, indemnity, limits, coinsurance and insurance to value, occurrence, cancellation and nonrenewal, vacancy and unoccupancy, and the liability and contract terms such as negligence, binder, and endorsement.
How to study it. Drill the definitions until they are automatic, focusing on the pairs students confuse: actual cash value versus replacement cost, pure versus speculative risk, and the three hazards. Work the coinsurance calculation a few times so the penalty for underinsuring is clear, and practice questions that ask which valuation method or which term a scenario describes.
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- What is the difference between actual cash value and replacement cost?
- Why is a pure risk insurable while a speculative risk generally is not?
- How does the coinsurance clause penalize an insured who carries too little coverage?
Easy to confuse
- Actual cash value versus replacement cost. Actual cash value pays replacement cost minus depreciation, while replacement cost pays to repair or replace with like kind and quality without a deduction for depreciation.
- Moral hazard versus morale hazard. A moral hazard is dishonesty or an intent to cause or exaggerate a loss, while a morale hazard is carelessness or indifference to loss because insurance is in place.
Worked example
Property Policy Provisions and Contract Law
8%Locate the correct policy section or contract-law rule for a described provision, duty, or conflict.
This domain is about where each rule lives in the policy and the contract law that makes the policy binding.
What it tests. This domain tests property policy structure and the contract law behind it: the declarations, insuring agreement, conditions, and exclusions, the definition of the insured, the duties of the insured and obligations of the insurer, mortgagee rights, proof of loss, notice of claim, appraisal, the other-insurance provision, subrogation, the elements of a valid contract, warranties, representations, and concealment, sources of underwriting information, the Fair Credit Reporting Act and Gramm-Leach-Bliley privacy rules, the application, the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act, and territory.
How to study it. Learn the standard parts of a property policy and what belongs in each, since many items ask which section holds a given rule. Memorize the elements of a valid contract and the appraisal and subrogation provisions, and learn the rule that an endorsement controls when it conflicts with preprinted form language. Practice point-of-loss scenarios about insured duties.
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- Which section of the policy holds the insured's duties after a loss and the rules for resolving disputes over the amount of loss?
- How is a conflict resolved when an endorsement contradicts the preprinted form?
- What are the elements required for a valid contract?
Easy to confuse
- Conditions versus exclusions. Conditions are the operating rules that both parties must follow for coverage to apply, such as duties after a loss, while exclusions remove specific perils, property, or losses from coverage entirely.
- Appraisal versus subrogation. Appraisal is a process for resolving a dispute over the amount of a covered loss, while subrogation is the insurer's right to recover what it paid by stepping into the insured's claim against a responsible third party.
Worked example
Types of Casualty Policies, Bonds, and Related Terms
15%Match a described casualty loss to the correct line, coverage part, or bond, and state who is an insured and how limits apply.
Casualty is the largest national block, so know each liability line, who is insured, and which coverage answers a given loss.
What it tests. This domain tests the major casualty product lines and related instruments: commercial general liability and its premises/operations and products/completed-operations exposures and coverages, personal and business auto including liability, medical payments, physical damage, and UM/UIM, workers compensation and employers liability, crime coverages, surety and fidelity bonds, professional liability lines such as errors and omissions, D and O, EPLI, and cyber, and umbrella, excess, and businessowners policies.
How to study it. Organize the casualty lines by what each one insures against and who is an insured under each. Learn the CGL coverage parts A, B, and C and the two main exposures cold, distinguish split limits from a combined single limit on auto, and separate surety bonds from fidelity bonds. Practice scenario questions that ask which line or coverage responds to a described loss.
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- Which CGL exposure responds to a slip-and-fall while a business is open and operating?
- What is the difference between split limits and a combined single limit on an auto policy?
- How does a surety bond differ from a fidelity bond in who is protected?
Easy to confuse
- Premises and operations exposure versus products and completed operations exposure. Premises and operations covers injury arising from the ongoing business at its location, while products and completed operations covers injury from a product or finished work after the insured has left the job site.
- Surety bond versus fidelity bond. A surety bond guarantees that a principal will perform an obligation to a third party, while a fidelity bond protects an employer against loss from the dishonest acts of its own employees.
Worked example
Casualty Insurance Terms and Related Concepts
10%Apply the correct casualty term, liability concept, or category of damages to a described situation.
Casualty concepts center on liability and damages, so know negligence, the damage types, and warranty versus representation versus concealment.
What it tests. This domain tests the casualty insurance vocabulary and concepts: risk and the three hazards, indemnity and insurable interest, loss valuation, negligence and liability, occurrence, binders, warranties, representations and concealment, deposit premium and audit, certificate of insurance, the law of large numbers and pure versus speculative risk, endorsements, the categories of damages including compensatory general and special and punitive, and Fair Credit Reporting Act compliance.
How to study it. Separate the legal-liability concepts from the property valuation concepts and learn each precisely. Drill negligence and the kinds of damages, distinguish a warranty from a representation and both from concealment, and learn what a deposit premium and audit do on an auditable casualty policy. Practice matching a casualty scenario to the right concept.
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- Which exposure is insurable, a chance of loss only or a chance of gain or loss, and why?
- What pattern of staging losses and padding claims describes a moral hazard?
- What is the difference between compensatory damages and punitive damages?
Easy to confuse
- Compensatory damages versus punitive damages. Compensatory damages reimburse the claimant for actual harm such as medical bills and lost income, while punitive damages are added to punish especially wrongful conduct and deter others rather than to repay a loss.
- Representation versus concealment. A representation is a statement believed true when made, while concealment is the deliberate withholding of a material fact, which can void coverage even if no false statement was spoken.
Worked example
Casualty Policy Provisions
8%Identify the correct casualty policy section, duty, or settlement provision that applies to a described situation.
Casualty provisions track property provisions, but watch the duty to defend, supplementary payments, and consent to settle.
What it tests. This domain tests casualty policy provisions: the declarations, insuring agreement, conditions, exclusions and limitations, and the definition of the insured, the duties of the insured after a loss, cancellation and nonrenewal provisions, supplementary payments, proof of loss, notice of claim, other insurance and subrogation, loss settlement provisions including consent to settle, and the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act as it applies to casualty coverage.
How to study it. Map the parts of a liability policy and learn what each one does, with attention to the insuring agreement and the duty to defend, supplementary payments, and any consent-to-settle requirement. Drill the fact that the declarations supply the individualized facts and that concealment or fraud can void the contract, then practice casualty claim-handling scenarios.
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- Which part of the policy supplies the individualized facts that adapt a printed form to one insured?
- Which part establishes the insurer's duty to defend a covered suit even if it is groundless?
- Which provision lets the insurer void the contract after deliberate material misstatement?
Easy to confuse
- Insuring agreement versus supplementary payments. The insuring agreement states the core promise to pay covered damages and to defend, while supplementary payments are extra amounts the insurer pays in addition to the limit, such as defense costs and certain expenses.
- Declarations versus conditions. The declarations show the individualized facts such as the named insured, limits, and premium, while the conditions are the standard operating rules that govern how the contract works for everyone who buys that form.
Worked example
Florida Statutes, Rules, and Regulations Common to All Lines
15%Apply specific Florida common-lines statutes and rules to scenarios about regulators, definitions, licensing, agent conduct, and prohibited practices.
This is tied for the largest block and is pure Florida regulatory law, so make the regulatory map and the prohibited-practices list automatic.
What it tests. This domain tests the Florida statutes and rules common to all lines: the regulatory structure including the Chief Financial Officer, the Financial Services Commission, the Department of Financial Services, and the Office of Insurance Regulation, key definitions such as admitted versus non-admitted and domestic, foreign, and alien insurers, licensing and appointment requirements, agent responsibilities and fiduciary duties, the Florida Insurance Guaranty Association, and the prohibited marketing and trade practices.
How to study it. Build a Florida regulatory map that shows who does what among the CFO, the Financial Services Commission, the DFS, and the OIR, then drill it until you can place each duty with the right office. Learn the insurer definitions and the prohibited practices such as sliding, twisting, churning, and unlawful rebating, learning one short example of each.
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- Which elected official heads the Department of Financial Services?
- Which office reviews an insurer's rates, forms, and solvency?
- Define sliding, twisting, and churning with a one-line example of each.
Easy to confuse
- Office of Insurance Regulation versus Department of Financial Services. The Office of Insurance Regulation handles insurer solvency, rates, and forms, while the Department of Financial Services handles agent licensing, consumer services, and fraud investigations.
- Twisting versus churning. Twisting uses misrepresentation to replace a policy at a different insurer, while churning replaces or rewrites a policy within the same insurer, often using the existing policy's values, both to generate a new commission.
Worked example
Florida Statutes, Rules and Regulations Pertinent to General Lines Insurance
15%Apply Florida general-lines rules on cancellation, hurricane coverage, residual markets, surplus lines, auto requirements, and adjusters to specific scenarios.
This is tied for the largest block and is Florida property and auto law, so memorize the cancellation, hurricane, residual-market, and PIP rules exactly.
What it tests. This domain tests the Florida statutes and rules pertinent to general lines: renewal, nonrenewal, and cancellation rules for commercial, homeowners, personal auto, and casualty policies, proof of loss and claim-payment duties, Florida property rules on hurricane coverage and deductibles, wind mitigation discounts, sinkholes, and flood, the types of insurers including surplus lines, the residual market such as Citizens and the joint underwriting associations, Florida auto requirements including PIP, and comparative negligence and adjuster definitions.
How to study it. Treat these as Florida-specific rules with their own timelines and numbers rather than generic concepts. Learn the cancellation and nonrenewal notice rules for residential property, the hurricane deductible and wind mitigation framework, what Citizens and the joint underwriting associations exist to do, and the Florida auto required coverages including PIP, then drill claim-handling duties.
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- What must a Florida insurer generally do before nonrenewing a personal residential property policy?
- How does an insurer's freedom to cancel residential property change after the early inspection period?
- What does Citizens Property Insurance Corporation exist to provide?
Easy to confuse
- Cancellation versus nonrenewal of a Florida policy. Cancellation ends a policy before its term expires and is tightly limited once a residential policy is past its early period, while nonrenewal lets a policy run to term but declines to continue it, each with its own notice rule.
- Citizens Property Insurance Corporation versus a surplus lines insurer. Citizens is the state-created residual-market insurer of last resort for property risks that cannot get coverage in the standard market, while a surplus lines insurer is a non-admitted carrier used only when admitted insurers will not write the risk.
Worked example
Florida Statutes, Rules and Regulations Pertinent to Health Insurance
6%Apply Florida required health provisions, plan-type rules, and disclosure requirements to specific scenarios.
Smallest block, but the Florida required provisions are precise and worth the points, so do not skip it.
What it tests. This domain tests the Florida statutes and rules pertinent to health insurance: required general health contract provisions such as incontestable, free look, grace period, reinstatement, elimination period, and waiver of premium, the types of limited and major medical policies and disability income, Medicare Supplement, HMO, PPO, and long term care, disclosure and marketing standards including the outline of coverage and replacement rules, plan types such as HMO, PPO, and EPO, and small employer, Healthy Kids, and HIV/AIDS requirements.
How to study it. Even at the smallest weight, learn the Florida required provisions precisely, especially the grace period, reinstatement, and time-limit-on-defenses rules and their effects. Distinguish the plan types and the limited policies, and learn what an outline of coverage and the replacement rules require. Practice the few high-yield Florida health scenarios so this block is not lost points.
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- What is the insured's coverage status during the mandatory grace period after a missed premium?
- How are sickness losses treated compared with accident losses right after a policy is reinstated?
- After the time-limit-on-defenses period elapses, on what basis is the insurer barred from contesting a claim?
Easy to confuse
- Grace period versus reinstatement. A grace period keeps an existing policy in force for a set time after a missed premium so it does not lapse, while reinstatement is the process of putting a policy back in force after it has already lapsed.
- HMO versus PPO. An HMO generally requires care within its network and a primary-care referral for specialists, while a PPO lets the insured use out-of-network providers at a higher cost and without a referral.
Worked example
A study plan that works
- 1
Map the exam and set a baseline
Week 1Read this guide end to end and note the domain weights. Take a short diagnostic set of practice questions across all domains so you know your starting strengths and gaps before you invest study time. Write down which domains you scored lowest on.
- 2
Build the national casualty and property product foundation
Week 2Study Types of Casualty Policies, Bonds, and Related Terms (d4) and Types of Property Policies (d1). Build comparison tables for the liability lines and the homeowners and dwelling forms, then test yourself until you can match a scenario to the correct line, coverage, or form quickly.
- 3
Lock in the property and casualty terms and concepts
Week 3Work through Property Insurance Terms and Related Concepts (d2) and Casualty Insurance Terms and Related Concepts (d5). Drill the defined terms, the hazards, valuation methods, negligence, and the categories of damages, and practice the coinsurance calculation until the penalty for underinsurance is clear.
- 4
Learn property and casualty policy structure and contract law
Week 4Study Property Policy Provisions and Contract Law (d3) and Casualty Policy Provisions (d6). Memorize the standard parts of a policy and what each holds, the elements of a valid contract, appraisal, subrogation, and the duty to defend, with daily practice questions.
- 5
Master the Florida statutes and rules
Week 5Focus on the three Florida law domains: Common to All Lines (d7), Pertinent to General Lines (d8), and Pertinent to Health Insurance (d9). Drill the regulatory map, the prohibited practices, the cancellation and hurricane and residual-market rules, the PIP requirements, and the required health provisions until recall is automatic.
- 6
Take timed full-length practice and target weak spots
Week 6Sit full-length practice tests under the 180-minute clock to build pacing and stamina across 160 questions. After each test, review every missed item, return to the relevant domain, and re-drill that material. Aim to clear 70 percent comfortably on practice before scheduling the real exam.
Knowing when you are ready
You are ready when you can consistently score above the 70 percent passing threshold on full-length timed practice tests across several attempts, not just on one lucky run. Stronger than a single score is steady performance in your two weakest domains and the ability to explain why the right answer is right rather than guessing. If the Florida law domains still feel shaky, keep drilling them before you book the exam.
Exam-day tips
- Read each question and all options fully before answering; the exam rewards the single best answer, and a close-but-wrong choice is often placed first.
- Watch for the controlling rule in the scenario, such as what an insurer must do or which coverage responds, and answer to that rule rather than to general intuition.
- Manage the clock; with 160 questions in 180 minutes you have a little over a minute each, so flag hard items, keep moving, and return to them at the end.
- Eliminate clearly wrong options first to improve your odds on the items you are unsure about, then choose the best of what remains.
- Do not change an answer unless you find a concrete reason; first instincts on well-studied material are usually right.
- Keep Florida-specific rules separate in your mind from national concepts so you do not apply a generic principle where a Florida rule controls.
- Stay calm and answer every question, since there is no penalty for guessing and a blank answer can never be right.
Florida Property & Casualty exam questions, answered
How many questions are on the Florida 2-20 exam and how long do I have?
What score do I need to pass?
How much of the exam is Florida-specific law versus national content?
Which domain should I study first?
How much does the exam cost?
Is this an official exam guide?
Do I need insurance experience before I start?
What is the best way to handle questions I am unsure about?
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