Pennsylvania Property & Casualty Course Notes

This is the heaviest domain. Know who must be licensed or authorized, what producers/insurers must report or disclose, Pennsylvania enforcement powers, unfair trade/claim practices, and the federal rules named in the outline. Memorize the state deadlines and distinguish producer-level authority from insurer-level authority. Exam weight: 20%. Fast approach: Identify the regulated actor, the triggering event, the deadline or required document, and the regulator or statute that controls.

• Treating a producer license, line of authority, insurer certificate of authority, and carrier appointment as the same thing.

• Prioritize this domain according to its 20% blueprint weight.

Master the vocabulary that every later domain uses: risk handling, hazards/perils, insurer classifications, contract elements, agency authority, and contract interpretation. These are fast points if the definitions are exact. Exam weight: 8%. Fast approach: Turn the scenario into a definition or A-versus-B comparison before looking at the answers.

• Classifying admitted/nonadmitted as a type of risk instead of the insurer's authorization status.

• Prioritize this domain according to its 8% blueprint weight.

This domain connects liability law, underwriting, valuation, policy structure, limits, coinsurance, and claims conditions. Know the formulas and be able to identify the policy section or loss-valuation method from a short fact pattern. Exam weight: 14%. Fast approach: Ask whether the stem is testing liability, valuation, policy structure, a limit/formula, or a post-loss condition; then apply the matching rule.

• Reversing general and special damages.

• Prioritize this domain according to its 14% blueprint weight.

Know the three dwelling forms by peril basis, the core property coverages, and the endorsements named in the Pennsylvania outline. Most questions are form-selection or coverage-purpose questions. Exam weight: 4%. Fast approach: Identify the form (DP-1/2/3), the property category, then whether the desired protection is built in or needs an endorsement.

• Calling DP-3 a regulation or construction standard instead of an insurance form.

• Prioritize this domain according to its 4% blueprint weight.

Know which HO form fits the insured, the property/liability coverage letters, named-peril versus open-peril treatment, major exclusions, mortgagee protection, and the endorsements explicitly named in the outline. Exam weight: 7%. Fast approach: First identify the insured (owner, renter, condo owner, older-home owner), then map A/B/C/D/E/F and check exclusions or endorsements.

• Calling HO-2 the broadest form.

• Prioritize this domain according to its 7% blueprint weight.

Pennsylvania auto is number-heavy. Memorize required limits, tort options, first-party benefits, UM/UIM rules, physical-damage coverages, endorsements, financial-responsibility rules, and post-accident duties. Exam weight: 10%. Fast approach: Decide whether the question is required PA financial responsibility, optional/waivable protection, liability, first-party benefit, physical damage, or an endorsement.

• Reversing UM and UIM.

• Prioritize this domain according to its 10% blueprint weight.

Know Business Auto covered-auto symbols/coverage categories, liability versus physical damage, claim duties, and the selected endorsements. MCS-90 is a federal financial-responsibility concept, not ordinary BAP coverage. Exam weight: 5%. Fast approach: Identify the auto, the coverage symbol/coverage part, the insured, and whether an endorsement changes the base BAP.

• Answering liability when the business's own vehicle is damaged.

• Prioritize this domain according to its 5% blueprint weight.

Know the modular CPP structure, core property forms, covered-loss triggers, Basic versus Special causes of loss, time-element coverages, and the named endorsements for fluctuating values and specialized exposures. Exam weight: 7%. Fast approach: Identify what property or income exposure is being protected, the cause-of-loss form, then the endorsement/coverage form that closes the gap.

• Calling Basic open-peril coverage.

• Prioritize this domain according to its 7% blueprint weight.

Map CGL Coverage A/B/C, supplementary payments, occurrence versus claims-made triggers, claims-made retroactive date/reporting concepts, and common business exposures/exclusions. Exam weight: 7%. Fast approach: First choose the coverage letter or exclusion, then determine the trigger (occurrence vs claims-made) and whether the exposure falls within premises/operations, products-completed operations, or another category.

• Using Coverage B for ordinary bodily injury.

• Prioritize this domain according to its 7% blueprint weight.

A small domain with easy distinction points: know what Employee Theft and Forgery/Alteration cover and distinguish safe-deposit-box lessee coverage from safe-depository operator coverage. Exam weight: 2%. Fast approach: Identify who committed the dishonest act, what property/instrument was affected, and whether the insured is the box lessee or depository operator.

• Calling an outsider theft Employee Theft.

• Prioritize this domain according to its 2% blueprint weight.

Know why eligible businesses use a BOP, the split between Section I Property and Section II Liability, common policy conditions, and the selected endorsements. Exam weight: 3%. Fast approach: Determine whether the loss belongs in property, liability, or an endorsement that adds an otherwise missing exposure.

• Confusing BOP with CPP.

• Prioritize this domain according to its 3% blueprint weight.

Know Pennsylvania's general one-employee coverage rule and exceptions, no-fault statutory benefits, exclusive remedy, Employers Liability, SWIF/self-insurance, disability categories, occupational disease, interstate exposure, and federal worker systems. Exam weight: 5%. Fast approach: Identify the worker and employment relationship first, then ask whether state WC applies, whether an exception/federal law applies, and which benefit/coverage part answers the loss.

• Assuming only large employers need WC.

• Prioritize this domain according to its 5% blueprint weight.

This domain is a collection of specialty products. Learn the exposure each policy solves: management/professional/employment/cyber liability, surety, umbrella/excess, DIC, flood, residual markets, alternative risk funding, marine, and other specialty policies. Exam weight: 8%. Fast approach: Match the exposure to the specialty product, then distinguish first-party property, third-party liability, bond, or excess coverage.

• Confusing principal, obligee, and surety.

• Prioritize this domain according to its 8% blueprint weight.