III IC-22 Syllabus: The 15 Chapters of Life Insurance Underwriting
Six chapters on how underwriting works, nine on the medical conditions underwriters rate. Here is every chapter III lists.
The IC-22 Life Insurance Underwriting syllabus is the Insurance Institute of India's Revised Edition 2025 study course, and it has 15 chapters. The first six explain how life underwriting works: principles, process, financial and occupational risk, and reinsurance. The last nine are medical, one body system per chapter.
IC-22 is the Life stream's compulsory underwriting paper at Associateship level and carries 30 credit points. It is written for people who decide, or will decide, whether a proposal is accepted at standard rates, rated, postponed or declined.
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The 15 Chapters, as III Lists Them
Chapter titles from III's Professional Examination Syllabus, Revised Edition 2025. The summaries are ours. III does not weight the chapters.
1
Title
Life Underwriting: Principles and Concepts (Part 1)
What it covers
Why life insurers underwrite, risk pooling, utmost good faith and disclosure, and the factors that shape a risk profile.
2
Title
Life Underwriting: Principles and Concepts (Part 2)
What it covers
Mortality and morbidity risk, how life and critical illness decisions differ, anti-selection, and the legal limits on what an underwriter may ask or refuse.
3
Title
Underwriting: Process and Structure
What it covers
How a proposal moves through underwriting: age and amount requirements, medical and non-medical evidence, and the range of decisions from standard acceptance to decline.
4
Title
Financial Underwriting
What it covers
Whether the cover asked for matches insurable interest and income: income multiples, human life value, affordability and business cover such as key person insurance.
5
Title
Occupational, Avocational and Residential Risks
What it covers
Extra risk from a job, a hobby such as flying or diving, or where the life insured lives and travels, and how it is rated.
6
Title
Reinsurance
What it covers
Retention limits, quota share and surplus treaties, facultative placement and how a life insurer passes on risk it cannot keep.
7
Title
Blood Disorders
What it covers
Anaemias, clotting disorders and other blood conditions, and the test results an underwriter needs to rate them.
8
Title
Nervous System
What it covers
Epilepsy, stroke, multiple sclerosis and other neurological conditions, and how seizure type and control drive the decision.
9
Title
Diabetes Mellitus
What it covers
Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes, markers of control such as HbA1c, complications, and how age at onset and duration affect the rating.
10
Title
Thyroid Diseases
What it covers
Over- and under-active thyroid, goitre and nodules, and thyroid cancer.
11
Title
Urinary System
What it covers
Kidney stones, kidney function tests, protein or blood in the urine, and chronic kidney disease.
12
Title
The Respiratory System
What it covers
Asthma, COPD, sleep apnoea and other lung conditions, and how lung function tests are read.
13
Title
Gastrointestinal (Digestive) System
What it covers
Ulcers, inflammatory bowel disease, polyps, hepatitis, cirrhosis and other digestive conditions.
14
Title
Cardiovascular System
What it covers
Hypertension, coronary artery disease, heart attack, valve disease and the investigations used to assess them, such as ECG and echocardiography.
15
Title
Special Senses: Disorders of the Eyes, Ears and Nose
What it covers
Conditions of sight, hearing and the nose, and when they matter for life and disability cover.
| Chapter | Title | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Life Underwriting: Principles and Concepts (Part 1) | Why life insurers underwrite, risk pooling, utmost good faith and disclosure, and the factors that shape a risk profile. |
| 2 | Life Underwriting: Principles and Concepts (Part 2) | Mortality and morbidity risk, how life and critical illness decisions differ, anti-selection, and the legal limits on what an underwriter may ask or refuse. |
| 3 | Underwriting: Process and Structure | How a proposal moves through underwriting: age and amount requirements, medical and non-medical evidence, and the range of decisions from standard acceptance to decline. |
| 4 | Financial Underwriting | Whether the cover asked for matches insurable interest and income: income multiples, human life value, affordability and business cover such as key person insurance. |
| 5 | Occupational, Avocational and Residential Risks | Extra risk from a job, a hobby such as flying or diving, or where the life insured lives and travels, and how it is rated. |
| 6 | Reinsurance | Retention limits, quota share and surplus treaties, facultative placement and how a life insurer passes on risk it cannot keep. |
| 7 | Blood Disorders | Anaemias, clotting disorders and other blood conditions, and the test results an underwriter needs to rate them. |
| 8 | Nervous System | Epilepsy, stroke, multiple sclerosis and other neurological conditions, and how seizure type and control drive the decision. |
| 9 | Diabetes Mellitus | Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes, markers of control such as HbA1c, complications, and how age at onset and duration affect the rating. |
| 10 | Thyroid Diseases | Over- and under-active thyroid, goitre and nodules, and thyroid cancer. |
| 11 | Urinary System | Kidney stones, kidney function tests, protein or blood in the urine, and chronic kidney disease. |
| 12 | The Respiratory System | Asthma, COPD, sleep apnoea and other lung conditions, and how lung function tests are read. |
| 13 | Gastrointestinal (Digestive) System | Ulcers, inflammatory bowel disease, polyps, hepatitis, cirrhosis and other digestive conditions. |
| 14 | Cardiovascular System | Hypertension, coronary artery disease, heart attack, valve disease and the investigations used to assess them, such as ECG and echocardiography. |
| 15 | Special Senses: Disorders of the Eyes, Ears and Nose | Conditions of sight, hearing and the nose, and when they matter for life and disability cover. |
The Syllabus in Four Blocks
How we suggest reading it, and how PrepClever's mocks group the chapters. The chapter numbers are III's; the grouping is ours.
- Chapters 1-3: principles, process and structure
- The vocabulary of underwriting: risk classes, disclosure, evidence requirements and decision types. Most of the factual questions on terms come from here.
- Chapters 4-6: financial, occupational and reinsurance
- The non-medical side. Expect questions on income multiples, insurable interest, hazardous jobs and hobbies, and treaty types such as quota share and surplus.
- Chapters 7-10: blood, nervous system, diabetes and thyroid
- The first medical block. Questions test what a condition is, which test shows its severity, and whether the usual outcome is standard, rated, postponed or declined.
- Chapters 11-15: urinary, respiratory, digestive, heart and senses
- The second and largest medical block, so it rewards careful study.
How the Medical Chapters Are Tested
You do not need a medical degree for IC-22. The questions stay at the level an underwriter works at: what the condition is, what the key test result means (HbA1c for diabetes, FEV1/FVC for lung function, haemoglobin for anaemia), and how the risk is usually treated.
A useful habit is to learn every condition in the same three lines: what it is, how severity is measured, and the usual decision. That turns nine chapters of medicine into one repeatable pattern.
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What IC-22 Assumes From the Licentiate
IC-22 builds on IC-01's principles. Utmost good faith, insurable interest and the basic underwriting cycle are taught there, and IC-22 applies them to life proposals in much more depth. If those ideas feel shaky, revise them first.
Indicative, Not Exhaustive
III's Examination Handbook calls its syllabus "indicative and not exhaustive" and says questions "will not necessarily be asked from the study courses only". Know the book well, and keep an eye on current IRDAI rules on underwriting and disclosure.
FAQs
How many chapters are in the IC-22 syllabus?expand_more
Fifteen, in III's Revised Edition 2025: three on principles and process, one each on financial underwriting, occupational risks and reinsurance, and nine medical chapters, followed by a glossary and annexures.
Which edition of the IC-22 book is current?expand_more
The Revised Edition 2025, which III's 2026 syllabus and its hard-copy price list both name. It is published in English only.
Which chapters of IC-22 are most important?expand_more
III publishes no chapter weightage. The nine medical chapters make up most of the syllabus by count, but every chapter can be tested, including reinsurance and financial underwriting.
Does passing IC-22 count towards anything besides the Associateship?expand_more
Yes. III's handbook says candidates who passed IC-22 at Associateship level get credit for it in the Diploma in Life Insurance Underwriting.
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