IRDAI Surveyor Syllabus: S-01 and the Departmental Papers
One compulsory paper everyone sits, seven departments you choose between. The full topic map.
The surveyor pre-licensing syllabus has two layers: the compulsory S-01 paper, Principles and Practice of Insurance and Survey, which every candidate sits, and seven departmental papers, of which you sit at least one. S-01 covers insurance principles, the legal framework, survey procedure and report writing; each department paper covers the technical rules of its own class of claims.
Study weight should follow that structure. S-01 is unavoidable and broad; the departmental paper is narrower but technically deeper. Both need 60%, so neither can be the paper you coast on.
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S-01: The Compulsory Common Paper
What Principles and Practice of Insurance and Survey covers:
- check_circlePrinciples of insurance and the contract of insurance
- check_circleInsurance Act 1938 and the IRDAI (Surveyors & Loss Assessors) Regulations
- check_circleCode of conduct and professional ethics for surveyors
- check_circleSurvey and loss assessment procedure
- check_circleReport writing, documentation and evidence
- check_circlePolicy interpretation, warranties and conditions
- check_circleReinsurance and claims settlement basics
The Underrated Third of S-01
Candidates prepare the principles and the law, then treat survey procedure, report writing and documentation as things they will learn on the job. The paper disagrees: procedure and evidence questions carry real weight in S-01, and they are the questions a purely conceptual reading of the syllabus leaves you unarmed for.
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The Seven Departmental Papers
Each department is its own 100-mark paper. The topics below are the examinable core of each.
Fire Insurance
- 1Standard Fire & Special Perils policy; perils and exclusions
- 2Fire risk inspection and loss investigation
- 3Under-insurance and the average clause
- 4Add-on covers, reinstatement value, loss quantification and salvage
Motor Insurance
- 5Motor Vehicles Act and third-party liability
- 6Own-damage vs liability cover; accident inspection and cause of loss
- 7Repair vs total loss and constructive total loss
- 8IDV, depreciation, salvage assessment, theft and fraud indicators
Marine Cargo
- 9Marine Insurance Act 1963 and Institute Cargo Clauses (A/B/C)
- 10Transit risks, general average and particular average
- 11Cargo loss survey, quantum assessment, subrogation and recovery
- 12Documentation: bill of lading, invoice, packing list
Marine Hull
- 13Hull and machinery insurance; Institute Time and Voyage Clauses
- 14Vessel damage survey, repairs, total loss, sue and labour, collision liability
- 15P&I basics, classification societies and seaworthiness
Engineering Insurance
- 16CAR and EAR policies; testing and commissioning risks
- 17Machinery Breakdown, Boiler & Pressure Plant, Electronic Equipment
- 18Engineering loss investigation, depreciation and reinstatement of machinery
Miscellaneous Insurance
- 19Burglary, money and fidelity guarantee
- 20Liability covers; personal accident and health basics
- 21Rural, cattle and crop covers; claim investigation and fraud detection
Loss of Profit / Consequential Loss
- 22Fire Loss of Profit / Business Interruption policy
- 23Gross profit, indemnity period, standing charges, increased cost of working
- 24BI loss computation and coordination with the material-damage claim
How to Read This Map for Study Planning
S-01 rewards breadth: principles, statute, procedure, all at working depth. Your departmental paper rewards precision: the exact operation of an average clause, the exact treatment of depreciation on a motor claim, the exact computation of a business-interruption loss. Different failure modes, different revision styles.
The syllabus also quietly answers the department-choice question: read the topic lists above and notice which one you could study for months without resenting. The departments page turns that instinct into a structured decision.
Next steps
Take a full surveyor mock testS-01 and departmental coverage, timed and scored.