Pass IF1 with 500 exam-realistic questions and feedback that tells you exactly what to fix.

About the IF1 exam

IF1 is the foundation unit of the CII Certificate in Insurance and the compulsory core of the qualification — for most candidates it is the first CII exam they sit. The assessment is 100 multiple-choice questions in two hours, four options per question, no negative marking. Candidates are examined on the basis of English law and practice unless stated otherwise.

IF1 is examined across fourteen learning outcomes, more than any other unit at this level, and the CII fixes how many questions come from each — generally within plus or minus two of the published figure. Every mock in this bank is assembled to that weighting, so each paper puts the marks where the real exam puts them.

What each learning outcome covers

The nature of risk. The concepts of risk and risk perception, the risk management function and process, categories of risk, which risks can and cannot be insured, the components of risk, the relationship between frequency and severity, and the difference between peril and hazard.

Applying risk to circumstances. A short applied outcome: taking the features of risk and risk management and working them through a given scenario.

The main features of insurance. Why insurance is needed and how it operates as a risk transfer mechanism; how it benefits policyholders and society; co-insurance in its two distinct market senses; dual insurance and self-insurance; the main classes of insurance; and Insurance Premium Tax and its current rates.

The insurance market. One of the heaviest outcomes. Market structure and the five main groups of people within it; categories of insurer by ownership; the Lloyd's market and its main features; the London Market; distribution channels; the purpose of reinsurance; key professional roles; and the functions of the principal market organisations.

Contract and agency. The essential elements of a valid contract; conditional and unconditional acceptance; consideration; how contracts are cancelled or terminated; how an agent–principal relationship is created; the duties of each; the consequences of an agent's actions for the principal; and what belongs in a Terms of Business Agreement.

Insurable interest. The definition and its components, the timing of insurable interest, how it arises, and how it applies to property and liability contracts.

Good faith. A heavily weighted outcome. The principle of good faith in insurance contracts; how the duty of fair presentation operates and how it can be altered by policy terms; material circumstances and which do not require disclosure; physical and moral hazard in a proposal; the insurer's right to information; and the consequences of non-disclosure or breach.

Proximate cause. What proximate cause means and how it is applied to non-complex claims.

Indemnity. The principle itself; the settlement options open to insurers; the distinction between indemnity and benefit policies; agreed value, first loss and new-for-old cover; and calculating a non-complex claim subject to the pro rata condition of average.

Contribution and subrogation. How contribution applies to sharing claim payments in straightforward property cases, and when subrogation may or may not be pursued.

Regulation. The single heaviest outcome in the unit. Compulsory insurance in the UK; the Consumer Rights Act 2015 and the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 as they apply to insurance; the role of the financial services regulators in authorising, supervising and regulating insurers and intermediaries; the regulatory principles for businesses and the FCA and PRA's regulation of individuals; Consumer Duty and positive customer outcomes; the consequences of non-compliance; reporting, record-keeping and training and competence requirements; ICOBS in outline; and solvency and risk-based capital requirements in outline.

Consumer protection. The main provisions of current data protection legislation, and of the Money Laundering Regulations as they apply to insurers and intermediaries.

Complaints. The regulatory requirements for handling complaints, the services of the Financial Ombudsman Service, and the main provisions and scope of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.

The CII Code of Ethics. The five main principles, and applying them to non-complex scenarios — including recognising positive and negative indicators of ethical behaviour.

How to use this bank

IF1 rewards breadth. With fourteen outcomes and no single dominant topic, the common failure is not weakness in one area but thin coverage across several. Your outcome-by-outcome breakdown is the tool that catches this — a comfortable overall score can hide two or three outcomes sitting well below the line.

Concentrate first on regulation, good faith and the market: those three carry 40 of the 100 marks between them. Regulation in particular is where candidates coming from practical insurance roles tend to underperform, because it is the part of the syllabus least likely to match what they do day to day.

Sit your first mock under proper conditions — two hours, no notes, no pausing — then work through every explanation, including for questions you answered correctly. On a 100-question paper a lucky guess and a confident answer look identical on the score line, and only the explanations tell you which you had.