The Certified Underwriter (CU) exam from Vskills is open to freshers and experienced professionals alike, because there are no prerequisites or minimum qualification. This page explains how the exam is delivered and scored, then gives you free practice sets by topic, worked questions with full reasoning, a study plan and answers to common candidate questions.
The CU has 50 questions and takes about 60 minutes[1] (Vskills, verified Oct 27, 2026).
Numbers in brackets link to the official sources listed under Sources & last verified. Dates that have passed are removed automatically.
| Item | Detail | Source · Verified |
|---|---|---|
| Number of questions | 50 questions, no negative marking[1] | Vskills · Oct 27, 2026 |
| Time limit | 60 minutes[1] | Vskills · Oct 27, 2026 |
| Passing score | 25 of 50 marks (50%)[1] | Vskills · Oct 27, 2026 |
| Retake policy | Paid retake for candidates who were unsuccessful or absent[2] | Vskills · Oct 27, 2026 |
| Validity | Valid for life[1] | Vskills · Oct 27, 2026 |
| Renewal | No renewal required[3] | Vskills · Oct 27, 2026 |
| Delivery | Online, anywhere, anytime[1] | Vskills · Oct 27, 2026 |
| Eligibility | No prerequisites or minimum qualification[3] | Vskills · Oct 27, 2026 |
| Score release | Declared immediately upon exam submission[3] | Vskills · Oct 27, 2026 |
According to Vskills, “NO prerequisites or NO minimum qualification for taking the Vskills Certification Exam, so it is can be pursued by freshers as well as experienced professionals.”[3]
The Certified Underwriter (CU) credential is offered by Vskills for people who work in, or want to move into, insurance underwriting. Vskills does not set any prerequisites or minimum qualification, so you can sit the exam as a fresher or as an experienced professional.
The exam is taken online, anywhere and anytime. It has 50 questions and a time limit of 60 minutes. There is no negative marking, so a wrong answer costs you nothing beyond the missed mark. The maximum score is 50 marks and the passing mark is 25, which is 50%. Results are declared immediately when you submit the exam.
Once you pass, the certification is valid for life and has no expiry, so there is no renewal to track. If you are unsuccessful, or absent on your scheduled date, Vskills sells a paid retake product. The fee, the booking steps and any changes to the rules are not listed here, so check the Vskills retake page before you plan around it.
The official content outline is not reproduced on this page, because we have not verified it. Read the outline on the Vskills Underwriter certification page and compare it with the topic sets below. Our questions are written by us with AI tools and are not real exam questions. Use them to find weak spots, and treat the Vskills material as the authority on what is examined.
Prepare for the CU - Certified Underwriter exam with our free practice test modules. Each quiz covers key topics to help you pass on your first try.
These are practice questions written for this site, not questions from the real exam. Each explanation shows why the right answer is right and why the others are wrong.
Question: Which reinsurance arrangement requires the cedent to offer and the reinsurer to accept every risk within defined parameters?
Answer: C. Obligatory treaty
Explanation:
Obligatory treaty is correct. Under a treaty, the cedent must cede every risk that falls inside the agreed parameters and the reinsurer must accept it, so neither side picks and chooses.
Facultative obligatory is wrong because it is a hybrid: the cedent may choose whether to offer a risk, while the reinsurer is bound to accept what is offered. Facultative facultative is wrong because every risk is negotiated individually and either party can decline. Surplus lines is wrong because it describes a market for direct insurance placed with non-admitted insurers, not a way of structuring reinsurance between a cedent and a reinsurer.
Rule to remember: ask who has the choice. If both sides are bound, it is obligatory treaty. If the cedent chooses but the reinsurer is bound, it is facultative obligatory. If both can say no, it is facultative.
Question: What does 'moral hazard' mean in underwriting?
Answer: B. Increased risky behavior by insured individuals
Explanation:
Increased risky behavior by insured individuals is correct. Moral hazard is the change in conduct that can follow once a person is protected by insurance. Someone who knows a loss will be paid may take fewer precautions, which raises the chance or size of a loss.
Insurance fraud by agents is wrong because it is misconduct by an intermediary, not a change in the behavior of the insured. Underwriting process errors is wrong because it describes internal mistakes in how risks are reviewed, not a feature of the risk itself. Errors in claim settlement is wrong because it concerns the claims function after a loss.
Rule to remember: moral hazard is about the insured person's incentives and behavior. Underwriters respond through application questions, deductibles, coverage terms and pricing.
Question: The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA) imposes several requirements on financial institutions, including insurance companies, to protect consumer information. Which of the following is a key provision of the GLBA that directly impacts the underwriting process?
Answer: B. Requiring insurers to provide consumers with an annual notice of their privacy policies and practices.
Explanation:
Requiring insurers to provide consumers with an annual notice of their privacy policies and practices is correct. This comes from the Privacy Rule of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, which asks financial institutions to explain how they share information and to safeguard sensitive data.
Mandating plain language in all policies is wrong because policy readability is generally dealt with in state insurance rules, not in this Act. Setting minimum capital and surplus is wrong because solvency standards are a separate area of insurance regulation. Prohibiting discrimination in premium rates based on credit history is wrong because the Act deals with privacy and data protection, not rate-setting rules.
Rule to remember: when a question mentions GLBA, think privacy notices, information sharing and safeguarding customer data.
Start with the official Vskills Underwriter certification page and note the topics it lists. Then match those topics to the practice sets above. Do not start with the set you like best; start with the one where you feel least sure.
Work through a set untimed. For every miss, read the explanation and write a short sentence in your own words stating the rule behind the right answer. Include the questions you got right by guessing, because those are the weakest knowledge you have.
Next, rotate across the sets so that core principles, policies and contracts, regulation, fraud, credit analysis and reinsurance keep coming back. Spaced repetition works better than finishing one topic and never returning to it.
Close to test day, run a timed session that copies the real format: 50 questions in 60 minutes. Since there is no negative marking, practise answering every question, and mark hard ones to revisit. Aim to clear the passing mark of 25 comfortably in practice, since 50% is the line on the real exam.
Before you sit the exam, check your device, connection and booking details on the Vskills site, because it is taken online.
The Vskills Certified Underwriter exam has 50 questions and a time limit of 60 minutes. There is no negative marking, so it makes sense to answer every question. The exam is taken online, anywhere and anytime. Check the Vskills certification page for the latest details.
The maximum is 50 marks and the passing mark is 25, which is 50%. Results are declared immediately when you submit the exam, so you will know the outcome as soon as you finish.
No. Vskills states that there are no prerequisites or minimum qualification for its certification exams, so freshers and experienced professionals can both take them. Whether an employer prefers particular experience is a separate matter that this page cannot answer.
No. Vskills says the certification is valid for life and has no expiry, so there is no renewal to complete and no continuing-education cycle to track for this credential.
Vskills offers a paid retake product for candidates who were unsuccessful or absent for their scheduled exam. The price and booking steps are not listed on this page, so read the Vskills exam retake page before you decide when to sit again.
No. The questions on this site are written by us with AI tools and are not taken from the real exam. Use them to find gaps in your knowledge, and rely on the Vskills material to learn what the exam covers.
How we verify: editorial & fact-checking policy. Report an error: contact us.