How to Study for the CLU
The CLU at a glance
- Level
- Professional designation (post-licensing specialization, not an entry-level or FINRA-style exam)
- Who it's for
- Financial and insurance professionals whose clients need holistic life insurance, estate, and business-owner risk planning — e.g., life insurance agents, financial advisors, and estate/business planning professionals building deeper technical expertise beyond a base license.
Read the official exam guide
Official CLU exam guide (The American College of Financial Services) ↗Know what the exam covers
- HS 311 - Fundamentals of Insurance Planning
Risk management foundations
Covers how to identify and categorize personal and business risk exposures and the basic logic of transferring or retaining that risk.
Life, health, disability, and long-term care insurance
Compares term versus permanent life insurance and reviews how health, disability income, and long-term care coverage each address different income and expense risks.
Annuities and social insurance
Introduces annuity structures for accumulation and income needs alongside Social Security's role as a baseline layer of protection.
Property, liability, and credit protection
Looks at homeowners and liability coverage plus practical credit-report and identity-theft safeguards as part of a full risk picture.
- HS 323 - The Tools and Techniques of Life Insurance Planning
Policy design and mechanics
Digs into how individual life insurance policies are built, priced, and how cash value accumulates over time.
Insurer operations and reserves
Explains how carriers manage reserves, invest premium dollars, and stay regulated and solvent.
Annuity products
Examines the range of annuity contracts available and how each fits different accumulation or payout goals.
Matching products to planning needs
Applies life insurance and annuity mechanics to real client planning scenarios rather than treating them as abstract products.
- HS 330 - Fundamentals of Estate Planning
Property ownership and transfer
Covers how different forms of property ownership pass at death and the probate process governing that transfer.
Wills and trusts
Contrasts revocable and irrevocable trust structures with straightforward wills and when each tool is appropriate.
Estate and gift tax system
Walks through federal transfer-tax rules, exemptions, the marital deduction, and generation-skipping transfers.
Charitable and business-transfer strategies
Reviews charitable giving vehicles and buy-sell style techniques used to move a closely held business at death.
- HS 331 - Planning for Business Owners and Professionals
Business entity and compensation planning
Covers how a business's legal structure shapes tax treatment and how owner/executive compensation can be designed around it.
Buy-sell agreements
Explains how owners fund and structure agreements that control what happens to a business interest when an owner exits or dies.
Succession and estate-freeze techniques
Looks at strategies for handing a business to the next generation while limiting further estate-tax growth on the founder's side.
Risk management for closely held businesses
Addresses disability, key-person, and other risk exposures unique to a business that doesn't have a large corporate safety net.
Practice by topic
Try mixed practice questions
CLU practice questions with answersCompare the CLU with other exams
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