CMFAS M9 Exam Guide: Format, Syllabus & Tips

M9, Life Insurance and Investment-Linked Policies, is the CMFAS product module for anyone who will advise on or arrange life insurance in Singapore. The Singapore College of Insurance (SCI) runs it, and MAS Notice FAA-N26 is what makes it a requirement.

It is a long paper more than a tricky one: 100 questions drawn from 17 chapters. Candidates who fail have usually skipped chapters, not misunderstood them.

M9 exam format at a glance

Who needs M9

SCI states that anyone who intends to advise on or arrange life insurance policies, including investment-linked policies (ILPs), must pass M9 together with the rules module. The rules module is now RES5, which replaced the old M5 paper.

M9A is the second paper in the pair. It covers structured products and structured ILPs. SCI also offers a combined paper, CM-LIP, which covers M9 and M9A in one sitting. Your firm's compliance department decides which modules your role needs, so confirm with them before you register.

The M9 syllabus: 17 chapters

• Foundations (chapters 1 to 3): risk and life insurance, how premiums are set, and how life insurance products are classified.
• Products (chapters 4 to 10): traditional life products, riders, participating policies, ILPs and their sub-funds, ILP calculations, and annuities.
• Practice (chapters 11 to 13): application and underwriting, policy services, and claims.
• Law and tax (chapters 14 to 17): the insurance contract, the law of agency, income tax and life insurance, and nominations, wills and trusts.

The law and tax chapters are short but dense. They are where prepared candidates still drop marks, because the questions turn on exact conditions.

Where candidates lose marks

• ILP calculations. Bid and offer prices, units bought, and charges. The arithmetic is simple, and the mistakes come from using the wrong price.
• Participating versus non-participating policies. Which bonuses are guaranteed once declared, and which are not.
• Nominations. Trust nominations and revocable nominations behave differently, and the exam tests the difference.
• Figures that change. Tax reliefs and CPF-related limits are revised from time to time. Learn them from the current edition of the study text.

How to pass M9 first time

The pass mark is 70%, so plan to score higher than that in practice. A mock score that only just clears 70% will not survive a bad day.

• Work by chapter, not by calendar. Read the chapter in the official study text, then drill that chapter's questions until you score 80% or better on it.
• Read every explanation, including for questions you got right. A lucky guess hides a gap you will meet again in the exam.
• Sit full timed mocks before the real paper. 100 questions in 2 hours, in one sitting, with no notes. Timing problems only show up under exam conditions.
• Keep a list of what you got wrong and redo it. Most candidates lose marks on the same few rules again and again.
• Answer everything. There is no negative marking, so never leave a question blank.

Registration, fees and results

You register on the SCI website, where the current fee and the available sittings are listed. We do not quote the fee here because SCI revises it. SCI runs the M9 paper as a computer screen examination in English, and holds sittings on weekdays.

SCI issues a result slip, not a certificate. If you fail, you can register to sit the paper again.

Practise for M9

CMFASPrep has M9 practice questions for every chapter, with a worked answer on each, and full timed mocks at the real 100-question length. See M9 practice questions and mock exams, or start with the free CMFAS mock exam.