BCP format and pass mark: 40 questions, 45 minutes, 70%

The BCP exam asks 40 multiple-choice questions in 45 minutes, and you pass by scoring 70 percent, which means at least 28 correct answers. The full name is Basic Insurance Concepts and Principles, and the paper is run by the Singapore College of Insurance (SCI) as a computer screen examination.

That single number, 70 percent, is the whole bar. There is no separate section minimum and no second tier to clear. Get 28 of the 40 right and you pass, regardless of which chapters those 28 came from. This guide covers what that score means in practice, how the time pressure actually feels, what the exam tests, and what comes after you pass.

What 70 percent gives you to work with

Twenty-eight correct answers is the line. Below that, the result reads as a fail. Above it, the score band does not matter for certification, so chasing a perfect paper is wasted effort on exam day.

The arithmetic leaves you a buffer of 12 wrong answers. That sounds generous, and on a calculation-heavy paper it might be. On BCP it is tighter than it looks, because most questions turn on whether you understood a principle, not whether you ran a number correctly. You either know that utmost good faith sits on both the insurer and the insured, or you guess.

Marking is simple. Each correct answer is worth one mark. Wrong answers and blanks score zero, and nothing is deducted for a wrong choice. There is no negative marking, so leave nothing blank. A guess has the same downside as an empty box and a one-in-four chance of a mark.

The format in numbers

Item	BCP detail
Questions	40 multiple choice
Duration	45 minutes
Pass mark	70 percent (28 of 40)
Format	Computer screen examination
Current edition	7th
Administered by	Singapore College of Insurance
Fee	around $75 to $85, including GST

Forty-five minutes for 40 questions works out to a little over a minute each. Compared with PGI and ComGI, which both give you 50 questions in 75 minutes, BCP runs the fastest clock per question. The trade-off is that BCP questions are mostly conceptual rather than computational, so a question you know goes by in seconds.

A workable pace is to take a first pass at speed, answering everything you are sure of and flagging the rest, then spend the back half of the clock on the flagged ones. Trying to perfect question three while questions 30 to 40 sit untouched is how people run out of time on a paper they knew.

When you practise, do it under the real 45-minute limit at least a few times before exam day. Reading the syllabus at your own pace tells you nothing about whether you can recall it fast enough. You can run timed sets on CMFAS Prep and see the correct answer with an explanation straight after each question.

What the nine chapters cover

The 7th edition study text is built around nine chapters of general insurance fundamentals.

1. The insurance and reinsurance market
2. The regulatory framework and industry bodies
3. Risks and insurance
4. Principles of insurance
5. Law of contract and agency
6. Insurance documents
7. Claims
8. Reinsurance and co-insurance
9. Ethics, professionalism, data protection and cyber hygiene

The middle block does most of the work. Chapters 3, 4 and 5 carry the core theory the rest of the syllabus builds on: how risk is defined and managed, the principles of insurable interest, indemnity, utmost good faith, proximate cause and contribution, and the contract law that makes a policy enforceable. If your weak spot is here, the whole paper gets harder, because later chapters on documents and claims assume you already hold these principles.

That is the case for studying chapter by chapter rather than reading cover to cover once. Drill the principles in chapters 3 to 5 until you can apply them to a scenario, not just recite the definition. The practice by chapter mode on CMFAS Prep lets you target one chapter at a time and shows where your accuracy is lowest.

How BCP compares to PGI and ComGI

BCP is one of three papers in the general insurance route. Here is how the format differs across them.

Module	Questions	Duration	Pass mark	Time per question
BCP	40	45 min	70%	about 1.1 min
PGI	50	75 min	70%	1.5 min
ComGI	50	75 min	70%	1.5 min

BCP is the shortest paper with the least time per question, but it is also the most conceptual. PGI and ComGI lean more on calculation and product detail. Passing all three earns the Certificate in General Insurance.

Calculator, fees and exam day

Calculators are allowed, but only non-programmable models on the SCI approved list. Most candidates barely touch one on BCP because the paper is principle-based rather than numerical. Bring an approved one anyway in case a question needs basic arithmetic, and check the approved list before you buy or pack it.

The fee runs about $75 to $85 including GST. You register through the SCI website, pick BCP and a slot, and pay to confirm. Sittings run on weekdays at SCI examination centres, so you can usually book a date that suits you rather than waiting for a fixed exam window.

On the day, bring your original NRIC, or a valid passport or employment pass if you are not a citizen or PR, plus your exam confirmation. Phones go off and into storage. No notes, no study material, no programmable calculator.

If you do not pass

There is no cap on attempts. You can resit BCP as many times as you need, though the full fee applies each time. The useful move after a fail is to look at which chapters cost you marks and rebuild those before booking again, rather than re-sitting cold a week later.

A score report that breaks performance down by chapter is worth more than a single percentage here. After every practice set, CMFAS Prep shows your accuracy per chapter so the gaps are obvious before you pay for another sitting.

What passing gives you

Pass BCP and you get a result slip rather than a printed certificate, along with 0.75 CPD hours. From there you can take PGI and ComGI. Clear all three and you qualify for the Certificate in General Insurance from SCI.

For a fuller study plan, read how to pass the BCP exam, and to gauge where you stand right now, try the free BCP mock exam questions.

When you are ready to train against the real format, start a timed set on the BCP practice page. Run the 40-question, 45-minute paper a few times, read the explanations on the ones you miss, and aim to clear 28 with room to spare before you book your sitting.