How long to study for CMFAS: hours for each paper
How long to study for CMFAS papers: our hour estimates for RES 5, M9, M9A, M8, M8A and HI, SCI's 40 to 50 hours for each GI module, and the weeks they take.
How long to study for CMFAS depends on the paper: our estimate is about 50 to 60 hours for RES 5, 40 to 55 for M9 and 25 to 50 for the smaller papers, while SCI recommends at least 40 to 50 hours for each general insurance module. At 12 to 15 hours a week around a job, that's three to four weeks for most papers.
What SCI says, and what it doesn't
SCI publishes a study-time figure for only part of its papers. On its Certification in General Insurance page it recommends a minimum of 40 to 50 hours of study for each module, BCP, PGI and ComGI, and adds that the figure varies with your experience and ability.
The pages for RES 5, M9, M9A, M8, M8A and HI give no figure at all. So every number below for those papers is our estimate, built from what SCI does publish: how many chapters each paper has, how many questions it asks and how long you get.
The size of each paper
| Paper | Chapters and format | Time per question |
|---|---|---|
| RES 5 | 27 chapters; 150 MCQs in 3 hours | 72 seconds |
| M9 | 17 chapters; 100 MCQs in 2 hours | 72 seconds |
| HI | 15 chapters; 50 MCQs in 1 hour 15 minutes | 90 seconds |
| M8 | 8 chapters; 50 MCQs in 1 hour | 72 seconds |
| M8A | 6 chapters; 50 MCQs in 1 hour | 72 seconds |
| M9A | 6 chapters; 50 MCQs in 1 hour | 72 seconds |
| BCP | 9 chapters; 40 MCQs in 45 minutes | 67 seconds |
| PGI | 7 chapters; 50 MCQs in 1 hour 15 minutes | 90 seconds |
| ComGI | 9 chapters; 50 MCQs in 1 hour 15 minutes | 90 seconds |
Chapter counts are the chapters in our practice bank, which follow SCI's contents list for each paper, with ComGI's two liability parts counted as one.
Chapters set how much you have to read. The time per question sets how fast you have to recall it. A paper with few chapters but sums in it, like M8 or M8A, can take longer than its chapter count suggests.
Our estimate for each paper
These are our estimates, not SCI's, and they assume you read each chapter once, test yourself on it the same day and finish with a few full timed mocks.
| Paper | What drives the time | Study hours |
|---|---|---|
| RES 5 | The most chapters, two pass marks, scenario questions in Part II | 50 to 60 (our estimate) |
| M9 | 17 chapters, ILP unit sums, the law chapters at the back | 40 to 55 (our estimate) |
| M8A | Derivative payoffs and structured funds | 35 to 50 (our estimate) |
| HI | 15 chapters and a lot of scheme figures to learn exactly | 35 to 45 (our estimate) |
| M9A | Structured products and derivatives in 6 dense chapters | 30 to 40 (our estimate) |
| M8 | Time value of money and risk sums | 25 to 40 (our estimate) |
| BCP, PGI, ComGI | SCI's own recommendation | At least 40 to 50 each (SCI) |
Two adjustments. If you already work in insurance or finance, take the lower end, or less. If you're switching careers and haven't sat an exam in years, take the upper end and add a week.
You'll notice SCI's figure for BCP is higher than our estimate for papers of a similar size. That's SCI's number, it's a minimum, and it's aimed at people with no background, so if you're new to insurance, plan to it.
Turning hours into weeks
Most recruits study around a full-time job. At 12 to 15 hours a week, which is about an hour on weeknights and a longer session at the weekend, the estimates come out roughly like this:
- RES 5: about four weeks.
- M9 and M8A: three to four weeks.
- HI and M9A: about three weeks.
- M8: two to three weeks.
- BCP, PGI and ComGI: three to four weeks each at that pace, or two if you can study full time.
Our study plans are built on the same weeks. Each one splits the paper's chapters into weekly blocks:
- RES 5 four-week plan
- M9 four-week plan
- M9A three-week plan
- HI three-week plan
- M8 three-week plan
- M8A four-week plan
RES 5 at different paces
RES 5 is the paper most recruits start with and the biggest, so it's worth planning in detail. Its 27 chapters split into two parts. Part I is chapters 1 to 13 and supplies 110 of the 150 questions. Part II is chapters 14 to 27, more chapters than Part I, yet it supplies only 40 questions and needs 80%. Part II deserves more time per question than its share of the paper suggests.
Here's how our 50 to 60 hour estimate stretches across different weekly paces. The last week in each row is for two full three-hour mocks and fixing what they show.
| Hours a week | Weeks in total | How a week looks |
|---|---|---|
| 6 | 9 to 10 | An hour on most weeknights, nothing at the weekend |
| 10 | 5 to 6 | About one chapter a weeknight, plus a weekend review |
| 15 | 4 | A chapter a weeknight and a longer weekend session |
| 20 | 3 | Near-daily study with heavy weekends |
Leave the mock week in, however fast you're going. Three hours of steady concentration is a skill of its own, and the first full mock is where most people find out they're slower than they thought. At 150 questions in 180 minutes you have 72 seconds a question, and Part II scenarios take longer than that to read.
When you're sitting several papers
New life insurance recruits often need RES 5, M9, M9A and HI. Sat one after another at 12 to 15 hours a week, that's about 14 weeks of study by our estimate. You can't run four papers in parallel without each one getting less attention, so most people go one at a time and book each paper when they're ready for it. SCI runs these papers on weekdays, so there's no exam season to wait for.
The order matters less than finishing one before starting the next. Our papers by role page shows which papers your role needs, and the guide to becoming a financial adviser shows where the papers sit in the whole licensing process.
Hours don't decide when you're ready
An estimate tells you how much time to set aside. It doesn't tell you when to book. The signal for that is your score on full timed mocks: when you clear the pass mark every time, with a few points to spare, you're ready, whether that took 30 hours or 60.
Track your score chapter by chapter as you go, so the hours go where the marks are. Our guide on how to pass CMFAS sets out that method for every paper. Most recruits start with RES 5, and you can start RES 5 as a single paper for chapter practice and full timed mocks.
Sources
- SCI, Certification in General Insurance exam details (recommended study hours), read 12 October 2026
- SCI, RES5 exam details, read 12 October 2026
- SCI, M9 exam details, read 12 October 2026
- SCI, Health Insurance (HI) exam details, read 12 October 2026
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Frequently asked questions
Our estimate is 50 to 60 hours, about four weeks at 12 to 15 hours a week. SCI's RES 5 page gives no study-hours figure.
Only for the general insurance modules: at least 40 to 50 hours each for BCP, PGI and ComGI. Its pages for RES 5, M9, M9A, M8, M8A and HI give no figure.
About 14 weeks of study by our estimate if you sit them one after another at 12 to 15 hours a week.
Your full timed mock scores tell you, not the hours. When you clear the pass mark every time with a few points to spare, you're ready to book.
