CMFAS M9 practice papers in 2026: options compared

The best M9 mock exam in 2026 is the one that copies real exam conditions, 100 multiple-choice questions in two hours, explains why each answer is correct, and shows you which topics are pulling your score down. CMFAS Prep does all three. This guide compares the main ways candidates practise for M9 and where each one helps or falls short.

First, a reminder of what you are preparing for. M9 (CM-LIP Part 1) is the life insurance paper run by the Singapore College of Insurance (SCI). You answer 100 MCQs, you have two hours, and you need 70% to pass. Most of the syllabus is principles and law rather than product trivia: insurance principles, life policy types, premiums and policy values, investment-linked policies, and the regulation around all of it. A handful of questions ask you to work through premium or policy-value figures, so your practice has to cover calculation as well as recall.

Where candidates get M9 practice

Search around and the options sort into three buckets. There are secondhand notes and answer keys from past candidates, often sold cheaply on Carousell. There are fixed mock-paper sets from established tuition providers, bought one paper at a time. And there are practice platforms like CMFAS Prep that give you a single login to the full question bank.

These are not priced or built the same way, and the 2026 syllabus matters here. Anything written before the current syllabus can quote outdated figures or rules, which is a real problem when a question turns on a specific premium relief or a point of regulation.

How the options compare

What you get	Secondhand notes	Fixed mock sets	CMFAS Prep
Format	PDF or hardcopy	Set digital papers	Full 100-question mocks
Answer explanations	Answer key only	Answer key only	Worked steps per question
Target one topic	No	No, full papers only	Yes, practice by chapter
Syllabus currency	Often outdated	Updated	Kept to current syllabus
Weak-spot tracking	No	No	Yes
Price	Roughly S$15-20	Around S$40 per set	One plan, S$29.90

Secondhand notes and answer keys

This is the cheapest route, and it is fine if all you want is a condensed summary to skim. The catch is age and depth. A note pack from a few years back may still use superseded tax relief caps or pre-update regulatory wording, and you have no way to tell which lines are stale. Most packs also give you the letter answer and nothing else, so when you miss a premium or policy-value question you are left guessing which step went wrong. For a principles paper that also tests a few calculations, that is the weakest way to find out you misunderstood something.

Fixed mock-paper sets

Quality here is usually solid. Established providers write accurate papers and keep them current. The limit is the business model. You buy "Set A" for around S$40, work through its 100 questions, and once you have seen the answers there is little left to learn from it. Want more reps before exam day? You buy Set B. For a paper where repetition is how the policy types and rules stick, paying per set adds up fast, and you still get a final answer key rather than worked reasoning on the calculation questions.

CMFAS Prep

One plan, S$29.90, gives you the full M9 question bank, full-length mock exams, and the two things the other options leave out: worked explanations and topic-level feedback. The questions are written and checked by people who work in the Singapore insurance industry and kept in line with the current syllabus.

Three things make it better suited to M9 in particular.

Worked explanations on every question. For the premium and policy-value questions, seeing the steps matters more than the final letter. The explanation shows how the figure is built, so you can handle the next variation instead of memorising one answer. If that is the part you find hardest, there is a full set of M9 premium-calculation practice questions to drill.

Practice by chapter. M9 is wide and principle-heavy, so blanket revision wastes time on topics you already know. If your weak spot is insurance law or ILP suitability, you drill that topic until it is solid rather than re-reading the whole syllabus.

Progress that points you at your gaps. After each mock, the platform shows which topics are costing you marks, so your next session targets the right material. That beats finishing a static paper and having no idea where your 65% came from.

How many mock papers do you actually need

For M9 the useful number is more about coverage than a fixed count. Aim to sit at least two or three full 100-question mocks under the two-hour clock so timing stops being a surprise, then spend the rest of your sessions drilling the topics your results flag. With a fixed-set provider, two or three papers means buying two or three products. With one CMFAS Prep plan, the cap is your own stamina, which is the point: you keep practising weak topics until they stop being weak.

The cost of getting it wrong

A resit is the expensive part. If you fail M9, SCI charges the standard exam fee again, roughly S$150 to S$250 including GST depending on peak or non-peak booking, on top of the time to re-study and re-sit. Against that, a S$29.90 month of unlimited practice is the cheaper way to improve your odds on the first attempt. The arithmetic is simple: one plan costs a fraction of a single resit.

Which one fits you

If you only want a quick summary and you are already confident with the policy types and premium working, secondhand notes will do. If you like the feel of sitting one full paper under timed conditions, a fixed mock set works, as long as you budget for more than one. If you want unlimited repetition, worked explanations on the calculation questions, and feedback that tells you what to fix, that is what CMFAS Prep is built for.

Whichever you pick, do not walk into M9 having only read the textbook. The paper rewards applied practice. For the full study plan to wrap around your mocks, read how to pass the CMFAS M9 exam, and when you register, check the module carefully so you sit M9 rather than M9A.

Start practising

You can begin a full-length M9 mock on CMFAS Prep now, see the worked steps on the questions you miss, and check which topics still need work before your exam date.