CIA Study Guide 2026
Everything you need to pass the CIA exam in one place: the exam format, every topic to study, real practice questions with explanations, flashcards, and full-length practice tests. Free, no sign-up needed.
📋 CIA Exam Format at a Glance
📚 CIA Topics to Study (72)
✍️ Sample CIA Questions & Answers
1. A CIA appraiser is asked to value a commercial property with known environmental contamination. What must the appraiser address to comply with USPAP?
USPAP requires appraisers to identify and address factors that affect value, including environmental contamination, and disclose their impact on the appraisal conclusion.
2. An insurer's portfolio manager uses a 'barbell strategy.' This means the portfolio is concentrated in:
A barbell strategy splits bond holdings between very short and very long maturities, balancing liquidity from short-term bonds with higher yield from long-term bonds.
3. What is an 'insurance endorsement' (also called a rider)?
An endorsement is a written modification attached to an insurance policy that adds, removes, or alters coverage provisions.
4. When a business replaces destroyed equipment with like-kind property under Section 1033, the replacement property's tax basis is:
The replacement property's basis equals its cost minus the deferred gain, preserving the embedded gain for future recognition.
5. Client confidentiality in insurance appraisal practice requires that the appraiser:
Appraisers are ethically and often legally required to protect client confidential information and may only disclose it with client consent or under legal obligation.
6. A catastrophe (CAT) model used in insurance pricing is designed to:
Catastrophe models simulate thousands of potential large-scale event scenarios to estimate probable maximum losses, helping insurers price catastrophe risk and structure their reinsurance programs.