Preliminary Exam
100 questions100 marks60 minNegative marking
Qualifying only
Marking: −0.25 per wrong answer
English Language30 Q · 30 marks · 20 minReasoning Ability35 Q · 35 marks · 20 minQuantitative Aptitude35 Q · 35 marks · 20 min
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NIACL AO guidance: how the paper is cracked, from your own numbers
The New India Assurance Company Limited — Administrative Officer (Generalist). Conducted by The New India Assurance Company Limited (NIACL). Nisha knows this paper from the site's own pattern pages — and reads your scores, your mocks and what you haven't touched before saying a word.
Reads your profile first Ends in a plan
NIACL AO guidance · Plan my weeksNisha · AI guide · has read your profile
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Nisha · AI guideEnglish
On the table
Carries the marks · Reasoning AbilityPuzzles & Seating ArrangementPrelims 12–16 Open the chapter
The paper · NIACL AO100 questions, 100 marksWrong answers cost marks
Nisha“Before we plan anything: when do you sit NIACL AO, and how many hours a day do you really have?”
Talk TypeEnd & get my plan06:12
Stages
4
First paper
100 questions, 100 marks
Marking
Wrong answers cost marks
Your guide
Nisha, free
How it's decided
NIACL AO, stage by stage
Once a year (notification ~Aug; Prelims/Mains later in the cycle; check newindia.co.in for exact dates). Prelims & Mains Objective: online MCQ. Mains Descriptive: online typed, English only. Interview: in-person..
PrelimsQualifying screen
100 questions · 100 marks · 60 minutes, sectional-locked 20 min each (English 30Q/30marks, Reasoning 35Q/35marks, Quantitative Aptitude 35Q/35marks). 25 negative marking. Clears you to Mains; marks are then discarded.
Mains — Objective Test200 of your final merit marks
5 hours), sectional-locked (Reasoning 50Q/50marks/40min, English 50Q/50marks/40min, General Awareness 50Q/50marks/30min, Quantitative Aptitude 50Q/50marks/40min). −1/4 negative marking.
Mains — Descriptive TestQualifying only (own separate threshold)
30 marks · 30 minutes · Essay (20) + Letter (10), both compulsory. Evaluated only if the Objective Mains cutoffs are cleared. 5/30 (SC/ST/PwBD).
InterviewFinal merit component
Conducted only for candidates who clear both the objective and descriptive Mains thresholds. Final merit = Mains Objective + Interview, weighted roughly 75:25.
The papers
3 papers, and how each is marked
Main Exam — Objective Test
200 questions200 marks150 min / 2.5 hoursNegative marking
Merit — 200 of your final merit marks
Marking: −0.25 per wrong answer
Reasoning Ability50 Q · 50 marks · 40 minEnglish Language50 Q · 50 marks · 40 minGeneral Awareness50 Q · 50 marks · 30 minQuantitative Aptitude50 Q · 50 marks · 40 min
Main Exam — Descriptive Test
2 questions30 marks30 minNo negative marking
Qualifying only — own separate threshold
Marking: No negative marking
Both tasks are compulsory (no choice between formats). Evaluated ONLY if the objective Mains cutoffs are cleared. 5/30 (SC/ST/PwBD).
Where the marks come from
Where your final NIACL AO score comes from
Prelims is qualifying only. Mains has an Objective test (200 marks, fully merit-counting) and a separate Descriptive test (30 marks, qualifying only — evaluated solely if you clear the objective cutoffs). Final merit combines the Objective score and the Interview, weighted roughly 75:25.
Reasoning Ability50 marks · 25%
One of four equally-weighted 50-mark Mains sections.
English Language50 marks · 25%
Objective English, plus the separate qualifying-only Descriptive test.
General Awareness50 marks · 25%
Includes insurance-specific content folded into the broader GA section, unlike LIC AAO's separately-named insurance section.
Quantitative Aptitude50 marks · 25%
The fourth equally-weighted Mains section.
What changed this cycle
Things last year's advice gets wrong
- 25 negative marking per wrong answer — a real difference in Prelims risk calculus between the two insurance exams.
- NIACL's Mains 'General Awareness' section folds insurance-specific content into a broader general-awareness section, rather than ring-fencing it as its own distinctly-named section the way LIC AAO does — the insurance-specific portion is smaller and less distinctly separated here.
- The Mains Descriptive test is a fixed Essay (20) + Letter (10) format — both compulsory — unlike LIC AAO's task-pool format (Email/Report/Situation-Analysis/Precis).
- Final merit weighting (75:25, Mains:Interview) gives the Interview slightly more relative weight than LIC AAO's 80:20 split.
The chapters that carry the marks
Where a plan for NIACL AO usually starts
The highest-weight chapters in each subject, linked to their notes. Weights are estimates from previous papers where the conducting body publishes none. Your guide weighs these against your own scores.
Reasoning AbilityAll chapters
Prelims: 35 Q / 35 marks · Mains: 50 Q / 50 marksQuantitative AptitudeAll chapters
Prelims: 35 Q / 35 marks · Mains: 50 Q / 50 marksEnglish LanguageAll chapters
Prelims: 30 Q / 30 marks · Mains: 50 Q / 50 marks · Descriptive: 30 marks / 30 minGeneral AwarenessAll chapters
Mains only: 50 Q / 50 marks / 30 minInsurance & Financial Market AwarenessAll chapters
Feeds into Mains' General Awareness section — not a separately-named 60-mark block the way LIC AAO structures itTalk it through
What Nisha can talk through with you
Sectional cut-offs, speed, and the mock-analysis habit that decides bank and SSC results. Pick one to start, or just talk — Nisha has read your profile either way.
Where do I stand?A straight read of your profile against the exam: what is solid, what is costing marks, what nobody has tested yet.Plan my weeks to the examA plan for the time you actually have, built on your gaps and on where this paper's marks come from.How is this paper cracked?Attempt order, time per section, negative marking, cut-offs: how people who clear it sit the paper.Go over my last mockWhat your last mock says beyond the score, and the one change that moves the next one.I'm stuck or falling behindBacklog, scores that won't move, days that slip away, pressure from home. Talk it through.Which exam or stream suits me?For Class 9 to 12 and graduates: what your strengths point to, and what each road actually asks of you.
Questions
About NIACL AO, and guidance for it
What are the stages of NIACL AO?
1. Prelims — Qualifying screen. 2. Mains — Objective Test — 200 of your final merit marks. 3. Mains — Descriptive Test — Qualifying only (own separate threshold). 4. Interview — Final merit component.
How is the NIACL AO paper marked?
Preliminary Exam: 100 questions, 100 marks, 60 min (20 min per section, locked). Marking: −0.25 per wrong answer
Is there negative marking in NIACL AO?
Yes. −0.25 per wrong answer
What decides the final merit in NIACL AO?
Prelims is qualifying only. Mains has an Objective test (200 marks, fully merit-counting) and a separate Descriptive test (30 marks, qualifying only — evaluated solely if you clear the objective cutoffs). Final merit combines the Objective score and the Interview, weighted roughly 75:25.
What has changed in NIACL AO recently?
25 negative marking per wrong answer — a real difference in Prelims risk calculus between the two insurance exams.
What does the NIACL AO guide know about me?
Only what you have done on the site: your scores by subject and chapter for NIACL AO, what you have never been tested on, the kinds of mistake you make across topics, your mocks, your projected score, your error book, your last two weeks and your goals. You can open the exact page Nisha reads before you start.
Is it free?
Talking to Nisha, the AI guide, is free — up to four talks a day. Real guides who have cleared or teach NIACL AO set their own prices, and many offer a free call or a short demo.
Every fact on this page comes from the exam's blueprint on this site. How the guide uses it: how Guidance works.
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Your NIACL AO plan, from your own numbers.
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