How to Crack NIACL AO in First Attempt?- Get Full Preparation Strategy

NIACL, a public sector insurance company, is getting ready to conduct the NIACL AO exam on 14th September 2025. If you, too, are interested in this exam, you might well be aware that his job comes with low work pressure, and the work environment is quite relaxed. This year’s AO posts jumped to 550 posts from last year’s 170 posts. More posts mean more opportunities, and more opportunities mean more chances for success. In such a scenario, what you can do is to prepare rigorously in the coming month. This is a golden opportunity for those who want to work in the public sector. But is it possible to clear it in first attempt? Surely, it is. But with the right intent, dedication, and strategy. If you dream of achieving this goal in the very first attempt, this blog will help you with a simple yet powerful strategy and tools to make your dream come true.

Can you crack NIACL AO in the First Attempt? 

The answer is yes! It is very likely possible to crack NIACL AO in the first attempt. What you need is a good strategy and a strong mindset with a disciplined routine. This year, there is a huge upsurge in the number of vacancies, and hence, chances of selection also increase.

When it comes to the strategy part, you have to go through the exam pattern first, which we have mentioned below. 

NIACL AO Exam Pattern 

The NIACL AO exam is conducted in two phases: Prelims and Mains, and then an interview is conducted. It is mandatory to understand the exam pattern and the syllabus first, before thinking of the right preparation strategy, or before making a study plan.

Let’s quickly go through the exam pattern to learn about the types of questions asked, the maximum marks you can score in each section, and the distribution of marks among each section of the exam.

NIACL AO Prelims Exam Pattern 2025

The Preliminary Examinations, consisting of Objective Tests for 100 marks, will be conducted online. This would consist of 3 sections (with separate timings for each section) as follows:

There is a sectional cutoff and sectional timing as well. 

NIACL AO Mains Exam Pattern 2025

The main examination will consist of objective tests for 200 marks and descriptive tests for 30 marks. Both the objective and descriptive tests will be online. Candidates will have to answer the descriptive test by typing on the computer. Immediately after completion of the Objective Test, a Descriptive Test will be administered.

For Generalists

NIACL AO Mains Exam Pattern for Generalist Posts consists of a set of 200 objective-based questions from sections Reasoning, English Language, General Awareness, and Quantitative Aptitude sections. The time provided for the main paper is 150 minutes. There is sectional timing in mains as well.

For Specialists Post

A common set of questions is asked from Reasoning, Quantitative Aptitude, English, and General Awareness sections of 200 marks value. Only the professional knowledge section is added for the specialist category.

NIACL AO Descriptive Test 2025

The Descriptive Test of 30 minutes duration with 30 marks will be a Test of the English Language (Letter Writing-10 marks & Essay-20 marks). The descriptive test will be in English and will be conducted online.

NOTE: Each candidate must obtain a minimum score for each section of the objective test separately for shortlisting for the Descriptive test evaluation/Interview. The descriptive answer script would be evaluated only to those candidates who qualify for the objective test. Depending on the number of vacancies available, cut-offs will be decided for the Descriptive paper evaluation.

Full NIACL AO Preparation Strategy

Every section has its importance in the exam. And every section tests candidates’ knowledge and skills with different types of easy to moderate, to tough questions in a timed test. So, to counter each section of the exam successfully, you’ll require special attention to each subject or section.

And here’s where subject-wise strategy comes into the picture.

Let’s discuss the strategy for how you can deal, especially when there’s only a month to go for the exam!

English Language

This section tests a candidate’s grammar and vocabulary skills. Reading is important in this regard. So, you should read the newspaper daily, especially the editorials.

Whenever you are reading a newspaper, try to learn 10 new words daily. Note those words in a diary and throughout the day, try to use them while speaking to remember them for a long time. 

Go through grammatical concepts and polish them. Then test your knowledge of concepts by solving questions on error detection and fill-in-the-blank. Start with easy questions, and then move on to the tougher ones.

Reasoning Ability

The reasoning section tests your logical thinking skills. To make the most of this section, you need to practice at least 10 puzzles of different kinds, like floor-based, linear seating arrangements, etc.

Learn and implement the tricks and rules that are used to solve puzzles and other reasoning topics with accuracy and in less time.

Make flashcards of those tricks and stick them near your study area to make sure you remember them by repeating them or seeing them multiple times in a day. 

Quantitative Aptitude

Quantitative part of the exam will test your calculation skills. To master it, you should practice a single type of question multiple times to master the concept.

Another important thing is to revise formulas of average, CI & SI, Profit & Loss, and percentage-ratio conversion, etc. You can make a chart and stick that chart on your desk.

Use it while solving questions. Give as many sectional and mock tests as possible to experience a real exam-like environment and learn to cope up with the pressure that comes with it. 

Most Important Topics 

In the table given below, we have listed the most important topics. The list is made after a thorough analysis of the PYP(previous year paper) done by our experts. 

How to Divide Subjects in a Day for Maximum Productivity

In these 30 days, you have to prepare for the prelims exam, and as discussed above, prelims contain three sections, so what you can do is divide an 8-hour study schedule into 2 hours of each session, along with 2 hours allotted to a mock test and its analysis. For more day-wise details, check out the NIACL AO Study Plan.

4 Practical Tips to Follow During Preparation

Now that you have less than a month to prepare for every topic from the syllabus, you need to prepare and revise smartly to get ready for the exam. You should practice mock tests, revise the basics of all sections daily, and solve topic-wise questions (especially from your weak areas first).

You need to practice DI and Puzzles every day, keep improving your speed in simplification, number series, and approximation. You should also read the daily current affairs of the last 4 to 5 months, and practice descriptive writing twice a week.

Here are four important tips to follow while preparing for the exam. These tips are helpful in terms of saving time and will help you score better. 

1. Invest 8-10 hours in your studies

There is hardly one month left starting from today onwards. If you want to make up for the list, then devoting 8-10 hours is a must.

Why are we saying to devote this much time is because the competition is tough, and if you’ve gone through the syllabus, then you know how vast it is, and such a competitive exam demands accuracy with speed.

To maintain both, you have to practice a lot of questions along with daily reading of newspaper articles. In practicing questions and all other activities, you need at least 8-10 hours. 

2. Be smart in picking or skipping questions

Knowing which questions to solve is also an art when it comes to competitive exams, and the good news is that anyone can master this art by practicing and giving mocks as much as they can.

The more questions you solve, the more proficient you become in understanding the difficulty level. One more thing is, do not just randomly give any test.

Instead, take a quality mock test where there are exam-level questions, so that you can become more efficient in picking up questions under exam pressure and limited time.

PracticeMock provides quality mock tests, which you can take during your preparation. 

3. Analyse every mock test carefully

The prime reason to take Mock tests is to test your preparation and learn from them. Learning from them means analysing them carefully. In that case, how will you analyse your mock test to make yourself aware of the level of your preparation?

The answer is whenever you give a mock test, after that, check why you got a question wrong.

Ask yourself, ‘Did I miscalculate?’ or ‘Did I use the wrong concepts?’ Learn why you skipped a question. Is it because you have not read a topic, or have not revised it well? And now, when you solve it, you can’t do it properly, and you skip the topic. You need to note down all these things.

Make sure the next time you give a mock test, you keep in mind all the mistakes you committed in the last one and avoid them in the present one. And that’s what attempting mock tests is all about.

To make this task easy, PracticeMock provides you the detailed solutions with mock tests to help you know where you went wrong while solving the questions. 

Speed up your preparation & revision by taking a free mock test by clicking on the link below:

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