What to do if your Life Insurance Policy has Lapsed All insurance policies, including life insurance ones, are contracts between an insurance company and the person buying the policy. Being a contract, there are actions that both parties are obligated to take. The insurance company will pay the money due under the policy, if a claim meets the requirements of the policy. The policyholder is obligated to make regular payments, as defined in the policy. If payments are not made, the policyholder has not met his obligations and that in turn releases the insurance company from its commitment to pay if a claim is filed. This is known as a ‘lapse in coverage’. If this happens, the policy will have to be revived to enable again the protection the policy provides.
The grace period All States in the country require insurance companies to provide for what is called a ‘grace period’, if the premium is not paid on time. This is to help prevent life insurance policies from lapsing every time there is a few days’ delay in paying the premiums. This period is normally 30 days and the delayed payment will be accepted without the need for further underwriting. If the policyholder dies during this time, the coverage remains intact. When the grace period is over without payment of premiums, things get complicated. Reviving a policy Once the grace period is over, reviving a policy is not easy. Underwriting is usually required. If the period of the lapse is between one to six months, limited underwriting is usually enough. This is normally restricted to answering a few basic health questions and attesting that there have been no significant changes in the policyholder’s health from the time the policy was first underwritten.