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.

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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 lifeinsurance 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.

If the lapse is beyond six months, things are much more complicated; complete underwriting procedure has to be carried out as when the policy was first taken. An important point to be noted is that the claim is very likely to be rejected, if the company discovers any false information in the claim during the limited or full underwriting process.

Why not take a new policy?

A frequently asked question is why not take a new policy if the old one has lapsed for so long that complete underwriting is required to revive it.  The answer is simple: even if the policyholder’s health is the same as it was when the lapsed policy was taken, the premium on the new one will be higher. This is because it will be based on the age at which the policy is issued. This will obviously be more for a new policy.

Get professional help

The specifics of reviving a lapsed life insurance policy will vary from one insurance company to another. The best course of action, in the case of a lapsed policy, is to contact your insurance broker for guidance. They will be able to help you revive the policy in the quickest, simplest and most cost-effective manner you can ask for.