21/06/2022
Four preventive measures to avoid an insurance policy lapse.
1. Make payments on time
Making payments on or before the due date is the best way to avoid your policy lapsin. If you don’t pay your premium on the due date, the insurance company provides you a grace period, during which you have the option to pay your pending premiums.
Keep a note of the grace period, so in case you missed the payment on the due date, you can pay the premium before exhaustion of the grace period to avoid lapse of the policy.
During the grace period, the policy remains in force without any reduction or termination of policy benefits. A policy will become a lapsed policy, only when you don’t pay the due premiums during the grace period as well. All the benefits are intact during the grace period.
2. Set up an automatic billing mode
Your policy may lapse due to non-payment of even a single installment of the premium. This mistake can prove devastating for you, as you will lose all the earlier benefits of the policy and the premiums you have paid will go in vain.
You may not remember paying the premiums on the due date, so it would be a better option to place standing orders with your bank, which ensures that your premium will be auto debited on the exact due date from your account.
You can also choose credit card automatic payment option with which the premium amount will be deducted automatically from your card on the due date. With automatic payment option, you don’t need to remember the date of premium payment and you never be put at a risk of a policy lapse.
3. Keep your communication details updated
The insurance companies send premium reminder letters, emails, or text messages regarding premium payment. At the time of purchase of an insurance policy, you must have provided your communication details such as current address, permanent address,email id, mailing address, phone number, etc.
In case of any change in such details, it is recommended to update the same with your insurance company, so that you get timely reminders and you can pay the premium on time or beforehand.
4. Reinstatement of the Policy
It is a process by which an insurance company revives your lapsed insurance policy that has been terminated due to non-payment of the due premiums. To revive the policy, you need to pay the unpaid outstanding premiums plus interest levied on account of delayed premium payment.
You may also be asked to submit a declaration of good health or may have to undergo medicals also, if asked by the insurance company for the risk analysis. The final decision to reinstate the policy rests with the insurance company.
The lapsed policy can be usually reinstated within 2 to 5 years from the last unpaid premium payment date, subject to the sum assured, age, health condition, policy type, etc. along with the submission of requisite documents. The reinstatement requirement may vary from insurer to insurer.
Conclusion
Life insurance is a vital and long term investment which ensures financial protection to your loved ones during the extreme untimely incidents like death. It is also an investment tool to attain your financial objectives.