Keep your Life Insurance Policy Current!

There are many reasons why a Life Insurance policy lapses. The two most common reason an individual let's a Life Insurance Policy lapse is because they forgot to renew it or they don't think they can afford the insurance premium.

Allowing a Life Insurance Policy to lapse is a very bad thing. You may think you can simply call your life insurance company and reinstate your policy some time after it lapses similar to a cable, cell phone or electricity bill but the fact is you can't. If you allow your Life Insuracne policy to lapse it is very likely you will need to apply for a new policy. This can be very costly as you may have had a term life insurance policy locked in 10 years ago when you were young and healthy. There is no doubt your premium will now go up even with the same death benefit but how much the premium goes up depends on how well your health is. If your health isn't as good or you've taken up smoking or any change in your health will cause an increase in your life insurance premium.

Lets examine the most common reasons a Life Insurance policy lapses. Don't forget to renew it! Most life insurance companies have made it very easy to ensure you never forget to renew it. By implementing automatic withdrawal from your bank account you never have to write a check or mail a payment again. Your premium is deducted from your checking or savings account when the premium's due. The 2nd most common reason individuals allow life insurance policies to lapse is because they claim they can't afford it. This is a bad excuse as you can't afford not to have life insurance. When you die you will have expenses and you should be responsible to cover these expenses. There are ways to make a life insurance policy more affordable. The most common way is to adjust the frequency of your payments. Inquire about yearly, semi or quarterly payments as most life insurance companies will give you a discount for these payment types. Inquire with your insurance company about possibly lowering the death benefit. The most important thing to do is ask your company what options are availble but do not let your life insurance policy lapse.