How to revive lapsed insurance policy?

If you have not paid the premium of your life insurance policy before the last day of the grace period, your policy would lapse and the beneficiaries nominated by you will not get any benefit in the event of your death. Hence, it is imperative that you pay your premium on or before the due date or within the grace period after due date to ensure that your nominees receive the benefits of the policy after your death and the purpose of the policy is served.

However, in case you are unable to pay the premium of the policy before the due date, you can still pay the premium within the grace period, which is usually 15 days in the case of monthly premiums and 30 days for half-yearly or annual premiums. The grace period is mentioned in the policy document and it can vary from one insurance company to another. The policy will remain in force with all the benefits if the premium is paid within the grace period.

If your policy has lapsed due to some unavoidable circumstances, you may apply for reinstatement of the policy. The process of reinstatement of a lapsed policy may vary from one insurance company to another and it may involve payment of a penalty and payment of the cost of fresh medical check-up, apart from the payment of the unpaid premium amount. The terms of reinstatement could depend on the lapsed time from the last due date of premium, the type of insurance policy and the cost of insurance.

Hence, the process reinstatement of a lapsed insurance policy may be time-consuming and can be expensive too. However, since buying a new insurance policy may be costly as the insurance premium will be higher due to increased age, the option of reinstatement could be considered after weighing the pros and cons between reinstatement of the old policy and buying a new policy.