Was your California life insurance cancelled or lost because of nonpayment of premium?
Since 2013, California laws have prohibited certain life insurance policies from being terminated or benefits from being denied for a missed payment before certain warnings or notices are sent and before the expiration of certain grace periods. Courts have already found that some insurance companies did not follow these laws and that their attempts to terminate policies or deny benefits were, therefore, invalid.
We believe that tens of thousands of Californians lost their insurance policies without receiving the required notices and grace periods and that they might have a legal remedy as a result.
If you believe a life insurance company wrongfully cancelled your life insurance policy due to nonpayment of premium, or if you were the beneficiary of a policy that was terminated or for which a claim was denied for nonpayment of premium, you may have a claim.
Please fill out the application at the link below and an attorney will contact you if you qualify.
NOTE: Strict time limits may apply, so don’t delay! Completing the application will not toll any statute of limitations.
Why was this California law enacted?
Life insurance is an important protection and sometimes an expensive one. And life insurance protections can be lost as a result of just one missed premium payment, even when payments were made for years. Furthermore, someone can forget or miss an insurance premium payment by accident or for innocent reasons.
To address this situation, the California legislature implemented certain legal safeguards to restrict when insurance companies can officially lapse or terminate a life insurance policy in California, or deny benefits for nonpayment of premium. The laws were passed especially to protect seniors and the disabled, but they are not limited to those groups.
What are my life insurance cancellation rights?
In 2013, California enacted several laws to protect consumers from having their life insurance canceled or their benefits denied for nonpayment of premiums:
First, the insurer must provide a grace period of at least 60 days from the missed premium’s due date.
Second, the insurer must provide 30 days prior written notice informing the consumer of the pending lapse and termination of the life insurance policy.
Third, the insurer must provide an opportunity, every year, to designate a third party (like a trusted friend or family member) to receive important notices, so that if the policy owner misses or forgets the insurance company’s written warnings, someone else has gotten them too as a backup.
If an insurance company failed or fails to provide all of these safeguards for applicable policies, then any attempted termination or lapse of the policy may be invalid along with – potentially – any resulting denial of benefits. In short, it could be as if the policy never actually terminated.
What happens if I don’t pay within the grace period?
If you fail to pay your life insurance premium within the 60-day grace period, your policy will lapse. To reinstate the policy, you will likely have to submit a reinstatement application. Before the policy is reinstated, the insurer may place additional conditions and/or require higher premiums for the policy.
Your insurance company should provide you with a written notice of pending termination at least 30 days before your policy lapses. If you don’t receive notice that your life insurance policy will lapse or be terminated 30 days before the policy is terminated, your insurer may have violated California life insurance law.
Did your California life insurance policy terminate after Jan. 1, 2013?
If you received a notice that your policy lapsed, contact your insurance company, your agent or broker immediately to find out why the policy lapsed and try to work with them to reverse the decision. If you are unable to get a satisfactory result, you may need an attorney to help.
Some consumers have already stepped up to take legal action against insurance companies that improperly terminated insurance policies. These lawsuits accuse the insurers of failing to follow California law by failing to provide all of the safeguards mentioned above, like the required warnings, grace periods, or opportunity to designate a third party to receive backup notices.
Some lawsuits also accuse insurers of failing to properly continue coverage and/or pay beneficiaries for improperly lapsed or terminated policies.
In some cases, consumers claim they were forced into unnecessary reinstatements or that they were unable to reasonably access any insurance at all.
Insurance companies have also been accused of wrongfully informing consumers that their life insurance policies have lapsed even though they remain in effect.
If you had a California life insurance policy canceled for nonpayment (or if you were the beneficiary of a California life insurance policy that was canceled or your benefits denied for nonpayment) after Jan. 1, 2013, you may be eligible to participate in a free California life insurance wrongful cancellation lawsuit investigation.
This investigation deals with policies governed by California law. Other states have other laws that may affect the legality of a termination and counsel licensed in those states should be contacted. To qualify for this investigation, the life insurance policy must have initially been issued in California or the policyholder reside in California prior to termination of the policy. Other qualifying factors may apply.
If you had a California life insurance policy cancelled for nonpayment (or if you were the beneficiary of a California life insurance policy that was cancelled for nonpayment) after Jan. 1, 2013, you may be eligible to participate in a free California life insurance wrongful cancellation lawsuit investigation.
To qualify for this investigation, the life insurance policy must have initially been issued in California or the policyholder must currently reside in California.
Please fill out the form on this page and an experienced attorney will contact you if you qualify.
IF YOU ARE CURRENTLY REPRESENTED BY COUNSEL OR YOUR DISPUTE IS CURRENTLY INVOLVED IN LITIGATION DO NOT FILL OUT THE FORM WITHOUT THE ADVICE OF YOUR PERSONAL COUNSEL.
Hurry—statutes of limitation may apply and you don’t want to miss your chance at potentially recovering lost benefits or reinstating your policy.