Life insurance premium grace periods and lapse protections by US state
For each US state, the minimum grace period its insurance code requires a life insurance policy to allow after a missed premium before the policy may lapse, plus any additional lapse protections (extended periods for seniors, designated-third-party notice requirements) — sourced from each state's insurance code. Answers 'how long is the life insurance grace period in [state]', 'can my life insurance lapse after one missed payment', and 'does the insurer have to notify anyone before my policy lapses'. Most states require 30 or 31 days, but California requires not less than 60 days plus a 30-day pre-lapse notice to the owner and any designated third party (Ins. Code § 10113.71) — generic web content still says '30 or 31 days' everywhere, so the unaided answer is wrong exactly where a statute moved.
Records8
Sources8
Verified
Review by
Licenceunknown
The data
| State | Minimum grace period | Policies covered | Notice / additional protections | Statute citation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | a grace period of not less than 60 days from the premium due date. The 60-day grace period shall not run concurrently with the period of paid coverage | Each life insurance policy issued or delivered in this state; a life insurance policy includes, but is not limited to, an individual life insurance policy and a group life insurance policy, except where otherwise provided | A notice of pending lapse and termination shall not be effective unless mailed by the insurer to the named policy owner, a designee named pursuant to Section 10113.72 for an individual life insurance policy, and a known assignee or other person having an interest in the individual life insurance policy, at least 30 days prior to the effective date of termination if termination is for nonpayment of premium. Notice shall be given to the policy owner and to the designee by first-class United States mail within 30 days after a premium is due and unpaid. | Cal. Ins. Code § 10113.71 |
| Florida | a grace period of not less than 30 days within which payment of any premium after the first may be made | Every insurance contract | The payment may, at the option of the insurer, be subject to an interest charge not in excess of 8 percent per year for the number of days of grace elapsing before the payment of the premium, during which period of grace the policy shall continue in force. If the policy becomes a claim during the grace period before the overdue premium is paid, the amount of such premium or premiums with interest not in excess of 8 percent per year thereon may be deducted in any settlement under the policy. The fetched section states no notice-before-lapse, designated-third-party, or senior-specific protections. | Fla. Stat. § 627.453 |
| Illinois | a grace period either of 30 days or of one month within which the payment of any premium after the first may be made | no policy of life insurance other than industrial, group or annuities and pure endowments with or without return of premiums or of premiums and interest, may be issued or delivered in this State, unless such policy contains in substance the provision | The grace period is subject at the option of the company to an interest charge not in excess of 6% per annum for the number of days of grace elapsing before the payment of the premium, during which period of grace the policy shall continue in force; in case the policy becomes a claim during the grace period before the overdue premium is paid, the amount of such premium or premiums with interest thereon may be deducted in any settlement under the policy. The fetched section states no notice-before-lapse, designated-third-party, or senior-specific protections. | 215 ILCS 5/224 |
| Minnesota | a one month grace period for the payment of every premium after the first, during which the insurance will continue in force | No policy of life insurance may be issued in this state or by a life insurance company organized under the laws of this state unless it contains the provision | The provision may subject the late payment to a finance charge and contain a stipulation that if the insured dies during the grace period, the overdue premium will be deducted in any settlement under the policy. The fetched section states no notice-before-lapse, designated-third-party, or senior-specific protections for premium lapse. | Minn. Stat. § 61A.03 |
| Ohio | a grace of one month for the payment of every premium after the first, which extension period may be subject to an interest charge and during which month the insurance shall continue in force | No policy of life insurance shall be issued or delivered in this state or be issued by a life insurance company organized under the laws of this state unless such policy contains the provision | The grace provision may contain a stipulation that if the insured dies during the month of grace the overdue premium will be deducted in any settlement under the policy. The fetched section states no notice-before-lapse, designated-third-party, or senior-specific protections for premium lapse. | Ohio Rev. Code § 3915.05 |
| Oregon | a grace period of 30 days, or, at the option of the insurer, of one month of not less than 30 days, or of four weeks in the case of industrial life insurance policies the premiums for which are payable more frequently than monthly | A life insurance policy shall contain the provision; four weeks applies in the case of industrial life insurance policies the premiums for which are payable more frequently than monthly. Separately, ORS 743.312 requires a group life insurance policy to contain a provision that the policyholder is entitled to a grace period of 31 days for the payment of any premium due except the first. | The insurer may impose an interest charge not in excess of six percent per annum for the number of days of grace elapsing before the payment of the premium. If a claim arises under the policy during such period of grace the amount of any premium due or overdue, together with interest and any deferred installment of the annual premium, may be deducted from the policy proceeds. The fetched section states no notice-before-lapse, designated-third-party, or senior-specific protections. | ORS 743.165 |
| Virginia | a grace period of not less than thirty-one days within which the payment of any premium after the first premium may be made | Each individual life insurance policy | During the grace period the policy shall continue in full force, but if a claim arises under the policy during the grace period before the overdue premium or any overdue premium installment is paid, the amount of any earned overdue premium or installment through the policy month of death with interest may be deducted from any amount payable under the policy in settlement. The grace period shall start on the premium payment due date. The fetched section states no notice-before-lapse, designated-third-party, or senior-specific protections. | Va. Code § 38.2-3303 |
| Washington | a grace period of one month, but not less than thirty days, within which the payment of any premium after the first may be made | There shall be a provision that the insured is entitled to the grace period; per the version effective January 1, 2027, the new notice requirements do not apply to group life insurance policies, life insurance policies for which payment of premium is due monthly or more frequently, or term life insurance policies that have a term of one year or less | Effective January 1, 2027 (for policies issued on or after that date): at least 30 days before the day on which coverage under an individual life insurance policy will lapse based on nonpayment of the premium, the insurer must send a written notice of possible termination of coverage to the policyholder at the policyholder's last known address and a third party designated on the account in accordance with RCW 48.23.530. An insurer must obtain and, upon request, demonstrate proof of delivery for each notice. | RCW 48.23.030 |
Where this came from
Every record above links the page it was taken from and quotes the sentence that states it. These are the 8 sources this dataset was assembled from.
- leginfo.legislature.ca.govhttps://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=INS§ionNum=10113.71
- leg.state.fl.ushttp://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0600-0699/0627/Sections/0627.453.html
- ilga.govhttps://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/fulltext.asp?DocName=021500050K224
- revisor.mn.govhttps://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/61A.03
- codes.ohio.govhttps://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-3915.05
- oregonlegislature.govhttps://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/ors/ors743.html
- law.lis.virginia.govhttps://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title38.2/chapter33/section38.2-3303/
- app.leg.wa.govhttps://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=48.23.030
Machine-readable
- data.jsonThe whole dataset — every record with its source URL and source quote.
- Open Knowledge Format bundleOne JSON object per line — every record's frontmatter and quoted span exactly as it is held here, in one fetch.
- How this is made and checkedWhat "verified against source" does and does not mean.