Life Insurance: is there any chance they pay out even if the last payment was missed?

What_a_waste

My dad had been paying for a life insurance policy for approx 15 years. He paid monthly and the last payment was due on the 23rd Oct. He forgot to make this payment as he was possibly going to change his policy. However on the 30th Oct he had a heart attack and died. He was only 62 and had not been ill so would not have known how important missing that last payment was. He has a pension from his work which will help my mum but it seems so unfair that he had been paying into the policy for so long to get nothing for my mums future.
When I phoned the company they just said the policy was no longer valid due to the missed payment.
If anyone has advice or can help I would greatly appreciate it.
Thank you

mikey72

I'm sorry to read about your loss.
I'm sure others will advise you better, but in view of the sudden illness, and the dates invlolved, I would consider making a complaint to the company, then referring it to the FOS, as it doesn't seem they have treated your father fairly, if he was too ill in the last week to realise the effect of missing one payment, and the difficulty in paying in the timescale involved.
The other thing to look at is the immediate cancellation that appears to have happened, most t&c's require some notice to be given.

dzug1

Many policies will allow one or even two missed payments before cancelling. If the insured event happens they will deduct the overdue payments from the payout

Have a look at the policy wording.

vaio

did he passively forget or actively cancel a DD or SO?

ACG

I agree with the above, You have spoken to someone that has given you the standard response, write in and they will look over it.

but what do you mean he forgot? Was it not on DD? Did he cancel the DD?

dunstonh

There are a couple of dates that apply to life assurance where premiums get missed.

The first one is typically upto 28 days after the payment missed. In this period, the policy has not lapsed and even if death occurs then, they will pay out but deduct the premium due from the payout.

After 28 days, the insurer can lapse the policy but can reinstate subject to a new health declaration and no change in health.

Some insurers may be more flexible on extending the period without lapsing a bit longer. However, in this case, as the death occured just 7 days after premium due date then you would expect the policy to pay out.

Many of the telephone staff at insurers tend to be low skilled, low knowledge and often guess the position rather than check. So, put it in writing to the insurer.

it seems so unfair that he had been paying into the policy for so long to get nothing for my mums future.

Although he did make the error of cancelling the policy before putting a new one in place. If he cancelled the direct debit only then the above should apply. However, if he notified the insurer that he was cancelling, then they may still refuse to pay out as they cease on the date as per his instructions.


edit: the 28 days above maybe 30 days. I cannot recall off the top of my head. It has been many many years since I last needed to know that.

vax2002

This is Contract law and given the amounts involved I would pay to have the contract read by a contract law solicitor.
What the company says is not really worth the water it holds.
The contract was either in force or it was not and that is not for the insurance company to dictate.
Get copies of all contracts and get them read and if the solicitor says it is in force you may have to sue in court for the money.
This is not unusual with insurance companies, they dont pay up without a fight.

Abbi87

Hi sorry for your loss, I sell over 50s life insurance with Aviva and ours is if you stop paying the premius before the end of the term your plan and cover will end 30days after the last payment was due. Check with the company x