Syndicated Financial Columnist, Host of the weekly talk show Steve Savant's Money, the Name of the Game, Scottsdale Arizona
Generally after a life insurance policy has been placed in force, cancellation is due to the non payment of the modal premium. If it also possible that information, unknown at the time of issue that would have altered the premium amount or would have been declined under full disclosure could be subject to cancellation.
You don't have to worry about your life insurance being cancelled. A life insurance policy that was put into effect ethically will stay in effect whether you contract a life threatening disease, whether you travel to Syria, or whether you start to take drugs. No one would buy life insurance if the company had the option to cancel it on you whenever the risk changed in your life.
However, you do have to keep your policy in effect through payment of the premiums (unless it is a paid up policy or using cash value to pay premiums, so that no more payments are needed). If you get cancer and miss two payments of a term policy (and missing payments is very easy to do when people are hit with a serious illness), you will not be getting that policy back by filling out reinstatement paperwork. So take extra care to let the insurance company know when you move or if you change banks so that your policy never lapses due to nonpayment.
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However, you do have to keep your policy in effect through payment of the premiums (unless it is a paid up policy or using cash value to pay premiums, so that no more payments are needed). If you get cancer and miss two payments of a term policy (and missing payments is very easy to do when people are hit with a serious illness), you will not be getting that policy back by filling out reinstatement paperwork. So take extra care to let the insurance company know when you move or if you change banks so that your policy never lapses due to nonpayment.