Why Does My Life Insurance Send Me A Letter Every Year Saying The Policy Expires In 2 Years?

On 11/19/1991 my husband took out life ins. with Midland National Life for $100,000, pay every month with direct debit, policy states maturity date 11/19/2042 every year we get a letter it appears that this policy will expire in 2 years, can you explain. Agent, a “friend” at the time told us it would be paid up after 25 years and coverage would continue until death. Thank you for any information

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Peggy Mace
Most of the U.S.
It is impossible to ascertain what is going on without seeing your original policy and the letters you are getting every two years, but it sounds like you may have purchased a Universal Life policy. The maturity date may have been based on current interest rate and cost of insurance (COI), then either the interest rate went down, or the COI went up, or both. If that is the case, then you may need to increase your premium in order for your policy to be paid up in 25 years. In fact, if you are getting letters saying it is going to expire soon, you may need to increase the premium just to keep it in effect.

If you ask them for a current policy illustration, that will show you how long your policy is guaranteed to last with your current premium. It may be that you just need to pay a little extra one month to get your policy back on track.

If it truly does need a large infusion of premium to keep it in effect, you will need to determine whether that is worth it. If your husband has excellent health, he may be able to find a permanent policy that is guaranteed not to lapse until the end of his life, without paying a lot more than what he is paying now. If his health has declined, and there are some guarantees in his current policy, it may work out best to just adjust what you have.
Answered on December 4, 2013
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