Unfortunately for some families, remaining insured can sometimes present a few challenges uniquely associated with old age itself. What happens when the loved one begins to develop dementia and simply stops making the premium payments on the policy? Dementia is rather subtle before it becomes fairly dramatic. Accordingly, you may need to implement some financial safety precautions.
The terrible lesson coming out of the original article is how the caregiver/son was diligent, but a mistake by his father at the bank snowballed into missed payments and a lapsed policy. The worst part of the horror story is that the cancellation notice from the insurer was never received – and the family was unaware of the policy lapse until they went to claim its benefits.
Ultimately, the burden of proof was not on the insurer regarding whether the premium notice had been sent and received.
Will there be a legislative reaction to stories like these? It seems this case will not go anywhere soon, but there may be more like it across the country.
