LIFE INSURANCE BY STATE

Learning about life insurance in Missouri may not be as fun as a day splashing in the great Mississippi river, but if you are in the market for a new life insurance policy, or even if you currently own a policy, you will be glad you took a few minutes to learn the important facts about your rights as a consumer of insurance.

Missouri Life Insurance Rules and Regulations

In Missouri life insurance is regulated by state statutes, specifically Title 24 Chapters 375-385.  These laws affect your rights and experience through the life insurance purchasing and ownership experience.

Grace Period

In Missouri the state requires that life insurance companies provide their policy holders with at least a 30 day grace period window.  If you are not aware of what a grace period is or does, and you own life insurance, you need to be aware.  The grace period is a nifty little right for policy holders that provides time after a missed premium payment before a policy lapses.  If an insured person was to pass, and a death claim was made, the insurance company is still obligated to pay the full claim to the beneficiaries.  If a payment is submitted during the grace period the insurance company will reinstate the policy in good standing.

Free LookMissouri

The free look period in Missouri is not mandated by the state for all insurance policies.  Even without the state mandate, most insurance companies will still provide a free look period to their clients as a good business practice.  Beware that different companies may provide different lengths of time, and you should always check with your insurance company before you purchase your policy to find out what your free look period is.
For those of you who do not know what a free look period is, the free look period allows a consumer the right to return a policy for a full refund and for any reason during the initial policy ownership.

Guarantee of Death Benefits and Cash Value

In Missouri the Missouri Life and Health Insurance Guaranty Association provides policy holders a security blanket in case an insurance company were to go bankrupt or becomes unable to pay all death claims.  In this event, Missouri will guarantee each person a total of $300,000 of death benefit on their lives, and $100,000 of cash value.  While this service is certainly a good back up plan for policy holders, we at Life Ant always recommend that you only buy life insurance from financially sound companies.

Timely Payment Of Claims

Missouri Life insurance death claims must be paid in a timely manner, but Missouri does not place a maximum amount of time on the insurance company, nor do they charge the company interest for taking too long.  All valid claims should be paid within about a two month period in Missouri.

Missouri Department of Insurance

Telephone:  800-726-7390

Website:  www.insurance.mo.gov

Missouri Life & Health Insurance Guaranty Association

Telephone:  573-634-8455

Website:  www.mo-iga.org