Permanent life

Source ledger

4 sources. Every citation number above resolves to a record below. Nothing here sits behind an account.

1. [1]

   California Insurance Code Section 10127.9 (the free look period on an individual life policy or annuity)(opens the original record on California Legislative Counsel (leginfo.legislature.ca.gov))

   California Legislative Counsel (leginfo.legislature.ca.gov)Primary lawPrimaryJurisdiction CALast checked September 6, 2026Updates: Amended only by legislation.ID ca-ins-code-10127-9

   What this source supports (4)

   • Section 10127.9 requires every individual life insurance policy and every individual annuity contract initially delivered or issued for delivery in this state on and after January 1, 1990 to have printed on the front of the policy jacket or on the cover page a notice stating that, after receipt of the policy by the owner, the policy may be returned by the owner for cancellation by mail or other delivery method to the insurer or to the agent through which it was purchased.
   • Section 10127.9 provides that the period of time set forth by the insurer for return of the policy by the owner shall be clearly stated, and that this period shall be not less than 10 days nor more than 30 days.
   • Section 10127.9 requires all premiums paid and any policy fee paid for the policy to be refunded by the insurer to the owner within 30 days from the date the insurer is notified that the owner has canceled the policy.
   • Section 10127.9 provides for variable contracts that the account value and policy fee shall be refunded by the insurer to the owner within 30 days from the date the insurer is notified that the owner has canceled the policy.

   The floor is 10 days and the ceiling is 30, so the actual window is whatever the insurer stated on the cover and it varies between policies. The variable contract branch is the one that matters most: what comes back is the account value rather than the premiums paid, so a market movement during the window is the owner's.

   Active
2. [2]

   California Insurance Code Section 10127.10 (a 30-day return period for purchasers aged 60 or older)(opens the original record on California Legislative Counsel (leginfo.legislature.ca.gov))

   California Legislative Counsel (leginfo.legislature.ca.gov)Primary lawPrimaryJurisdiction CALast checked September 6, 2026Updates: Amended only by legislation.ID ca-ins-code-10127-10

   What this source supports (5)

   • Section 10127.10 provides a 30-day period from the date the policy is received within which an individual life insurance policy or annuity contract may be returned, where the policy is issued to a senior citizen.
   • Section 10127.10 defines a senior citizen for this purpose as an individual who is 60 years of age or older on the date of purchase.
   • Section 10127.10 requires the prescribed notice to be printed on the cover page in 12-point bold print with one inch of space on all sides.
   • Section 10127.10 provides that for a variable policy whose premium is invested in mutual funds, what is refunded is the policy account value on the day the policy is received by the insurer or agent, which could be less than the premium paid.
   • Section 10127.10 provides for an immediate annuity that after the 30-day period has expired the purchaser may not be able to get the purchase payment money back.

   Recorded for the specific provisions above; the full prescribed notice text was not transcribed into this record. The provision worth carrying is the variable branch, because the headline "full refund" is not what a mutual fund funded policy returns. It returns account value on the day of receipt, which can be below what was paid, and the section says so in its own prescribed wording rather than leaving it to an insurer to explain.

   Active
3. [3]

   California Insurance Code Section 10113.71 (grace period and notice before a life policy lapses)(opens the original record on California Legislative Counsel (leginfo.legislature.ca.gov))

   California Legislative Counsel (leginfo.legislature.ca.gov)Primary lawPrimaryJurisdiction CALast checked September 6, 2026Updates: Amended only by legislation.ID ca-ins-code-10113-71

   What this source supports (4)

   • Section 10113.71 requires an individual life insurance policy to contain a provision for a grace period of not less than 60 days from the premium due date.
   • Section 10113.71 provides that the 60-day grace period shall not run concurrently with the period of paid coverage.
   • Section 10113.71 provides that a notice of pending lapse and termination of a life insurance policy shall not be effective unless mailed by the insurer at least 30 days prior to the effective date of termination, where termination is for nonpayment of premium.
   • Section 10113.71 requires that notice to be mailed to the named policy owner, to a designee named pursuant to Section 10113.72 for an individual life insurance policy, and to a known assignee or other person having an interest in the individual life insurance policy.

   Two features do the work and both are easy to read past. The grace period is a minimum of 60 days and it does not run concurrently with paid coverage, so it is genuinely additional time rather than a relabelling of time already bought. And the notice is not merely required: a notice that does not meet the section is not effective, which means the lapse it purports to effect does not happen. Read with section 10113.72, which supplies the designee this section requires the notice to reach.

   Active
4. [4]

   California Insurance Code Section 10113.72 (the right to name someone else to be told about a lapse)(opens the original record on California Legislative Counsel (leginfo.legislature.ca.gov))

   California Legislative Counsel (leginfo.legislature.ca.gov)Primary lawPrimaryJurisdiction CALast checked September 6, 2026Updates: Amended only by legislation.ID ca-ins-code-10113-72

   What this source supports (4)

   • Section 10113.72 provides that an individual life insurance policy shall not be issued or delivered in this state until the applicant has been given the right to designate at least one person, in addition to the applicant, to receive notice of lapse or termination of a policy for nonpayment of premium.
   • Section 10113.72 requires the insurer to provide each applicant with a form to make the designation, and requires that form to provide the opportunity to submit the name, address and telephone number of at least one person.
   • Section 10113.72 requires the insurer to notify the policy owner annually of the right to change the written designation or to designate one or more persons.
   • Section 10113.72 provides that no individual life insurance policy shall lapse or be terminated for nonpayment of premium unless the insurer, at least 30 days prior to the effective date of the lapse or termination, gives notice to the policy owner and to the person or persons designated.

   The section exists because the person most likely to miss a premium notice is the person least able to act on it, and it puts a second pair of eyes on the mail as a condition of issuing the policy at all. The annual reminder is the part most often overlooked by insurers and policyholders alike: the right is not exercised once at application, it is offered again every year.

   Active