Louisiana Series 101 – Life Insurance Practice Exam

Reinstatement means bringing a lapsed life insurance policy back to active status and making it as if it hadn’t lapsed, within a set timeframe. To do this, you typically must pay all overdue premiums plus interest and may need to provide evidence of insurability to confirm your health hasn’t worsened since the policy was issued. If there’s an outstanding policy loan, you’ll usually have to repay the loan (and interest) to reinstate. Once approved, the policy resumes with its original terms—death benefit and riders—though underwriting could affect future premiums if your health has changed. This is distinct from surrendering the policy for its cash value, automatically extending term, or increasing the death benefit without underwriting.