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Long Term Insurance Act, 1998 (Act No. 52 of 1998)

Part VII : Business practice, policies and policyholder protection

Policies

52. Failure to pay premiums

 

1) If a premium under a long-term policy, other than a fund policy or a reinsurance policy, has not been paid on its due date, the long-term insurer shall notify the policyholder of the non-payment, and the policy shall, notwithstanding anything therein to the contrary, in the case of a long-term policy under which there are to be two or more premium payments at intervals of—
a) one month or less, remain in force for a period of 15 days after that due date;
b) longer than one month, remain in force for a period of one month after that due date,

or for such longer period as may be determined by agreement between the parties, and if the overdue premium is not paid by the end of any such period, the policy shall be dealt with in accordance with subsection (2).

 

2) In the case of a policy contemplated in subsection:(1) the remaining value of which, after the satisfaction of any claim of the long-term insurer which is secured solely by the policy benefits to be provided under the policy, is greater than half of the aggregate amount of the premium payments due thereunder during the period of 12 months commencing on the due date of the unpaid premium, the long-term insurer shall—
a) inform the policyholder, in the medium prescribed by the Authority, of the amount of that remaining value and notify him or her that the policy will remain in force, in accordance with the rules of the long-term insurer, until—
i) the policy no longer has any such remaining value, whereupon it will lapse;
ii) the payment of premiums is resumed;
iii) the provisions of the policy are amended, in accordance with the rules of the long-term insurer, so that it becomes a policy which is fully paid-up;
iv) if the policyholder so requests, the policy is surrendered, in accordance with the rules of the long-term insurer, and so much of the remaining value as then remains is, subject to section 54 , paid to the policyholder; and
b) deal with the policy accordingly.

 

3) A long-term insurer shall have rules which to the satisfaction of its statutory actuary prescribe a sound basis on which, and the methods by which, a long-term policy is to be valued and otherwise dealt with for the purposes of subsection (2).