Backdating on a life insurance policy is the practice of

Backdating means assigning a life insurance policy an effective date that precedes the date on which the policy is actually issued or delivered. It is most commonly associated with saving age, where an earlier policy date permits the insured to be treated as a younger insurance age and thereby qualify for a more favorable premium.

Backdating does not mean allowing a premium to be paid after expiration of a grace period. That situation concerns policy lapse and potentially reinstatement. Reinstatement is itself a separate process through which a lapsed policy may be restored after the policyowner satisfies specified conditions. Preexisting-condition exclusions are also unrelated to backdating.

Where lawful and permitted by the insurer, the applicant generally must pay the premiums attributable to the backdated period. Consequently, backdating should be evaluated economically: the premium savings associated with the younger insurance age must justify paying premiums for a period before the policy ' s actual issuance.

The essential examination definition does not depend on why backdating is used. The defining feature is simply that the contract is assigned an effective date earlier than the present issuance date.

Study Guide Reference: Life Insurance Basics — policy effective dates; backdating; saving age; premium calculation.