Wisconsin Life Insurance

As a resident of Wisconsin, you have many different options for life insurance. The company you pick will have a big impact on the experience of buying and maintaining the policy. Exercise due diligence while researching life insurance in Wisconsin, and you can ease the process for yourself and your family.

Wisconsin Life Insurance Rules and Specifics

Wisconsin's state legislature wrote Titles 600-655 of the Wisconsin Statutes & Annotations to regulate the insurance industry. It created the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance in 1870 to carry out the laws and keep consumers safe.

Free Look Period

Wisconsin requires companies to provide either a 10-day or 30-day free look period; read the fine print to find out which option you're getting. If you cancel your coverage within that timeframe, you can get your premium refunded.

Grace Period

All non-group life insurance policies issued in Wisconsin come with a grace period provision. This rule gives you 31 days to make up a late payment; it applies to all premiums after the first. The insurance company must continue to cover you for the 31 days; after that, they're legally allowed to cancel your policy.

Misstated Age

If you misstate your age during the application process and fail to fix it before you die, the insurance company will adjust the payout to match your actual age. However, if you were older than the provider's maximum insurable age when you bought the policy, they aren't obligated to pay the death benefit.

Incontestability

Once you've paid the premiums on your policy for two years, Wisconsin law prohibits your life insurance company from challenging the death benefit. The only exception is for nonpayment.

Borrowing Money Against a Life Insurance Policy

If you choose to take a loan from your insurance company, you may use your policy as security. State law limits these loans to the cash surrender value. The insurer can charge interest up to 12% per year.

Life Insurance Resources in Wisconsin

When you buy life insurance, you're agreeing to pay premiums for an extended period of time. Make an educated choice with the help of these resources:

• Wisconsin Insurance Security Fund: Created by the state legislature, this guaranty fund protects policyholders. All insurance companies in Wisconsin must pay into the fund; that way, if one of them faces insolvency, you can still get a benefit payout.
• Office of the Commissioner of Insurance: This is the governmental agency that handles everything to do with insurance in Wisconsin. One of the Commissioner's jobs is to educate the public; you can browse the online fact sheets or call the Consumer Affairs division with any questions.
• National Association of Insurance Commissioners Agent/Company Lookup: Search for an agent or life insurance company to check the status of their license and see a record of complaints against them.