Not legal advice. We paraphrased these provisions from the General Laws on the Massachusetts Legislature's official site on November 2, 2026.
What is different in Massachusetts
Two Massachusetts statutes do much of the work in a disputed death claim. The first, c. 175, § 110B, keeps many individual policies alive for three months after a missed premium unless the insurer mailed an advance premium notice, and it matters whenever an insurer says a policy lapsed just before death. The second is the pairing of c. 176D, which lists unfair claim settlement practices, with c. 93A, which lets a person whose rights are affected by those practices sue for multiple damages and attorney fees.
Lapse: the three-month rule in § 110B
Section 110B applies to individual life policies issued or delivered in Massachusetts, with three exclusions: policies the insurer can cancel by their terms, policies renewable or continuable only with the insurer’s consent, and policies whose premiums are payable monthly or more often. For the rest:
- The policy cannot terminate or lapse for nonpayment until three months after the premium’s due date, unless the insurer mailed a notice 10 to 45 days before the due date.
- The notice must go postage prepaid to the insured’s last address in the insurer’s records, or to a person the insured designated in writing to receive premium notices. It must show the amount and due date and say the policy will lapse if payment is not made.
- If no notice was sent, the overdue premium can be paid at any time within those three months.
- An affidavit from the insurer’s officer, clerk or agent that the notice was mailed is prima facie evidence that it was given. That makes the insurer’s mailing records, and any evidence the notice went to an old address, central to a lapse dispute.
The same section sets a short deadline: no suit on a policy covered by § 110B that has lapsed for nonpayment can be brought unless it is started within two years of that premium’s due date.
Apart from § 110B, a Massachusetts life policy must give 30 days of grace for premiums after the first year, with interest of up to 6% a year at the insurer’s option. The policy stays in force during the grace period, and if the insured dies during it, the overdue premium may be taken out of the benefit (c. 175, § 132, provision 1). The owner may reinstate within three years of default, unless the cash value was paid out or the extended-term period ran out, with evidence of insurability and back premiums at no more than 6% (§ 132, provision 11).
Contest period
A Massachusetts life policy must be incontestable after it has been in force during the insured’s lifetime for two years from its issue date. The exceptions are nonpayment of premiums, violation of policy conditions on military or naval service in wartime, and, if the insurer elects, claims for total and permanent disability benefits or extra accidental-death benefits (c. 175, § 132, provision 2).
Misrepresentations
Section 186 has a general rule and a stricter rule for life health answers:
- General rule (§ 186(a)). A misrepresentation or warranty made in negotiating a policy does not void it unless it was made with actual intent to deceive, or the matter misrepresented increased the risk of loss.
- Health answers on life policies (§ 186(b)). A misstatement about the insured’s physical condition or health risks defeats a life policy only if it is material and was either made with actual intent to deceive or increased the risk of loss. It is material if knowing the truth would have affected whether the insurer issued the policy, how it rated the risk, or the premium it charged.
Two more provisions limit what the insurer can use:
- The application must be attached. If a correct copy of the application was not endorsed on or attached to the policy when issued, the application is not part of the policy and cannot be received in evidence for any purpose (§ 131). The policy must also say that no statement can be used in defense of a claim unless it is in a written application attached to the policy (§ 132, provision 3).
- No medical exam. If a life insurer issued the policy without a medical examination, the application’s statements about age, physical condition and family history bind the insurer. The insurer can still defend by proving they were wilfully false, fraudulent or misleading (§ 124).
Interest and refunded premium
Proceeds of an individual life policy in force at death must include interest starting 30 days after the death. The rate is what the insurer pays on proceeds left on deposit, or 6% if it has no such rate, and nothing is payable until the insurer has proof of death. If the beneficiary sues and wins, the court awards interest under c. 231, § 6C instead (c. 175, § 119C). Section 6C sets contract-case interest at the contract rate, if there is one, or 12% a year from the date of breach or demand.
Unless the policy gives it to someone else, the payout must also include any premium paid for the time after the end of the policy month in which the insured died. Single-premium policies are excluded (§ 119B).
Unfair claim practices and Chapter 93A
Chapter 176D, § 3(9) lists unfair claim settlement practices. Among them: failing to acknowledge and act reasonably promptly on claim communications; refusing to pay without a reasonable investigation; failing to affirm or deny coverage within a reasonable time after proof of loss; failing to settle promptly and fairly once liability is reasonably clear; forcing litigation by offering substantially less than is later recovered; and failing to promptly give a reasonable explanation for a denial.
Chapter 93A, § 9 lets any person whose rights are affected by a violation of § 3(9) sue. The main steps and stakes:
- Demand letter first. At least 30 days before suing, the claimant must send a written demand that identifies the claimant and reasonably describes the practice and the injury. The demand is not required if the insurer has no place of business or assets in Massachusetts (§ 9(3)).
- Tender. If the insurer makes a written settlement offer within 30 days that the claimant rejects, and the court later finds it reasonable, recovery is capped at the offer, and attorney fees incurred after rejecting it are denied (§ 9(3), (4)).
- Damages. Actual damages or $25, whichever is more, or two to three times that amount if the violation was willful or knowing, or if the insurer refused relief in bad faith. The amount multiplied is the judgment on all claims arising from the same transaction (§ 9(3)).
- Fees. A claimant who proves a violation is awarded reasonable attorney fees and costs (§ 9(4)).
A 93A or 176D claim must be brought within four years after it accrues (c. 260, § 5A).
Group life and conversion
A group life policy must be incontestable after two years from issue except for nonpayment, and an individual’s coverage incontestable after two years in force during that person’s lifetime. No employer or employee statement can be used to defend a claim unless it is in a written application (c. 175, § 134, provisions 1 and 2). When coverage ends with employment, the employee stays insured for 31 days for the amount they could convert, and may buy an individual policy, with no health questions, by applying and paying in that window (§ 134, provision 4).
Section 134A adds a notice rule. The covered person must be told of the conversion right and its length within 15 days of the event that triggers it. If notice comes 15 to 90 days after the event, the person gets 15 more days from the notice to convert. If no notice comes within 90 days, the right ends at 90 days. Coverage through a private employer usually falls under ERISA as well, which changes the remedies; see employer group life.
Deadline to sue
Contract actions generally must be brought within six years after they accrue (c. 260, § 2), and consumer-protection claims within four (c. 260, § 5A). The two-year limit in c. 175, § 110B applies to suits on lapsed policies it covers.
When the beneficiary caused the death
Massachusetts uses the Uniform Probate Code homicide rule (c. 190B, § 2-803). A person who feloniously and intentionally kills the insured loses a revocable beneficiary designation in their favor, and the policy is paid as if the killer had disclaimed. A final conviction settles the question. Without one, the probate court decides on a preponderance of the evidence whether the person would be found criminally accountable.
An insurer that pays in good faith before it gets written notice of a claimed forfeiture is not liable for that payment. The notice must go to the insurer’s main office by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested, or be served like a summons. After notice, the insurer may pay the money into the probate and family court. If federal law preempts the rule for a payment, someone who received it without giving value must return it to whoever would have taken it under the statute (§ 2-803(h), (i)).
Small estates
If an insurer owes $10,000 or less to the estate of a Massachusetts resident, it may, at least 60 days after death and on satisfactory proof, pay the surviving spouse or, if there is none, one or more heirs, provided no executor or administrator has made a written claim (c. 175, § 187E).
When the named beneficiary is now an ex-spouse
The Massachusetts Uniform Probate Code handles this in G.L. c. 190B, § 2-804. Once a Massachusetts marriage ends in divorce or annulment, a designation the insured could still change in favor of the ex, or in favor of the ex’s relatives by blood, adoption or marriage who are no longer related to the insured, is cancelled. Three things can keep it alive: language in the policy or other instrument itself, a judge’s order, or a property settlement between the spouses made at any point.
Massachusetts insurers are shielded for good-faith payments until written notice of the divorce reaches their main office or home, sent registered or certified with a return receipt or served the way a civil summons is. After getting notice, the company can hand the proceeds to the probate court for the decedent’s estate. Workplace plans covered by ERISA can follow federal rules instead (Egelhoff).
Example
An insured’s annual premium was due March 1, 2026, and was not paid. The insurer has no record of mailing a premium notice between January 15 and February 19, 2026, the 10-to-45-day window. The insured dies on May 15, 2026. Because the premium is annual and no notice was mailed, § 110B kept the policy from lapsing until June 1, 2026, three months after the due date, so the insurer cannot treat it as lapsed before the death. If the insurer refuses to pay and claims a lapse, the § 110B suit deadline is March 1, 2028, two years after the missed due date. When the claim is paid, interest under § 119C starts June 14, 2026, 30 days after the death.
Making a complaint
The Division of Insurance Consumer Services Unit takes complaints online, by email or by mail: Filing an insurance complaint. The Division asks people not to use its complaint form if they have a lawyer or the matter is in litigation, and filing one leaves every deadline to sue running.
Sources
- Massachusetts General Laws c. 175, §§ 110B, 119B, 119C, 124, 131, 132, 134, 134A, 186, 187E; c. 176D, § 3; c. 93A, § 9; c. 231, § 6C; c. 260, §§ 2, 5A; c. 190B, § 2-803 (official text, Massachusetts Legislature): malegislature.gov.
- Division of Insurance, Filing an Insurance Complaint: mass.gov.
- Massachusetts General Laws c. 190B, § 2-804 (Massachusetts Legislature): malegislature.gov.
Not legal advice. This page summarizes general rules and the specific statutes cited. Your policy's wording, the state whose law applies, and whether the coverage came through an employer can all change the result. See the disclaimer and editorial policy.