Backdating is to the process of requesting that a life insurance policy be issued based on the previous age of the person being insured. Normally, premiums are based on the age at the time of the application. The older the person being insured, the higher the annual premium. To reduce the annual premium, some insurance companies allow for backdating 60 to 180 days from the date of the application in order to lower the age of the person being insured. However, if backdating a policy is permitted, premiums must be paid from the effective date. In other words, if you backdate three months, you will need to pay the premiums for those three months, even though no life insurance coverage was provided during that time.