What Happens To Old Life Insurance Policies? 
That is an excellent question ! One of two things will happen . If the policy was paid up long ago , and has remained in effect , then it acts like any other policy , and when the insured passes , it pays out . Unfortunately , what happens most often is that Parents had a policy on the child , the parent that paid the bills passes , the policy does n't get paid , goes into grace period , and then lapses , and cancels . All those years of payments go up in smoke . Please ensure that your loved ones have a copy , or access to , your finances , sand their payment schedules , so that this does n't happen to you . I have had to have the conversation about unpaid policies far too often , and each time it breaks my heart to see the child realize there is no insurance . Thanks for asking ! 