When Does Life Insurance Go Into Effect? 
Life insurance goes into effect after the first premium has been paid and the delivery requirements have been signed . If you purchased a No Exam policy , the company may draft the first premium and the policy might go into effect very quickly , as soon as a day or two after applying . If you applied for a policy that required exam and medical records , it could take as long as 6 months for the process to be completed and the policy to go into effect . 