Is Life Insurance Effective Immediately? 
If you are asking if life insurance is effective immediately after filling out the application , the answer is usually no . Unless you paid ahead of time , the policy must be approved , issued and the first premium and all delivery paperwork returned for it to go into effect . This process can take from hours -LRB- with some no exam plans -RRB- to months . If you are asking if life insurance is effective immediately after satisfying those requirements , the answer is `` maybe '' . if death occurred while the check and signed delivery paperwork are in the mail , it is a legal issue whether the life insurance company would pay the benefit . Legally , the effective date is the date the policy is actually in effect , and this is after the check and delivery requirements have been processed by the insurance company . 