What Happens If I Stop Paying Life Insurance Premiums? 
That is a great question ! When you stop making payments on your policy , it will enter into what is called a `` grace period '' , and then will `` lapse '' , or end . With a term policy , that is generally no big deal , you do n't lose anything by letting that happen . Your whole life policy can be a whole different story . With the whole life policy , over time it builds a cash value , one that will be kept by the company , should you allow the policy to lapse and poof up in smoke . The better thing to do in the case of a whole life policy is to either `` surrender '' it -LRB- and get your cash back -RRB- or take it as `` paid up insurance '' , have some coverage , and no more payments . Please feel free to contact me if you need help with this , okay ? Thanks for asking ! 