What is a Date of Issue?
The date of issue is the date on which a life insurance policy is officially issued to the policy owner. It’s not necessarily the date on which the coverage goes into force, also known as the effective date.
Important dates in life insurance policies
When purchasing life insurance, several dates come into play. The date of issue is the date on which the life insurance company accepted your application for coverage. It indicates the day they decided to issue the policy to you.
While that date can be a helpful frame of reference, it’s not the most important date the life insurance policy will list. Policy owners should be more concerned with the effective date. That’s the day when the coverage goes into effect.
In other words, if the insured dies before the effective date, the life insurance company has no legal obligation to pay out the policy’s death benefit. That’s true even if the individual dies after the issue date.
Although the policy was technically issued before their death, coverage doesn’t activate until the effective date. In most cases, effective date and issue dates coincide.