Premium
✓ Last verified 14 Sep 2026
The short version
Premium is the amount you pay - typically annually - to keep an insurance policy active; missing a payment beyond the grace period can lapse the policy entirely, losing accumulated benefits.
Premium amounts are set based on factors like age, health, sum assured/insured, and policy type at purchase (and can increase at renewal for health policies, though not typically for term life). Missing a payment isn't instantly fatal to the policy - see our grace period glossary entry - but missing it beyond that window can lapse the policy, potentially losing years of accumulated benefits and requiring fresh underwriting (and possibly new waiting periods) to reinstate.
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