Life Ins Cancelled without Warning?

[TJC17]

What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state? NY

My parents had life insurance policies with Met Life for approximately 35 years, handled through a company "Marsh Worksolutions". He is retired from Verizon Communications. They received a bill quarterly for the premium after he retired. They never received a bill in April, and we never noticed. When the bill came in July, it was for the normal premium amount, and there was no mention of late/missing payments. This bill was paid immediately. A month later, we noticed that this check was never cashed. When we called them, they told us the policies were cancelled in April due to non-payment. No cancellation notices were ever received, EVEN TO THIS DAY. About 2 weeks later, they sent back this check with forms for re-instatement. Both parents were denied re-instatement for medical reasons.

Can they cancel these policies without any formal notice of cancellation?
Thank you in advance for any advice.

 

[somarco]

Most carriers send out a late premium notice when a premium is more than 30 days past due. I suppose it is possible the April quarterly premium AND the late notice were never delivered, but that is suspect.

And yes, a carrier can cancel for non-payment. Once a policy is lapsed there is no obligation to reinstate the coverage.

If these are permanent plans there may be some nonforfeiture values to continue the coverage for a period of time.

Is there a reason why Met was not contacted when the April premium did not arrive?