
Home / Legal principles of life insurance / - Consideration
A contract that is not under seal must have consideration to be valid. In life assurance this is always present in the form of the premium.
Almost all life policies are issued under hand and are therefore simple contracts. Legal action cannot be taken on a simple contract after six years have elapsed from the accrual of the right of action. This means that claims should be made within six years of death or critical illness, (although the details of policy provisions will usually state claims should be notified much sooner). A life policy can be issued under seal and if so the time limit for legal action is 12 years.





