What happens if I can’t make a life insurance payment?

Adjusting or freezing your premium are among the options to consider if you find yourself unable to keep up with your life insurance payments.

Keeping up with your premium payments it's crucial to prevent your policy from lapsing. Unfortunately, circumstances do change, new expenses arise and it’s not always possible to keep up with premiums.

Key takeaways

1. Premium freeze

A premium freeze lets you stop your premiums from increasing as you age. It's only available with stepped premium life insurance policies because the cost rises with age.

Typically it can last until you choose to cancel it, or make a claim or adjust your level of cover in some other way. You will still have to pay premiums but the price won't increase with time, as long as it's active – however, your level of cover will drop.

  • Not all policies will include this option. If you’re interested, check whether your current policy includes it or if it’s available with new policies.
  • Limited window to activate option. If your premiums have recently gone up, you may have a limited window in which to activate a premium freeze. Typically a premium freeze must be activated within 30 days of policy renewal.

FAQs about life insurance premium freezes

Finder survey: Do Australians typically have stepped or level life insurance premiums?

Response
I don't know49.04%
Level35.25%
Stepped15.71%
Source: Finder survey by Pure Profile of 1110 Australians, December 2023

Which insurers may offer premium freezes?

Here are some of the brands on Finder that offer premium freezes.

BrandWhat age is this available?More info
NobleOak Income Protection (Pre-existing conditions)

NobleOak

Request a premium freeze at any time. This means your future premiums will be fixed at the amount you were paying on the date you notified the provider.
amount.

Read the review

AIA Life Insurance Logo

AIA

35

Read the review

AMP Life insurance logo

AMP Elevate

Request a premium freeze or policy cancellation at any time. This takes effect from the next extension date of the plan.

Read the review

Acenda

Acenda

30

Read the review

OnePath Life Insurance Logo

OnePath

Not specified

Read the review

Picture not described

Clearview

35

Read the review

Note that premium freeze options will reduce your sum insured amount and might not be available in super policies. Data taken from brand product disclosure statements, April 2025. Benefits, conditions and amounts are subject to change at anytime.

2. Temporarily suspend your cover

Unlike a premium freeze which merely stops premiums from increasing, this option means you stop paying premiums entirely. However, you will typically lose all your cover, and cannot make claims for anything that occurs while your cover is suspended. Not all life insurance policies will include a suspended cover benefit, and where they do it may be variously known as a premium holiday, premium pause or other variation.

  • Suspended cover works differently between insurers and policies. Some may require you to provide evidence of financial hardship while others might let anyone suspend cover without condition.
  • Length of suspension. Some insurers might let you suspend cover for a full year, while others will limit you to only a few months.
  • Terms and conditions will apply. For example, you might be limited to only one premium suspension over the policy lifespan, and it might be restricted to no more than three months. Make sure you are familiar with all conditions before committing to this option.

3. Other ways to reduce your life insurance premiums

Life insurance policies are often more complex and multifaceted than others. This can make it more difficult to navigate, but also means there are many ways to reduce costs.

  • Reduce your sum insured. If you've used the premium freeze option, you may want to consider reducing your cover before cancelling your policy altogether. For example, if your current benefit amount is $1 million, you might be able to save by reducing it.
  • Remove CPI increases. Every year you hold life insurance cover, it will automatically increase to keep up with inflation. One more way to reduce the cost of your premiums is to request to your insurer to remove the increase. You can usually do this in writing or over the phone.
  • Share a policy. You can often pay less overall or get a “bulk discount” with joint life insurance policies.
  • Shop around. It’s important to be aware of the downsides of switching life insurance policies, but it may still be worth considering. Whatever life insurance policy you have, it’s still only one option among many. Compare it side by side with other policies to see if you’re getting value for money.

Compare life insurance

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Finder Score Maximum Cover Funeral Benefit Optional TPD Cover Optional Trauma Cover
Finder score
Maximum Cover
No set limit
Funeral Benefit
$25,000
Optional TPD Cover
$3 million
(maximum cover)
Optional Trauma Cover
Yes
Get up to 15% off your TAL Life, Trauma or TPD insurance policy for life - if you have a Body Mass Index (BMI) between 19 and 28 at the time of your application. T&Cs apply.
Our verdict: One of Australia's leading life insurers. Automatically includes child critical illness cover. Plus, it comes with a level premium option (e.g. costs remain similar as you get older).
Get Quote More info
Compare product selection
Finder score
Maximum Cover
$2.5 million
Funeral Benefit
$15,000
Optional TPD Cover
$1.5 million
(maximum cover)
Optional Trauma Cover
Yes
Get your 1st month free when you use promo code MB1MF and get cover by 2 Feb 2026. T&Cs apply.
Our verdict: Medibank offers a higher payout limit ($2.5 million) than 15 other providers. It also won Most Loved, Best Value and Legendary Service categories in the Finder 2025 Customer Satisfaction Awards.
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Finder score
Maximum Cover
$1.5 million
Funeral Benefit
$15,000
Optional TPD Cover
$1 million
(maximum cover)
Optional Trauma Cover
Yes
Get a 10% discount if you're already an ahm Health Insurance member. T&Cs apply.
Get Quote More info
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Real Life Insurance logo
Finder score
Finder score
Maximum Cover
$2 million
Funeral Benefit
$20,000
Optional TPD Cover
$1 million
(maximum cover)
Optional Trauma Cover
Yes
Get 10% cash back of the premiums you've paid after your 12-month anniversary with The Real Reward™. T&Cs apply.
Our verdict: The application is simple; it can be done with 1 phone call and there are no medical exams.
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AAMI Life Insurance logo
Finder score
Finder score
Maximum Cover
$1.5 million
Funeral Benefit
$10,000
Optional TPD Cover
Optional Trauma Cover
Yes
Purchase a new AAMI Life Insurance policy and save $100 on your first year. T&Cs apply.
Our verdict: There’s flexibility with AAMI as you can add another adult to your cover, with a competitive limit of $1.5 million. Easy application process with no medical exams.
Get Quote More info
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Real Life Insurance logo
Finder score
Finder score
Maximum Cover
$0.1 million
Funeral Benefit
$20,000
Optional TPD Cover
Optional Trauma Cover
No
More info
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Australian Seniors Life Insurance logo
Finder score
Finder score
Maximum Cover
$0.2 million
Funeral Benefit
Optional TPD Cover
Optional Trauma Cover
No
Our verdict: Australian Seniors lets you take out cover up to the age of 79. No medical exams or blood tests needed to apply.

Keep in mind: Low cover limit of up to $200,000 and no option to add TPD or Trauma cover.
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Showing 7 of 7 results

Finder Score - Life Insurance

Life Insurance is a little complicated and a lot overwhelming. That's why we made the Finder Score, to make it easier to compare Life Insurance products against each other. Our experts analysed over 30 products and gave each one a score out of 10.

But a higher score doesn't always mean a product is better for you. Your situation is unique, so your policy choice will be too. Don't think of Finder Score as the final word, but as a good place to start your life insurance comparison.

Read the full methodology

Why compare life insurance with Finder?

  • You pay the same price as buying directly from the life insurer.

  • We're not owned by an insurer (unlike other comparison sites).

  • We've done 100+ hours of policy research to help you understand what you're comparing.

Speak to an insurance specialist to help you find personalised cover

Sources

Gary Ross Hunter's headshot
Journalist

Gary Ross Hunter has over 6 years of expertise writing about insurance, including life, health, home, and car insurance. Having reviewed hundreds of product disclosure statements and published over 800 articles, he loves simplifying complex insurance topics for everyday readers. Gary has contributed to major outlets like Yahoo Finance, The Sydney Morning Herald, and news.com.au, and holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in English Literature from the University of Glasgow, along with a Tier 2 General Advice certification, ensuring his work adheres to ASIC’s RG146 standards. See full bio

Gary Ross's expertise
Gary Ross has written 589 Finder guides across topics including:
  • Health, home, life, car, pet and travel insurance
  • Managing the cost of living

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