State RegulationsMA specificDifficulty 2/5
A Massachusetts applicant asks a producer to backdate a life policy so its effective date precedes the application, lowering the insured's age. Under M.G.L. c. 175, § 130, what is the maximum permitted backdating?
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Answer & full 3-part explanation (select an option above, or peek)
Why A is correct
M.G.L. c. 175, § 130 permits a life or endowment policy to be issued to take effect no more than 6 months before the application date. Backdating is a legitimate age-planning tool only within that window; beyond it, the policy cannot lawfully carry the earlier effective date. Producers who promise deeper backdating create an unenforceable sale and regulatory exposure.
Why the other options are wrong
- B) Twelve months is the lapsed-license reinstatement window figure, unrelated to backdating; M.G.L. c. 175, § 130 stops at 6 months.
- C) Thirty days has no role in the backdating statute; the limit in M.G.L. c. 175, § 130 is measured in months.
- D) Eighteen months appears nowhere in the backdating rule; M.G.L. c. 175, § 130 caps the effect date at 6 months before application.
Memory hook
Backdate half a year, never more — § 130 draws the line.