An applicant understated her age on a Virginia life insurance application. The insured later dies, and the insurer discovers the true age. Under Va. Code § 38.2-3306, how is the death benefit adjusted?

Why C is correct

Va. Code § 38.2-3306 resolves a misstatement of age by adjusting, not voiding, the coverage: the death benefit is the amount the premiums actually paid would have purchased at the correct age. The equitable logic is that the policyholder gets exactly what her money would have bought had the true age been given — no windfall, no forfeiture. Age misstatements therefore never cancel a Virginia life policy; they simply recalibrate the benefit.

Why the other options are wrong

• A) A misstatement of age does not void the policy under Va. Code § 38.2-3306; the benefit is adjusted instead.
• B) There is no per-year percentage reduction formula; the measure is what the premiums paid would have purchased at the correct age.
• D) Doubling the benefit as a penalty has no basis in the statute; the adjustment is an equitable recalibration, not a punishment.

Memory hook

Wrong age, right math: premiums buy what they would have bought at the true age.