Lifestyle

Dolly, 82, Paid Her Life Insurance Every Month for More Than 20 Years. Then a Letter Said the Policy Had Lapsed: “Paid You Religiously Every Single Month”

By Mike Harper · November 11, 2026

Dolly Janowiak’s Chicago home is covered with pictures of her family. More than two decades ago, she took out a life insurance policy with them in mind.

“I wanted to make sure my kids were taken care of,” she told CBS News Chicago.

This past spring, a letter from her insurer, Transamerica, postmarked April 25, brought her to tears. According to CBS News Chicago reporter Megan De Mar, it said there had been a lapse in her payments and her policy had expired.

Her son Greg could not make sense of it. Bank statements showed automatic payments every month. “This woman has paid you religiously every single month for 20 plus years,” he said.

A representative on the phone explained what happened. The station reports the premium had gone up by 56 dollars a month in March, so the automatic payment was short. The station put the shortfall at 112 dollars.

“We never received anything to tell us that that was what the change was going to be,” Greg said.

Transamerica told the family the notice was sent in the mail. They say it never arrived. The Illinois Department of Insurance told the station that regular mail is an acceptable form of notification and that certified mail is not required under state law.

When the family asked about getting the policy back, they were told Dolly, now 82, was uninsurable. You can see the family tell their story in CBS News Chicago’s report on YouTube.

In a statement to the station, Transamerica said that due to customer confidentiality it does not discuss individual policy owner matters with third parties, and that it had reached out directly to resolve the family’s concerns.

Shortly after that statement, Dolly received another letter. Reinstatement was now possible, with a payment of 1,581 dollars. The family paid it in protest. They said they were overjoyed to have the policy back but never got a straight answer about the amount. A Transamerica spokesperson declined to discuss it with CBS News Chicago.

Transamerica later gave more detail to Moneywise. The company said a policyowner must come current on unpaid premiums when a policy is reinstated. “That payment is not a fee,” it said. “It is the amount of money required to restore the policy.”

Greg said the family went public for one reason. “I want other people to be aware of what this is, what this is all about and how it affects a family,” he said.

Illinois law requires individual life insurance policies to include a grace period of 30 days or one month after a premium is due, and the policy stays in force during that time. The station also reported that state law limits interest charged on past due premiums but sets no limit on what an insurer can charge to reinstate a policy.

If you or a parent pays for life insurance automatically, a few habits can help.

Open every letter from your insurer. In Dolly’s case, the notice was mailed, and an autopay set for the old amount did not change.

Compare your bank withdrawals with your latest premium notice once or twice a year. If the numbers do not match, call the insurer right away, while the policy may still be inside its grace period.

Ask whether the company can send copies of lapse notices to a second person, such as an adult child.

If you cannot resolve a problem with the company, you can file a complaint with your state insurance department. In Illinois, that is the Illinois Department of Insurance.

This article is for general information and is not financial or legal advice. Details of the policy and notices are the family’s account as reported by CBS News Chicago; Transamerica’s statements are included above. This article was produced with the assistance of AI and fact-checked against the sources cited by LightWave Reports.