A policyowner misstated the insured's age at application, and the insurer discovers the error after the contestability period has expired. The insurer will typically:

Why A is correct

Under the age misstatement provision, the policy is not voided. Instead, the insurer recalculates the benefit so that the premiums actually paid purchase the coverage that the correct age would have bought, or it adjusts the premium to the correct-age rate going forward. Age is a rating factor, so the correction restores the policy to what it should have been without forcing a rescission. This rule applies even after the contestability period, because it is a correction of a mechanical fact rather than a contest of the contract.

Why the other options are wrong

• B) The remedy is an adjustment of the benefit or premium, not a voiding of the contract and a return of premiums. The correction restores the coverage to what the applicant actually paid for at the true age.
• C) The age misstatement provision resolves the error by adjustment, and the policy is not contested after the contestability period expires. Voiding is reserved for material misrepresentation within the contestability period, not for a simple age error.
• D) The insurer adjusts benefits or premiums going forward, but it does not recompute or refund past premiums retroactively. After the contestability period, the age misstatement provision alone governs the correction of the benefit.

Memory hook

Wrong age on the form? Adjust the benefit to match the premium. No void, no fraud fight, just math.

Why A is correct

The misstatement-of-age provision, reflected in California standard provisions such as CIC Section 10369.3, provides that if the insured's age has been misstated, all amounts payable are such as the premium paid would have purchased at the correct age. This adjusts the benefit proportionally rather than voiding the contract. Because age is a key rating factor in life insurance, the correction restores equity without penalizing the beneficiary for an innocent error.

Why the other options are wrong

• B) Age misstatement does not void the policy; it results in an adjusted benefit based on the correct age.
• C) No adjustment would let the beneficiary profit from a younger stated age; the benefit is corrected.
• D) Premiums are not refunded; the coverage continues but at the adjusted amount.

Memory hook

Wrong age = recalculated benefit. The premium buys what it should have bought.