Brighthouse life insurance policy FAQ

Frequently asked questions about managing your Brighthouse life insurance policy.

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By

Katherine MurbachEditor & Licensed Life Insurance AgentKatherine Murbach is a life insurance and annuities editor, licensed life insurance agent, and former sales associate at Policygenius. Previously, she wrote about life and disability insurance for 1752 Financial, and advised over 1,500 clients on their life insurance policies as a sales associate.

Edited by

Jennifer GimbelJennifer GimbelSenior Managing Editor & Home Insurance ExpertJennifer Gimbel is a senior managing editor at Policygenius, where she oversees all of our insurance coverage. Previously, she was the managing editor at Finder.com and a content strategist at Babble.com.

Published|6 min read

Where do I go to manage my Brighthouse policy?

For online servicing, you’ll need to register your account on the Brighthouse website by following this guide

  • Fax: (877) 246-8424

  • Phone: (800)  822-1292

How do I create an account to review and sign my policy documents?

You should receive an email that contains your policy documents from Policygenius. Open the email and click “access my policy” to access, review, and sign your documents using Brighthouse’s online platform. 

You will be prompted to verify your identity with the last four digits of your Social Security Number. Once logged in, you can review all the necessary documents that require your signature. Fill in all the relevant information as prompted, submit payment, and click “finish.”

How do I pay my Brighthouse policy premiums?

Since our Policygenius team already collected the payment information for your policy, your policy premiums will be automatically deducted via the bank account you provided on the same day of the month or year each renewal period.

If you’re paying premiums annually, automatic payments aren’t required but are currently set up by default. You may want to consider leaving your premiums on autopay, as policies paid via direct billing have a significantly higher lapse rate due to frequency of missed payments.

If you wish to change your payments to direct billing or a different duration than originally selected, please call Brighthouse at least one week after you activate the policy at (800) 882-1292 option 2, then option 2.

My age is wrong on my policy. How do I fix this?

In the insurance industry, your age changes six months prior to your actual birth date. For example, someone with a birthday in January has an age change every July. Most of the time, no correction is needed, but if you have questions, please reach out to the Policygenius team.

I want to look into a permanent life policy in the future. Does this policy allow me to convert from term life insurance to permanent life insurance?

Yes, Brighthouse offers you the option to convert your policy to whole life insurance, which is a type of permanent life insurance policy. You can convert your coverage at any time before the end of your initial term, although your policy must be active for at least one year before doing so.

I want to make changes to my beneficiaries. How do I do that?

In order to add additional beneficiaries to your policy, your insurer will require some additional information. Specifically:

  • The full name(s) of the individual(s), date of birth, their relationship to you

  • Whether they will be added as a primary or contingent beneficiary

  • Each beneficiary allocation should total up to 100% (primary or contingent). For example, if adding three of your children as beneficiaries: Child 1 - 33%, Child 2 - 33%, Child 3 - 34%.

Alternatively, you can activate your policy first and make these changes at a later date to ensure that there’s no delay in your coverage. When changing the beneficiary information before signing, the policy will be reissued to reflect these changes. This process normally takes five to seven business days.

My beneficiary information is missing on the Beneficiary Locator Form in the policy. How can I name my beneficiaries?

The beneficiary locator form is blank by default and does not need to be completed. Your beneficiary information was collected during your original call with one of our licensed advisors and remitted to Brighthouse. The information we collected is listed in your policy with a copy of your original application in section seven.

There is incorrect information on my initial application that I need to update. How can I fix this?

Typically, if the information you need to update won’t affect the underlying approval of your policy (i.e. employer address, home address, type/length of occupation), you can make these changes after signing your policy. That’s because any adjustments will require a reissue to reflect the changes and can take anywhere from five to seven business days for the new policy to be revised and ready for review.

However, there are certain instances where it’s important to update information right away, including if:

  • There’s been a significant change in your health

  • You remember doctor’s visits or travel plans that were not previously disclosed

This type of information will need to be submitted and sent back to the insurer for review and added to the policy before it’s signed and activated.

Do I have to take a medical exam at a later date?

No — if you’re approved for the Brighthouse SimplySelect term life insurance policy using the streamlined online application process, you won’t have to take a medical exam. Once you sign your policy and we confirm the policy is active, you’ll continue to be covered as long as you keep paying future premiums.

When will my Brighthouse policy be active?

Brighthouse determines your policy effective date (i.e. the date that you officially have life insurance coverage) as the date you sign all of your policy documents as long as your first premium was successfully withdrawn.

If you provided your payment information during your original call with one of our licensed advisors, you had temporary coverage during the policy review process. Consequently, Brighthouse will use your original call date as the effective date.

How does my beneficiary file a claim for a death benefit?

Your beneficiary will need to contact the insurance company to start the claims process by calling (800) 882-1292.

Learn more >> How to file a life insurance claim

Where do I mail recurring premium checks or forms for a policy change request?

You can mail recurring premium checks or forms for a policy change request to:

Brighthouse P.O. Box 305073 Nashville, TN 37230

Can I change my payment type after my policy is active?

Yes, you can change your payment type after your policy is active.

Can I decrease coverage once my policy has been activated?

Yes, you can usually decrease your coverage after your policy has been in effect for one year. However, the minimum coverage amount on your policy is $100,000.

What happens if my term life insurance policy lapses?

If you’re the owner of a term life insurance policy and you haven’t paid your premium by the end of your insurer’s grace period, your policy will lapse and you’ll lose your life insurance coverage. If you die after your policy has lapsed, your beneficiaries won’t receive the death benefit, no matter how much you’ve previously paid in premiums.

How long is Brighthouse’s grace period?

Brighthouse offers a grace period of 31 days, which begins the day your payment is due and isn’t received. A grace period is the number of days your premium payment can be late before your Brighthouse life insurance policy lapses.

During the grace period, you’re still fully covered by your policy, meaning that if you were to die during this time, your insurance company would still pay out the death benefit to your beneficiaries. But if you want to keep your coverage, you’ll need to pay your missed premium before the grace period ends. You may also have to pay a late fee.

How do I reinstate my Brighthouse policy if it has lapsed?

If you still haven’t paid your premiums by the time your insurance carrier’s grace period ends, your policy has officially lapsed and you no longer have life insurance coverage. At this point, you’ll have to contact your insurer to reinstate your policy, a process that varies by carrier.

Reinstatement is typically granted on a case-by-case basis depending on the situation. Applying for reinstatement of a policy might involve signing a document stating that your health has not changed. Plus, you’ll need to pay backdated premiums to the date that the policy lapsed.

Depending on your insurer, how long your policy has been lapsed, and whether you had any red flags in your medical history when you first applied for life insurance, reinstatement might also require new underwriting. Some companies won’t require new underwriting if the policy has been inactive for less than six months; others may require only a limited underwriting process.

Despite these extra steps, it’s worth doing what you can to reinstate an existing policy that has lapsed rather than taking out a new one. The reason is that your rates are very likely to be higher if you apply for a new policy, because you’ll be older than you were when you last applied for insurance, and may have new medical conditions.

How do I cancel my Brighthouse policy?

If you decide you no longer want to continue your policy, you may cancel it at any time during the term period. There’s no fee to cancel. You can contact your insurance company, or you can contact us at Policygenius to get the process started.

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Author

Katherine Murbach is a life insurance and annuities editor, licensed life insurance agent, and former sales associate at Policygenius. Previously, she wrote about life and disability insurance for 1752 Financial, and advised over 1,500 clients on their life insurance policies as a sales associate.

Editor

Jennifer Gimbel is a senior managing editor at Policygenius, where she oversees all of our insurance coverage. Previously, she was the managing editor at Finder.com and a content strategist at Babble.com.

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