When the insured stops paying premiums, an insurance contract is said to lapse. This does not mean, however, that the contract will terminate automatically on the date that the last premium is paid. It will also not lapse automatically if the insured makes a delayed payment. Most contracts allow for a grace period of 30 or 31 days in which the insured may make payments to keep the policy in force. Beyond this period, however, the insurance contract will lapse and the policy will terminate.

Under certain conditions, the insurer is given a legal right to forfeit, or cancel, an insurance policy. Proof of a forfeiture permits cancellation either before a loss or at the time the claim is made on a policy. Among grounds permitting forfeiture are the breach of warranty and the concealment or misrepresentation of a material fact by the insured. Neither the insured nor the insurer may deny statements or acts previously made or committed that might affect the validity of the policy.

A warranty is an insured's promise to abide by restrictions, especially those written into a policy. An insurance company has the burden of proof in establishing that a warranty has been breached (broken) by the insured. If this is proved, the insurer may cancel the contract or refuse payment of loss to the insured or to a beneficiary.

Fraudulent concealment is any intentional withholding of a fact that would be of material importance to the insurer's decision to issue a policy. The applicant need only give answers to questions asked. However, the insured may not conceal facts that would be material in acceptance of a risk.

If an insured party gives false answers, or misrepresentations, to questions in an insurance application that materially affect the risk undertaken by the insurer, the contract is voidable by the insurer.

An insurer may not deny acts, statements, or promises that are relevant and material to the validity of an insurance contract. This bar to denial is called an estoppel. When an insurer has given up the right to cancel a policy under certain circumstances by granting the insured a special dispensation, the insurer cannot deny that dispensation when the chance to cancel or deny liability arises.

When the insurance company gives up one of its rights in order to help the insured, the company has made a waiver. A waiver, which is actually a form of estoppel, can be implied from the conduct of the insurance company. For example, when an insurance company cashes the check of a lapsed policy, it has, in effect, given up or waived its right to cancel that policy. Once a right has been waived, the insurer may not later deny its waiver.

Исполнение обязательств (глава 23 ГК РФ) может обеспечиваться неустойкой, залогом, удержанием имущества должника, поручительством, банковской гарантией, задатком и другими способами, предусмотренными законом или договором.