First Unpaid Premium (Fup)

First Unpaid Premium (FUP) is an insurance industry term that identifies the date of the first premium installment that a policyholder failed to pay — marking the beginning of a policy's lapse or delinquency status. The FUP date is the contractual reference point from which the grace period (typically 15 to 30 days for life insurance monthly premiums and 30 days for annual premiums under IRDAI guidelines) begins to run — and from which premium arrears, revival calculations, and lapse determinations are made if the grace period expires without payment. In India, life insurance policies with an unpaid premium beyond the grace period enter lapse status — the policyholder loses active coverage, though the accumulated surrender value (for policies that have paid premiums for three or more years) is typically preserved. To revive a lapsed policy, the policyholder must pay all outstanding premiums from the FUP date, along with applicable late payment interest — currently permitted within five years of the FUP date under the LIC and most private insurer revival schemes, subject to satisfactory health declaration. For investors managing life insurance portfolios — particularly those with traditional endowment or money-back policies — tracking the FUP date is crucial to avoid unintentional lapse of policies that may have accumulated significant surrendered values or that form part of a broader estate planning strategy. IRDAI requires insurers to proactively notify policyholders of their FUP status and revival options through written communication and digital channels.