If MoMo can't debit your premium today, your cover doesn't vanish immediately. Here's the exact sequence.
Day 0 — debit fails
Premium debit attempts run on your policy anniversary each month. If your wallet has insufficient balance, the system retries every 12 hours for the next 24 hours. You receive an SMS each time.
Days 1–7 — Grace period
For 7 days after the failed debit, your policy is in grace. During this window:
- Cover stays active — claims filed during grace are paid normally
- The system retries the debit daily
- You can manually top-up your MoMo and trigger a "Pay now" from the portal
- SMS reminders are sent on days 2, 4, and 6
Day 8 — Lapse
If the grace period ends with no payment, the policy moves to lapsed. From this point:
- Cover ends — claims for incidents on or after this date will be rejected
- Claims for incidents before the lapse date are still honoured if filed within the dispute window
- The policy stays on your record (you can reinstate without re-doing KYC)
Reinstating a lapsed policy
You can reinstate any lapsed policy within 60 days of the lapse date. Process:
- Log into the portal, go to your policy detail page, tap Reinstate
- Pay any outstanding premiums (typically 1–2 months at the lapsed plan's rate)
- Cover resumes immediately on successful debit — same policy number, same KYC, same cover ceiling
After 60 days
The policy moves to expired. Reinstatement is no longer possible — you'd need to enroll fresh (new KYC, new live verification, new policy number). Your claim history follows you to the new policy.
The practical tip
Keep at least 3× your monthly premium in your MoMo wallet on your billing day. For Basic users that's GHS 6 — basically loose change. It removes the entire grace-period anxiety from the equation.