McHugh

Opinion of the Court by Cuéllar, J.

Millions of California consumers manage financial risks for their families by purchasing life insurance. Through these policies, Californians ensure that their families and other designated beneficiaries are protected by a financial safety net — and are able to plan for contingencies — in the event of the policy owners’ untimely death. But there’s a cost: In exchange for continuing coverage, consumers pay regular premiums to their insurers. If consumers fail to do so, insurers have the right to end the policies. In 2012, the Legislature created certain protections to shield consumers from losing life insurance coverage because of a missed premium payment. Codified in sections 10113.71 and 10113.72 of the Insurance Code,1 these protections went into effect on January 1, 2013. Soon thereafter, the defendant terminated one of the life insurance policies at issue in this case because the policy owner had failed to make a payment. Plaintiffs claim that the defendant had no right to terminate these policies without complying with the newly codified statutory protections against termination. The Court of Appeal reasoned that sections 10113.71 and…