Uniform Simultaneous Death Act

Insured survived the beneficiary, so the proceeds go to the contingent beneficiary or the insured's estate — The Uniform Simultaneous Death Act provides a rule of order of death when there is insufficient evidence of who died first. For life insurance, the insured is presumed to have survived the beneficiary, meaning the beneficiary is treated as having died first. As a result, the proceeds are payable to any contingent beneficiary, and if none exists, to the insured's estate. This prevents the proceeds from passing through the beneficiary's estate to unintended heirs, and it is a standard clause in life insurance policies to resolve common-disaster claims.

National insurance concept

The beneficiary is presumed to have predeceased the insured, so the proceeds pass as if the beneficiary died first. — The common disaster clause, often called the simultaneous death provision, addresses the situation where the insured and the primary beneficiary die in the same accident or under circumstances where the order of death is unknown. It presumes that the beneficiary died first, so the death benefit is paid to the contingent beneficiary or, if none, to the insured's estate. This avoids the proceeds being dragged through the beneficiary's estate and taxed twice, and it lets the policyowner's intended plan for distribution control who receives the money.

National insurance concept