A joint life insurance policy covering two insureds will generally pay the death benefit:

Why A is correct

A joint life insurance policy covers two lives and pays the face amount when the first insured dies. After the first death, the coverage under a typical joint life policy ends, so no further benefit is payable upon the second death. This product is often used to fund obligations triggered by the first death, such as buy-sell agreements or final expenses for a couple. It is the mirror image of survivorship insurance, which delays payment until the second death, and the choice between them depends on which death creates the financial need.

Why the other options are wrong

• B) Payment upon the second death is the defining feature of survivorship, or second-to-die, insurance. A joint life policy, by contrast, terminates its benefit obligation once the first insured dies.
• C) A joint life policy pays on the first death whenever that death occurs, regardless of whether the two insureds die together. The simultaneous-death scenario triggers a separate set of legal presumptions, not a condition of payment.
• D) Joint life is a death-benefit contract, not a maturity product. There is no maturity payoff; the policyholder buys the coverage for the contingent event of the first insured's death.

Memory hook

Joint life = first one out triggers the payout. Survivorship = last one out triggers it.