Some people also designate a final beneficiary in the event the primary and
secondary beneficiaries die before they do.
Not exact matches
While you're only required to name a primary
beneficiary, it's always a good idea to name at least a
secondary beneficiary just in case your primary
dies before you do.
Contingent
beneficiaries, or
secondary beneficiaries, are the people that would receive your life insurance proceeds in the case that all of your primary
beneficiaries died or were for some reason unable to claim the payout.
So if you choose a 20 payment term, and your primary
beneficiary dies after 10 years, the
secondary beneficiary will receive the payments for the remaining 10 years.
Often, you'll name a primary
beneficiary (generally your spouse), and a
secondary beneficiary (often your children) if the primary is incapacitated or
dies at the same time as you.
If things don't go as planned, though, and the primary
beneficiary (ies) predeceases the insured, or
dies at the same time as the insured, for example in the case where a husband and wife are killed together in an accident, then the contingent
beneficiary (ies), also known as
secondary beneficiary, receives the funds.
As a
secondary beneficiary, this individual only receives benefits if the primary
beneficiary dies before the insured.
Most commonly, this provision defines whether the primary or the contingent (
secondary)
beneficiary is to receive the death benefit in the event that both the insured and primary
beneficiary die as a result of a common disaster.
The primary
beneficiary gets the entire death benefit, but if they
die, the benefit is split amongst the
secondary beneficiaries.
He also names his brother as
secondary beneficiary in case he and his wife
die at the same time.
While you're only required to name a primary
beneficiary, it's always a good idea to name at least a
secondary beneficiary just in case your primary
dies before you do.
If you or your spouse are insured and
die, a payout is disbursed to the
beneficiary, who is generally your spouse or a
secondary beneficiary, should you and your significant other
die together.
Contingent
beneficiaries, or
secondary beneficiaries, are the people that would receive your life insurance proceeds in the case that all of your primary
beneficiaries died or were for some reason unable to claim the payout.
If the wife had named her children as
secondary beneficiaries, and the husband and wife
died together in a car accident, the children would receive the death benefit from the life insurance policy on their father.
Then had the husband and wife
died together, say - in a car accident; the children, as
secondary beneficiaries, would receive the death benefit on the life policy on their father..
The
secondary beneficiary is an alternate
beneficiary that will receive the death benefit if the primary
beneficiary previously
died..
If the primary
beneficiary dies before you do, then the money passes to the
secondary beneficiary.