Life Policy ProvisionsQuestion 549 of 716
A death benefit is payable 'per stirpes.' If a primary beneficiary dies before the insured, that beneficiary's share will:
a.Revert to the insurer and be kept as an unclaimed benefit
b.Pass to that deceased beneficiary's own descendants (heirs)
c.Automatically be paid to the insured's probate estate
d.Be divided equally among the surviving primary beneficiaries
Explanation
Per stirpes ('by the branch') directs a deceased beneficiary's share down to that beneficiary's own descendants. Splitting it among survivors describes per capita, and the share does not revert to the insurer or default to the estate.
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Related questions on this topic
- A policyowner assigns a life policy to a bank as security for a loan, intending the bank to have rights only up to the outstanding loan balance. This is a:
- A revocable beneficiary designation means the policyowner:
- If a beneficiary is named irrevocably, the policyowner generally may NOT do which of the following without that beneficiary's consent?
- Under a per capita distribution among named beneficiaries, the proceeds are divided:
- Under a common disaster (simultaneous death) provision, if the insured and primary beneficiary die in the same accident and the order of death cannot be determined, proceeds are paid as though:
- A contingent (secondary) beneficiary receives the death benefit when:
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PrepPass team · Verified against California Life & Health Insurance License Exam · How we review
Reviewed by John Zihao Zhang — California-Licensed Life Insurance Agent (CA Dept. of Insurance License #4396095 — verify)