Life insurance is a contract between the insurance company and the insured to pay death benefits to the beneficiary named in the policy on the death of the insured in return for regular payment of the premium by the insured. There can be up to four parties in an insurance contact – insurance company, policy owner, the insured, and beneficiaries. The insurance company is the entity that issues the insurance policy and will pay the death benefits to the beneficiary on the death of the insured. The policy owner is the person who purchases the policy and pays the premium. Generally the policy owner and the insured are the same person. The insured is the person on whose death the benefits are payable to the beneficiary. The beneficiary is the person to whom the insurance company will pay the benefits on the death of the insured. You cannot change the insurance company. You cannot change the insured or the policy owner but you can change the beneficiary at any stage.
Life is never constant. Your life may have changed dramatically since you first purchased your life insurance policy. At every stage in life it is important to review your life insurance, especially the beneficiary. You can review your life insurance beneficiary by talking to your life insurance agent. You should review your life insurance beneficiary if your life has changed in any way. If you purchased your life insurance policy when you were single, you should review your policy when you get married and also change the beneficiary of your policy. The same holds true if you get divorced. You may not want your ex-spouse to be the beneficiary of your policy. Your life will change when you get married or divorced so in any case of a life changing event you should review your life insurance policy. Again when you have children, you may want to add them as beneficiaries of your policy. When you get older and your children are no longer dependent on you, it is a good idea to review your policy and make your spouse the sole beneficiary of your life insurance policy.
To change the name of the beneficiary or to include more beneficiaries, you must contact your life insurance company and request a change of beneficiary form. These forms vary from company to company. You must complete the form, including finding witnesses and a notary public, if required. Before you submit the form, make a copy for your records. Make sure that your insurance company has received the completed form. Most companies will process your request within a month.
