Under a life insurance policy with a revocable beneficiary designation, who normally has the authority...

The policyowner normally holds the contractual rights known as incidents of ownership. When the beneficiary designation is revocable, the policyowner may generally change the beneficiary without obtaining that beneficiary’s consent, provided the policy is in force and no assignment or court order restricts the right. The owner may also ordinarily exercise other ownership rights, such as selecting premium-payment modes, assigning the policy, taking a policy loan when available, surrendering the policy for cash value, and electing settlement options.

The insured and the owner can be the same person, but they do not have to be. The insured is the person whose life is covered and whose death triggers payment of the death benefit. A beneficiary is the person or entity designated to receive policy proceeds. Those roles must be kept separate on examination questions. A revocable beneficiary has only an expectancy until the insured dies; by contrast, an irrevocable beneficiary usually has a vested interest that limits the owner’s ability to change the designation or exercise certain policy rights without consent.

Correctly identifying the owner is essential because ownership determines control of the policy during the insured’s lifetime.

References/topics from the Study Guide: Policyowners’ Rights; Beneficiary Designations; Revocable and Irrevocable Beneficiaries; Assignments.

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