What happens when a life insurance owner/insured and beneficiary die simultaneously?

Last updated: February 2024

The contract terms may address simultaneous death and should be reviewed first. Otherwise, the Insurance Acts of the common law provinces applies. Where a beneficiary and policy owner/insured die simultaneously, in most of the common law provinces, insurance legislation indicates that the beneficiary is deemed to predecease the owner/insured unless the beneficiary designation indicates otherwise. This is why it is always important to name a secondary beneficiary.

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