Survivorship Clause

What Does Survivorship Clause Mean?

A survivorship clause is a provision in a life insurance policy that delays the payment of the death benefit. The insurance company will only award the death benefit once it is confirmed that the beneficiary has survived the insured for the specified number of days outlined in the clause.

Insuranceopedia Explains Survivorship Clause

If the beneficiary does not survive the insured, the death benefit would be awarded to the contingent beneficiary or, if none is designated, to the insured’s estate. This provision allows the insured to maintain some control over who ultimately receives the death benefit. Because a survivorship clause can redirect a payout away from your primary beneficiary if the timing goes wrong, it’s worth reviewing the common life insurance beneficiary rules and mistakes to avoid before finalizing who you name on the policy. For example, if you left your death benefit to your brother and he were to pass shortly after you, the money would go to whoever is named in his will. However, if your policy included a survivorship clause of 30 days and your brother did not survive you for that period, your death benefit would go to your contingent beneficiary. A clause like this also affects the timing of when a named beneficiary can actually collect a life insurance payout, since the insurer won’t release funds until the survivorship window has fully passed.