Primary Beneficiary

What Does Primary Beneficiary Mean?

The primary beneficiary of an insurance policy is the person or organization entitled to receive the policy’s benefit before anyone else.

Insuranceopedia Explains Primary Beneficiary

If the primary beneficiary cannot collect the insurance payout, it is awarded to the contingent beneficiaries.

It is common for policyholders to designate their spouse as the primary beneficiary of a life insurance policy and their children as contingent beneficiaries. In this arrangement, if the policyholder dies, the spouse will receive the payout. However, if the spouse has passed away by the time the policy is collected, the death benefit will be given to the children named as contingent beneficiaries.