With life insurance there is the primary beneficiary and the contingent beneficiary. Primary means first. There can be more than one primary beneficiary, and if there is more than one, the benefit is divided by percentages. All the life insurance carrier cares about is that the percentages add up to 100%. Most often there is only one primary beneficiary, but with children you often see it divided 50% and 50%, or whatever split given the number of children.
After the primary beneficiary, next in line is the contingent beneficiary. This is a secondary beneficiary. You may name one or more contingent.
There are many more possible beneficiary designations: trust, irrevocable trust, the Estate of the Insured, per stirpes, etc. Careful consideration should be given to providing the proper beneficiary designation.
It’s best to provide the address of your beneficiaries, even if it isn’t directly asked for on the application. Provide a contingent beneficiary. On some life applications, they don’t even ask for a contingent beneficiary. Make sure your put those details in the where called for on the application or in the comments or remarks section. If you already have a policy, contact the carrier and provide them with the information. If you have moved, make sure to provide your carrier with your current address. Now with so many policy owners on bank draft, it is easy for a life insurance carrier to lose track of a customer if they have moved.
Keep in mind that 20, 30, 40 or more years may go by after a life policy is written, and the beneficiaries are required to notify the carrier of a claim. Carriers have not been good about contacting beneficiaries about a possible claim. Do your beneficiaries know you have a life insurance policy and with which carrier? Does your carrier have complete and up to date beneficiary information? Are you still in touch with your agent to assist you and your benficiaries? Good agents will contact policyholders yearly to review information and policy performance. Make sure you get everything in order and your beneficiaries are in the loop, so your claim gets promptly paid.