If there is no designated beneficiary at the time of death, what determines who receives the payable proceeds of a life policy?

• A. The contractual provision in the policy resolving the issue
• B. The intestacy laws
• C. The insured's will
• D. The insured's personal representative

Answer: (A)

When there’s no designated beneficiary, the path for the life policy’s proceeds is set by the policy contract itself. The policy is a binding agreement between the insurer and the owner/insured, and it includes default rules for who gets the money if no beneficiary is named. That contractual provision controls the initial recipient, such as directing the proceeds to the insured’s estate or to a specified default beneficiary, regardless of other state rules.

Intestacy laws would only come into play if the proceeds end up in the estate and are being distributed by the will or by intestacy rules. The insured’s will or personal representative doesn’t change the initial disposition dictated by the policy—the contract determines who receives the funds first, and probate-related steps follow only after that disposition.