Life · Chapter 6 · Special Situations
Uniform Simultaneous Death Act
Definition
If the insured and primary beneficiary die in a common disaster and the order of death can't be determined, the insured is presumed to have survived (beneficiary died first) → proceeds go to the contingent beneficiary.
Exam tip
It ONLY applies when the order of death is unknown. If the beneficiary demonstrably outlived the insured (even by minutes), proceeds go to the beneficiary's ESTATE — unless a common disaster provision applies.
Easy to confuse with
These are what this term gets tested against — if you can't tell them apart cold, drill the contrast.
Related terms