Syndicated Financial Columnist, Host of the weekly talk show Steve Savant's Money, the Name of the Game, Scottsdale Arizona
A dependent is generally a minor child using a policy rider or unit purchase attached to a parent's life insurance policy. Keep in mind that a dependent can also be a policy beneficiary as well. A dependent can also have their own policy with the legal guardian as policy owner.
A dependent on a life insurance policy is usually a spouse or a child that has been added to the coverage of a primary insured. The upside of doing this is to save premium dollars on the insurance. The downside to purchasing life insurance this way is if the primary insured dies to the rest of the family is left uninsured. Be sure the company allows you to convert to a permanent plan if you do purchase one this way.
President, The Firm of Steven H. Kobrin, LUTCF, 6-05 Saddle River Rd #103, Fair Lawn, NJ 07410
Life insurance underwriting gives a lot of latitude to the definition of “dependent.”
It’s actually pretty interesting.
I think this is because the whole principle of “insurable interest” implies a certain dependency. It is this principle that is the bottom line as to whether or not the company accepts the beneficiary designation on a submitted application.
So who really can be dependent on the insured financially, and thereby qualify as a beneficiary on his or her policy?
Certainly a spouse. Does the spouse have to be working? No. Can the spouse be rich and independently wealthy? Yes. They still can be considered financially interdependent.
Kids? For sure. Minors? Of course. How about children that are of legal age? Well, they certainly could still be financially dependent on their parents. To some extent. (Until their parents boot them out of the nest :)
Parents? Yes. That is very common these days. Elder parents become dependent on their grown children financially. Sad to see, but it happens all the time.
Other family members? Could be. How many times do you see a family taking in a niece, nephew, cousin, aunt, or uncle?
Then you have the whole realm of domestic partners. Same sex. Opposite sex. Older man, younger woman. Older woman, younger man. As long as they have some kind of financial independence – shared accounts, etc. – they could be named as beneficiaries.
And we haven’t even talked about how businesses can be dependent on people, as well as charities.
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It’s actually pretty interesting.
I think this is because the whole principle of “insurable interest” implies a certain dependency. It is this principle that is the bottom line as to whether or not the company accepts the beneficiary designation on a submitted application.
So who really can be dependent on the insured financially, and thereby qualify as a beneficiary on his or her policy?
Certainly a spouse. Does the spouse have to be working? No. Can the spouse be rich and independently wealthy? Yes. They still can be considered financially interdependent.
Kids? For sure. Minors? Of course. How about children that are of legal age? Well, they certainly could still be financially dependent on their parents. To some extent. (Until their parents boot them out of the nest :)
Parents? Yes. That is very common these days. Elder parents become dependent on their grown children financially. Sad to see, but it happens all the time.
Other family members? Could be. How many times do you see a family taking in a niece, nephew, cousin, aunt, or uncle?
Then you have the whole realm of domestic partners. Same sex. Opposite sex. Older man, younger woman. Older woman, younger man. As long as they have some kind of financial independence – shared accounts, etc. – they could be named as beneficiaries.
And we haven’t even talked about how businesses can be dependent on people, as well as charities.
Interesting, don’t you think?