Know your policy

Wife and Life Insurance – The importance of nomination

If you have insured your life, you are probably familiar with the term ‘nomination’. But are you aware of how important having a nomination on your life insurance policy is? We have a story for you, and a few questions...

August 23, 2024 Insurancepe 3 min read

If you have insured your life, you are probably familiar with the term ‘nomination’. But are you aware of how important having a nomination on your life insurance policy is?

We have a story for you, and a few questions for you to answer:

A life assured man died without nomination and now a huge Sum Insured is payable. There are five legal heirs – the mother, the wife, his younger brother, the son of the life assured and a widower son-in-law who have a claim on the insurance payout.

A day after his last rites, everybody wanted the entire Life Insurance payout. They did not mind punishing the others with a long and never-ending litigation. The wife, desperate, depressed and sad, wanted to put some sense into her son’s mind, but it was so schemed that they could never meet.

A few weeks later, although she learned of where her son lived, the legal heirs were so sinister, they ensured that they could never meet. Hoping to meet her son, she begged the deceased man’s younger brother to kindly take her to her son. The deceased man’s younger brother agreed, on condition that she slept with him before he took her to her son and to drop out of any claim for the life insurance payout.

Distraught, she went to the mother of the deceased for advice. “I can’t tell you what’s right or wrong”, she said “I am grieving for my son. I will not be claiming any of the proceeds from the insurance. Look into your heart and follow it”. Confused but desperate for her son, she agreed to the deceased man’s younger brother’s condition.

Soon after the deceased man’s younger brother took her to her son. She jumped out of the car, ran up to the house and took her son into her arms. Then she decided to tell him about her experience with the deceased man’s younger brother. In a rage, the son pushed his mother aside and said “Get away from me! I do not want to see you again nor do I want the life Insurance money!” Weeping, she started to walk slowly out of the house.

The son-in-law happened to see her. He put his arm around her and said “I can tell that you two have had a fight. I do not think you will ever again patch-up. But I request you not to worry. I will take good care of you and we can share the life Insurance money.”

The questions: