Although not commonly applied to life claims, a common disaster life insurance clause is provided under what is known as the Uniform Concurrent Death Act, which is adopted by most states to address the problem of protecting the contingent beneficiary in the event that the insured and the principal beneficiary die at the same time or as a result of the same event.

Under this law, the law will assume that the first (primary) beneficiary died first in a common disaster. It allows proceeds to be paid to the secondary (contingent) beneficiary or the insured’s estate, if no contingent beneficiary has been designated. The intention is to ensure that the final wishes of the insured are met.

Most insurance companies specify a specific period of time, such as 30 or 60 days, within which death must occur to comply with this provision of the policy. What this means is that as long as the beneficiary dies within this period of time after the death of the insured, the law will continue to interpret the beneficiary as dying first.

The common disaster clause of a life insurance policy is very important and most states provide it according to the law. You should read your insurance policy carefully to make sure your state allows this provision.

Comparing life insurance quotes from different companies can mean comparing apples to watermelons. Each company has different riders, provisions, and riders that are used to change both the policy premium and the policy benefits.

You should carefully consider the policies and quotes of various companies before making a decision. Using a free tool to help you do this, such as a life insurance quote calculator, helps.