How often can I change beneficiary on life insurance?

You can change your life insurance policy beneficiaries as many times as you desire, as long as it is within reasonable limits. In order to have the freedom to do that, however, make sure you tick the "revocable beneficiary" option in your life insurance policy contract.

Revocable or Irrevocable Beneficiaries?

If the policyholder chooses the irrevocable beneficiary option upon signing the policy contract, they might not be able to ever change their beneficiary designation, as they would need the designated beneficiary's consent.

This is why it is wisest to opt for the revocable beneficiary designation: it will give you the freedom to exercise all policy rights without the beneficiary's consent.

There are certain limitations that should be taken into consideration:

• It is forbidden in some states for the employers to be named beneficiary of a group term life insurance.
• In some states the beneficiaries are required to have insurable interest in the insured's life.
• State laws often restrict the class of beneficiaries that can be designated where the insured is a minor. Typically, the insured's parent, sibling or grandparent is allowed to be named beneficiary but a minor can change the beneficiary designation at any point upon reaching 18.
• The policyholder's right to change the beneficiary is not affected by divorce. There are, however, exceptions as some states allow the policy owner to change the beneficiary even if it was irrevocable before the divorce.
• A beneficiary who kills the insured in an accident or in self defense is usually disqualified and a second beneficiary collects the proceeds.
• If the insured and the primary beneficiary die together and it cannot be determined who died first, the Uniform Simultaneous Death Act comes into force. The USDA provides that the proceeds are paid as though the primary beneficiary died first, whereupon the secondary beneficiary receives the proceeds.

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