- Laws of Fiji

Last Updated: 1 August 2022

[INS 141] Death of policy owner who is not the life insured141

141

(1) If the owner of a life policy dies before the person whose life is insured by the policy, the person whose life is insured may apply to the insurer to become the owner of the policy.

(2) To become the owner of a policy under subsection (1), the person whose life is insured must satisfy the insurer that the person is entitled—

(a)to the benefit of the policy under the will or on the intestacy of the deceased owner; or
(b)to obtain probate of the will or to take out letters of administration of the estate of the deceased owner.

(3) An insurer who is satisfied in terms of subsection (2) may endorse on the policy a declaration that the person whose life is insured has so satisfied the insurer and is the owner of the policy, and thereupon that person becomes, subject to subsection (4), the owner of the policy.

(4) Subsection (3) does not—

(a)confer on a person declared to be the owner of a policy any beneficial interest in the policy that the person would not otherwise have had; or
(b)affect any right or interest of a person other than the person declared to be the owner in relation to the policy.

(5) The insurer may endorse a policy under subsection (3) without requiring the production of any probate or letters of administration.

(6) For the purposes of this section, the adjusted surrender value of a policy is the surrender value of the policy as at the date on which the owner died, less any debt due to the insurer under, or secured by, the policy.