[D026]

delayed payment clause

A life insurance clause which allows an insurer to defer the payment of the policy benefits to a beneficiary for a specified period of time after the death of the insured under certain conditions. This normally occurs when the insured and the primary beneficiary are both subjected to a common disaster, or in the case of other natural disaster. One example would be when a husband and wife are involved in the same airplane accident which kills the husband and leaves the wife in critical condition. The payment of the proceeds can be delayed and, if necessary, paid to the contingent beneficiary or the estate of the primary, in the event the primary beneficiary does not survive. Many life insurance policies clarify that a primary beneficiary must survive a stated period of time after the death of the insured in order to collect the benefits.