A beneficiary in the broadest sense is a natural person or other legal entity who receives money or other benefits from a benefactor. The beneficiary of a life insurance policy, for example, is the person who receives the payment of the amount of insurance after the death of the insured. The beneficiaries of a trust are the persons with equitable ownership of the trust assets, although legal title is held by the trustee. The term is also used in the context of a letter of credit for the party receiving the money related thereto. Beneficiaries in other contexts are known by other names: for example, the beneficiaries of a will are called devisees or legatees according to local custom. In jurisprudence, a natural person is a human being perceptible through the senses and subject to physical laws, as opposed to an artificial person, i. ... Money is any marketable good or token used by a society as a store of value, a medium of exchange, or a unit of account. ... For use in social policy, see the article social welfare. ... A benefactor is a person or other entity providing money or other benefits to another; the person receiving them is called a beneficiary. ... In common law legal systems, a trust is a relationship in which a person or entity (the trustee) has legal control over certain property (the trust property or trust corpus), but is bound by fiduciary duty to exercise that legal control for the benefit of someone else (the beneficiary), according... A letter of credit, also referred to as an LOC or LC, is a document issued by a financial institution which essentially acts as an irrevocable guarantee of payment to a beneficiary. ... In the law, a will or testament is a documentary instrument by which a person (the testator) regulates the rights of others over the testators property or family after their death. ...
The protection offered by a liability insurance policy is two-fold: a legal defense in the event of a lawsuit commenced against the policyholder, plus indemnification (payment on behalf of the insured) with respect to a settlement or court verdict.
Life insurance provides a cash benefit to a decedent's family or other designated beneficiary, and may specifically provide for burial, funeral and other final expenses.
Annuities provide a stream of payments and are generally classified as insurance because they are issued by insurance companies and regulated as insurance.