State RegulationsMA specificDifficulty 3/5
Which statement correctly distinguishes an accelerated benefit provision from an accidental death benefit in a Massachusetts life insurance policy?
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Answer & full 3-part explanation (select an option above, or peek)
Why B is correct
The two provisions answer different problems. The accelerated benefit, regulated by the Massachusetts Division of Insurance under 211 CMR 55.00, gives the living insured early access to part of the policy's own death benefit upon a qualifying event. The accidental death benefit, anchored in M.G.L. c. 175, § 144(7), pays a beneficiary an additional amount when death results from accident. Timing, recipient, and funding source all differ — living advance to the insured versus extra payment to the beneficiary after an accidental death.
Why the other options are wrong
- A) The provisions are not interchangeable: one is a living advance for the insured under 211 CMR 55.00, the other an extra post-death payment under M.G.L. c. 175, § 144(7).
- C) The timing is reversed in this option; the accelerated benefit pays while the insured lives, and the accidental death benefit pays after death.
- D) Neither benefit is a federal entitlement; both are contractual provisions governed by Massachusetts law and Division of Insurance rules.
Memory hook
Accelerated = living money for the insured; accidental = extra money for the beneficiary.