Nomination is important to ensure that your loved ones will receive the protection as intended by you and that policy moneys may be paid out by insurers without any delay.  Where no nomination is made, the policy moneys will be paid out to your lawful executor (if you have made a Will) or your lawful administrator (if no Will has been made) – this process will take a while.

*If there is no lawful executor or administrator, then the policy moneys will be paid out to the rightful persons in accordance with applicable distribution laws.

You can nominate any individual(s) you want.  HOWEVER, not all nominees will receive the policy moneys beneficially or for their own use.  Depending on your marital status and who you nominate, nominations may produce unexpected results for the nominee(s).  Likewise, nominations by a Muslim policy owner and non-Muslim policy owner will have different consequences.

How so?

Nominations made by a non-Muslim policy owner will create either (i) a trust policy in favour of the nominee(s) or (ii) a non-trust policy.

To ensure that your nominee(s) receive the policy moneys as intended, you need to ensure that a trust policy is created in favour of your nominee(s).

Trust policy will be created:

(a)   if the nominee is your spouse or child; or

(b)  if the nominee is your parent (provided that there is no living spouse or child at the time you make the nomination).

In such as case, you are creating a non-trust policy.  Here, your nominee will only receive the policy moneys as executor and distribute the policy moneys in accordance with your Will or where there is no Will, in accordance with applicable distribution laws.  If you intend for these nominee(s) to receive the policy moneys beneficially and not as executor, you will need to assign the policy benefits to them.

In brief, if you nominate people other than your spouse, children or parents, make sure to assign the policy benefits to them to ensure that they receive the policy moneys for their own use.  Please contact MSIG if you require more information on this.

Nominee(s) irrespective of the relationship with the policy owner can only receive the policy moneys as executor and the policy moneys must be distributed in accordance with Islamic laws.