Changing the nominee on your State Life policy: how it works

In short

• Your nominee receives the claim if you die. With no nominee, assignment or will, your family may need a succession certificate from a court first.
• State Life publishes a Change of Nominee form among its alteration forms.
• If you name a child, you appoint a guardian to act for them until they turn 18.
• Assigning a policy, for example to a lender, cancels the nomination. If the policy is assigned back to you, make a new one.

Why the nominee matters

When a policy pays out on death, State Life can only pay someone legally able to give it a valid discharge. If the policy names a nominee, it settles the claim in the nominee's favour. If the policy has been assigned, the assignee receives it.

If there is no nomination, no assignment and no will, State Life pays the holder of a succession certificate or similar evidence of title from a court. That means a court process at the worst possible time, and it is the most common reason a family waits longer than it should. See how a State Life claim is paid.

When to look at it again

• You marry, or a marriage ends.
• A child is born, and you want them, or their mother or father, to be the nominee.
• Your nominee dies.
• A policy you had assigned, for example as security for a loan, comes back to you.
• You simply cannot remember who you named. Your policy document shows it.

How to change it

• Get State Life's Change of Nominee form, listed under Alteration on its forms page.
• Fill it in and sign it as the form asks, with the new nominee's details.
• Submit it to the zone that services your policy. State Life handles alterations through each zone's Policyholder Services department, with a written request, the original documents and your valid CNIC.
• Ask the zone whether an alteration fee applies. State Life charges one for some alterations but does not publish an amount for a nominee change.
• As a rule, State Life does not permit alterations in the first year of a policy. If your policy is new, ask whether that applies to your change.
• We fill in the form with you and check it before it goes in, at no charge.

Naming a child

A child can be your nominee. Because a minor cannot give State Life a valid discharge, you appoint a guardian for the nominee, who acts on the child's behalf. The guardianship ends automatically when the child turns 18, so you do not need to change anything on their birthday.

Choose the guardian with care: if a claim is paid while the child is still a minor, that is the person who receives it on their behalf.

Assignment cancels the nomination

A policy cannot be sold, but it can be assigned or mortgaged, for example as security for a loan, once it has been in force for the minimum period State Life sets. Assigning a policy automatically cancels any existing nomination: if you die while it is assigned, the assignee is paid.

When the policy is assigned back to you, the old nomination does not come back. State Life requires a fresh nomination, so make one as soon as the reassignment is done.

Tell the people involved

• Tell your nominee that they are named, where the policy document is kept, and about any loan against the policy, which State Life deducts from the claim.
• Keep a copy of the nominee's CNIC with the policy.
• This page covers State Life's process. How the money is shared within the family once it is paid is a matter of inheritance law and your own circumstances; take advice from a lawyer or a scholar if that matters to you.

Key terms

Nominee

The person State Life pays the claim to if the policyholder dies.

Guardian (of a minor nominee)

The adult who acts for a nominee under 18. The guardianship ends when the child turns 18.

Assignment

Transferring the rights under a policy to someone else, such as a lender. It cancels any nomination.

Succession certificate

A court document naming who may receive a deceased person's money, needed when a policy has no nominee, assignee or will.

Questions people ask

Can I change the nominee on my State Life policy?

Yes. State Life publishes a Change of Nominee form among its alteration forms. Submit it to the zone that services your policy with your CNIC and the original documents.

Is there a fee to change the nominee?

State Life does not publish a fee for a nominee change. It charges an alteration fee for some changes, so ask the zone when you submit the form.

Can my child be the nominee?

Yes. You appoint a guardian to act for the child until they turn 18, when the guardianship ends automatically.

What happens if there is no nominee?

State Life pays the holder of a succession certificate or similar evidence of title from a court, unless the policy was assigned or there is a will. That takes longer, so keep a nominee named.

I assigned my policy to a bank and it has been returned. Is my old nominee still valid?

No. Assignment cancelled it, and State Life requires a fresh nomination once the policy is assigned back to you.

Sources

• State Life, Frequently Asked Questions (nomination, assignment, minor nominee, alterations)
• State Life, Forms (Change of Nominee)