ABSTRACT
Historically, life insurance policies contain room – a blank slot – requiring the insured ‘fill in’ the space by inserting the names of the beneficiary: spouse, child, family member or personal representative. The beneficiary’s interest in the common law ultimately depends on the existence of a trust. The question of the beneficiary’s entitlement to the policy proceeds is answered in part by the Bahamian decision of Imperial Life Assurance Co. v Adderley, which is instructive on the approach to be adopted. In jurisdictions where the beneficiary is forced to rely substantially on the common law, he or she is confronted with several difficulties. The law pertaining to the status of the beneficiary is located primarily in the modern Commonwealth Caribbean. The common law is replete with examples of the considerable difficulty confronting the beneficiary. The difficulty in ascertaining whether a trust exists is compounded when the beneficiary is unnamed in the insurance policy.
