44-370. Life insurance policy; proceeds; payments; sale; surrender; pledge; change of beneficiary.

A life insurance company may provide that the amount to become due under a policy shall be paid in installments to a beneficiary therein named. If such beneficiary shall die before all said installments are paid, said policy may provide to whom the remaining ones shall be paid. Any person holding a policy in any such company may, without the consent of the beneficiary, unless the appointment of such beneficiary be irrevocable, either sell and surrender the same to the company, or pledge or assign the same as security for a debt, which, if due the company, shall be secured by said policy, whether it is in the possession of the company or not; or, with the consent of the company, he may change his beneficiary unless the appointment of such beneficiary be irrevocable.

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Annotations

The phrase "person holding a policy," used in this section, describes the owner of the policy. The owner of a life insurance policy need not be the insured, that is, the person whose death obligates the insurer to pay under the policy. Universal Assurors Life Ins. Co. v. Hohnstein, 243 Neb. 359, 500 N.W.2d 811 (1993).

Where insured was unable to obtain possession of policy of insurance from divorced wife, notice of change of beneficiary was effective, even though change was not endorsed on policy. Marley v. New York Life Ins. Co., 147 Neb. 646, 24 N.W.2d 652 (1946).

Statute does not preclude a husband from legally transferring the beneficial interest in a life insurance policy to a person other than his wife. Smith v. Pacific Mutual Life Ins. Co., 130 Neb. 501, 265 N.W. 534 (1936).

Change in beneficiary was effected even though details of consent were not complied with by insurer before death of insured. Goodrich v. Equitable Life Assurance Society, 111 Neb. 616, 197 N.W. 380 (1924).