Accelerated Death Benefit

An accelerated death benefit is a life insurance policy feature that allows policyholders to receive a portion of their death benefits while they're still alive. Accelerated death benefits are often referred to as a "living benefit."

The goal of an accelerated death benefit is to help policyholders with medical expenses. They're often used to pay for long-term care or chronic illness care costs.  

Policyholders must meet specific requirements (known as benefit triggers) to access their accelerated death benefits. There are two main types of accelerated benefit policies: those for chronic illnesses and those for long-term care. 

Chronic illness policies may require a diagnosis of a serious or terminal illness. Long-term care policies require a need for help with two or more activities of daily living or supervision expected to last 90 days or more. 

These policies are very different, so knowing which one you have is essential. Rules around how many benefits and what you can use these benefits for depend on your policy. 

Accelerated death benefits can act as a safety net for policyholders. One of the most common ways to use an accelerated death benefit is with a hybrid Long-Term Care Insurance policy.