Your beneficiaries should have the option for how they would like to receive the policy's death benefit.
Options may include:
A lump sum: All of the death benefits arrive in a single payment.
Monthly installments: Some beneficiaries find it easier to get the money gradually over a period.
Retained asset account: Some insurers may allow a beneficiary to keep the death benefit in an interest-bearing account. Beneficiaries can then write checks against the money in the account.
Annuity: Beneficiaries may have the option of receiving guaranteed payments monthly for life. Unless the annuity is established for a set period, any remaining death benefit remaining when the beneficiary dies will return to the insurance company.