Who receives the amounts payable when the life insured dies?

The correct answer is that the beneficiary receives the amounts payable when the life insured dies. This is a fundamental principle in life insurance where the policyholder designates one or more beneficiaries in the policy. When the life insured passes away, the insurer pays the death benefit directly to the beneficiary, who is defined as the individual or entity entitled to receive the proceeds from the policy upon the insured's death.

The policy owner is typically the person or entity that purchased the policy and may or may not be the life insured, but they do not automatically receive the death benefit unless they are also designated as a beneficiary. The insurer, on the other hand, is the company that underwrites the policy and pays the benefits, but it does not receive the payouts in this context. The insured cannot collect the benefit themselves after their death, as they are the individual whose life is covered by the policy. Hence, the beneficiary is the correct recipient of the amounts payable upon the death of the life insured.