Uniform Simultaneous Death Act

Statute in most states under which, if no evidence exists in a common disaster (when an insured and beneficiary die within a short time of each other in an accident for which determination cannot be made as to who died first), the presumption is that the insured survived the beneficiary and the life insurance proceeds will either be paid to a secondary beneficiary (if named in a policy) or, if not named, then to the insured's estate.