What is death benefit? Death benefit is also called proceeds; this is the amount payable to the beneficiary by the life insurance company upon the insured?s death. If someone buys a life insurance he will be insured against death, should he die the life insurance company will compensate the beneficiary a lump sum of money called death benefit. If he buys a disability insurance there will be no death benefit if he dies of old age or illness, because this policy only provides coverage for his death or disability caused by accident only. A person purchases a life insurance policy is called the policyholder or insured; the person who in future will receive the compensation upon the death of the insured is called the beneficiary. It is also possible if you want to split the death benefit to two or more persons, then the policy will inc employment laws uk lude their name, then there will be a few beneficiaries endorsed in the policy. In the event of your death the beneficiary will be the one who is legally and eligibly to receive the death benefit from the life insurance company. What are the minimum requirement and proof? If the insured died, the beneficiary needs to make a report to the police and obtain a death certificate, because this is the legal proof to show to the insurance company that the insured has passed away. If the insured died in the hospital then you can ask the doctor or any authorized person to issue a document to obtain the death certificate. This usually takes a week for most of the countries, this is the mandatory way to proof that someone has really passed away and we want to claim his properties or asset or his life insurance death benefit or death proceeds.