Who has all rights to a policy and is usually the annuitant?

The owner of a life insurance policy holds all the rights associated with that policy. This includes the ability to make changes to the policy, such as designating beneficiaries, changing coverage amounts, and even cancelling the policy if desired. The owner is often the person who pays the premiums and manages the policy's terms.

While the annuitant is typically the person whose life expectancy is used to determine the payout of an annuity contract, it is not the same as the owner. The annuitant may be different from the policy owner in cases where someone purchases an annuity on behalf of another individual. Therefore, it's important to distinguish that the term “annuitant” refers specifically to the recipient of annuity benefits rather than the individual who retains ownership of the policy rights.

In the context of life insurance policies, the beneficiary is the person designated to receive the benefits from the policy upon the death of the insured, and the trustee manages the policy or its assets for the benefit of others but does not hold the rights of ownership. Hence, the owner is the individual who holds all the rights to make decisions concerning the policy and is not necessarily the same as any of these other roles.