Who is considered the policyowner in an insurance agreement?

In an insurance agreement, the policyowner is the individual or entity that has the legal authority to exercise rights and privileges associated with the policy. This includes making changes to the policy, such as adjusting coverage or beneficiaries, and ultimately ensuring that the policy is managed according to the policyowner's wishes.

While the individual who receives the policy benefits is important, they may not necessarily be the policyowner if they are not the one who holds the rights to the policy. The entity that issues the insurance policy is the insurer, which provides the coverage, but doesn't have ownership rights over the policy. The agent selling the insurance policy acts as a representative for the insurer and the policyholder, but does not own the policy themselves. Hence, the definition of the policyowner focuses primarily on who holds the authority over policy rights and benefits.