Gifts of Life Insurance: FAQs

Simply contact your life insurance company and request a Change of Beneficiary/Ownership Form. Designate us as the new owner and beneficiary of your policy.

If you give your policy to us while you are still alive, you will receive an immediate income tax deduction for the current value of the policy. In order for you to get this deduction when the charity is the policy owner, you make donations to Smith College so we have funds to pay the insurance premiums. Put another way, the donor covers the premium payments that the charity now makes on the gifted policy by making regular additional monetary gifts to the charity. If you retain ownership of the policy, benefits payable to us at death can save you federal and state estate taxes depending on the size of your estate and your state of domicile.