it can be as described but much less so than in the past.
the more typical purpose in buying a put is to create the equivalent of a short position with loss limited to the price paid for the put.
simplest is to have instructions to close positions AT MARKET. bluntly, these situations goes with the territory.
it is wake-up call for all of us. perhaps you should start a thread on the subject.
if the positions are liquid even a "even a ham handedstranger and/ or wife, if given prior instructions and authority can close positions without much difficulty.
"It's protecting the issuers of the death-put bonds, financial institutions that Lathen caught mispricing the risk of death. <https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2016-08-16/hedge-fund-manager-profited-from-death-arbitrage>"
the SEC in protecting the insurance company is a distant relative...