Typically, insurance death benefits are not included in gross income and are not even reported on a tax return except under special circumstances.
Here is the IRS reference.
In those instances of actual income earned you would have received an income form such as a 1099-INT showing the income to report. If the income was reported under your social security number but belongs to someone else, you would list the interest that you distributed as "Nominee Interest" in the "Investments" section the 1099-INT topic.
Here is the IRS Topic discussion.
**Say "Thanks" by clicking the thumb icon in a post
**Mark the post that answers your question by clicking on "Mark as Best Answer"