Life Insurance

Definition

  • An insurance policy where an insurer agrees to pay out benefits, as per the terms of the contract, to a beneficiary, or multiple beneficiaries, upon the insured person's death. Some life insurance policies will pay out in the event of a terminal or critical illness.

Notes
CanEquity offers life insurance.

Synonyms
life coverage, life insurance policy, personal insurance

Related Terms and Acronyms

  • Accidental Death and Dismemberment Insurance Definition,
    • Insurance coverage for death or dismemberment (the loss of a body part).
  • Accidental Death Benefit (ADB) Acronym, Very Important,
    • An additional benefit that pays an additional sum to a beneficiary if the cause of death is deemed to be accidental.
    A life insurance policy rider.
  • Assignee Definition,
    • In the insurance industry, an assignee is someone who is assigned ownership of another person's insurance policy.
    • A person appointed to acquire (take) an item, such as a property.
  • Assignor Definition,
    • Attained Age Definition,
      • The current age of an insured individual.
    • Beneficiary Definition,
      • An individual or entity chosen to receive benefits from a will, trust, deed or insurance policy.
    • Casualty Insurance Definition,
      • Insurance that covers losses and liability from injuries to others and/or damage to the property of others.
    • Co-insurance Definition,
      • Insurance where both the insurer and the insured share costs in a set ratio when an insured event occurs.
    • Convertible Life Insurance Definition,
      • A type of term life insurance policy that has the option to be converted into a permanent life insurance policy such as whole or universal life insurance.
    • Credit Life Insurance Definition,
      • Life insurance that repays the insured's debts upon their death. The death benefit decreases as the debt is paid off.
    • Creditor Insurance Definition,
      • Insurance that repays debt if the borrower cannot.
    • Critical Illness Insurance (CII) Acronym, Very Important,
      • Insurance that covers individuals in the event of a critical or catastrophic illness.
      A health insurance policy rider.
    • Death Benefit (DB) Acronym, Very Important,
      • A payment or series of payments made to the beneficiaries of a life insurance policy.
      An amount paid to a beneficiary in a life linsurance policy.
    • Declining Life Insurance Definition,
      • Life insurance with a decreasing death benefit, often used to insure mortgage debt.
    • Decreasing Term Life Insurance Definition,
      • A Term life insurance policy with benefits that decrease each year as the policyholder ages.
    • Disability Insurance (DI) Acronym, Important,
      • Insurance that covers individuals who develop a condition that hinders their ability to work.
    • Entity-Purchase Agreement Definition,
      • A plan used for businesses with multiple owners where insurance policies are taken out for each owner in the amount of their ownership stake.
    • Estate Definition,
      • The ownership interest of an individual in real property.
      • The total sum of all the real property and personal property owned by an individual at time of death.
    • Estate Planning Definition,
      • The process of determining how assets will be dispersed after an individual's death, ideally in the most tax-efficient way possible.
    • Face Value Definition,
      • The value of an asset, or the size of an insurance benefit.
    • Family Income Rider Definition,
      • A recurring or lump sum life insurance benefit that matches the policyholder's income.
    • Fixed Premium Definition,
      • Insurance or annuity premiums that stay level for a specific period of time.
    • Future Purchase Option Definition,
      • A provision that gives the policyholder the option to purchase additional insurance coverage at a future date.
    • Group Life Insurance Definition,
      • Life insurance offered to a large number of people belonging to an organization, usually as part of a benefit package.
    • Health Insurance (HI) Acronym,
      • Insurance that covers the costs of medical expenses for insured persons.
    • Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) Acronym, Important,
      • A healthcare plan where insured people receive reasonably priced health insurance through an organization with firm guidelines on the scope of care.
    • Human Life Approach Definition,
      • A method of estimating what the probable lifetime financial impact a life insurance policyholder's death would have on his or her beneficiaries.
    • Insurable Interest Definition,
      • Something of sufficient worth and benefit that an individual or entity would have reason to insure against its lost.
    • Insurance (insur) Abbreviation,
      • An arrangement where one party provides financial protection to another party for specific damages or losses.
    • Insurance Claim Definition,
      • An application for benefits made by an insurance policyholder after an insured event.
    • Insurance Policy Definition,
      • A legal contract between an insurer and entity that specifies what the insurer is required to cover and any benefits the insured entity is entitled to.
    • Irrevocable Beneficiary Definition,
      • A life insurance or segregated fund beneficiary whose benefit cannot be revoked or modified in any way without his or her consent.
    • Issue Age Definition,
      • The policyholder's age when the policy was first issued, to the nearest year.
    • Lapse Ratio Definition,
      • A ratio that compares how many life insurance policies have lapsed from the beginning year to the end.
    • Lapsed Policy Definition,
      • A policy that is no long in effect due to missed payments, inaction or its term ending.
    • Level-Premium Insurance Definition,
      • Insurance where the premiums the policyholder pays are guaranteed to remain the same for an agreed upon period of time.
    • Life Annuity Definition,
      • An annuity that will continue to make payments until the death of the annuitant.
    • Life Insurance Trust (LIT) Acronym,
      • A legal entity that is made the beneficiary of a life insurance policy, often arranged to evade taxation.
    • Living Benefits Definition,
      • The option for a life insurance policyholder to receive a portion of their death benefit in advance of their death.
    • Long Term Care Insurance (LTC) Acronym, Important,
      • Insurance that covers health care costs for individuals with chronic or disabling conditions.
    • Mortgage Life Insurance Definition, Very Important,
      • Insurance that covers the costs of paying off a mortgage if the insured dies or becomes disabled.
    • Paid-up Additional Insurance Definition,
      • The option for a policyholder to purchase additional insurance coverage with additional premiums or policy dividends.
    • Permanent Life Insurance Definition,
      • A class of life insurance policies, which include both universal and whole life insurance, with guaranteed death benefits at the end of their terms.
    • Policy Definition,
      • A set of rules or guidelines.
      • An insurance contract.
    • Policy Loan Definition,
      • A loan where a life insurance policyholder's death benefit is used as collateral.
    • Private Annuity Definition,
      • An arrangement where one party agrees to transfer ownership of an asset to another party (usually a beneficiary) in exchange for lifetime payments.
    • Reinstatement Definition,
      • Resuming an insurance policy that has either lapsed or been terminated.
    • Revocable Beneficiary Definition,
      • A beneficiary whose benefit can be modified without his or her consent.
    • Second-To-Die Insurance Definition,
      • Life insurance that only pays a death benefit when both spouses have died, commonly used in estate planning.
    • Segregated Fund Definition,
      • Investment vehicles that feature both maturity and death guarantees. Segregated funds share similarities with mutual funds but are categorized as insurance products.
    • Self Insurance Definition,
      • Setting aside money or assets for a potential future loss.
    • Single Interest Insurance Definition,
      • Insurance that covers a single party when more than one party has a stake in a property.
    • Single-Premium Life Insurance Definition,
      • Life insurance where all premiums are paid up front in a single lump sum payment.
    • Spin-Life Definition,
      • A financial industry that specializes in buying life insurance policies from individuals or convincing individuals to take out new life insurance policies with an investor as a beneficiary.
    • Sprinkling Provision Definition,
      • A provision that gives a trustee the authority to distribute life insurance death benefits as he or she sees fit, and to those who need the money the most.
    • Straight Life Annuity Definition,
      • An annuity that stops all payments upon the annuitant's death.
    • Stranger Originated Life Insurance (STOLI) Acronym,
      • A life insurance policy purchased by someone without any insurable interests with the insured person.
      Illegal in many Canadian provinces.
    • Substandard Health Annuity Definition,
      • An annuity with increased income payments for people with shorter life expectancies due to medical conditions.
    • Substandard Insurance Definition,
      • Insurance for those who are ineligible for standard insurance due to higher risk profiles.
    • Surrender Charge Definition,
      • A charge levied when a life insurance policyholder cancels his or her policy.
    • Surrender Rights Definition,
      • The contractual right for a life insurance or annuity policyholder to cancel his or her policy.
    • Survivorship Definition,
      • The right of a person to secure ownership by reason of his/her outliving someone with whom s/he shared undivided interest in the land.
    • Term Life Insurance Definition,
      • Life insurance that provides coverage for a set period of time, often from five to forty years.
    • Transferable Insurance Policy Definition,
      • A life insurance policy that can be sold to another party through a viatical settlement.
    • Travel Insurance Definition, Very Important,
      • Insurance that covers a number of events that can occur when an individual is travelling out of the province or country.
    • Universal Life Insurance Definition,
      • A form of life insurance that offers flexible investment options and tax efficiency for estate management.
    • Vanishing Premium Policy Definition,
      • A life insurance policy where policy dividends are used to pay the policy's premiums.
    • Variable Death Benefit Definition,
      • A life insurance death benefit that differs depending on how well the insurance company's investment portfolio fares.
    • Variable Life Insurance (VLI) Acronym,
      • Life insurance that provides the policyholder the option to place some of his or her premiums into the insurer's investment portfolio, providing beneficiaries with a variable death benefit.
    • Voluntary Life Insurance Definition,
      • Life insurance offered as part of an employee benefit package where the employee agrees to pay the insurance premiums.
    • Whole Life Insurance Definition,
      • Permanent life insurance with level premiums for the policyholder's entire lifetime.
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