term:

Life Insurance

life insurance n

: insurance providing for the payment of money to a designated beneficiary upon the death of the insured see also endowment insurance

ordinary life insurance
: whole life insurance in this entry

straight life insurance
: whole life insurance in this entry

term life insurance
: life insurance that provides coverage for a set term and does not accumulate cash surrender value

universal life insurance
: life insurance characterized by flexible premiums, benefits, and payment schedules, by the indexing of cash value to money market interest rates, and by the periodic reporting of current value and company costs charged to the account

universal variable life insurance
: variable universal life insurance in this entry

variable life insurance
: life insurance in which all or part of the cash value of the policy is located in a tax-deferred investment portfolio with risk assumed by the insured for investment losses compare variable annuity at annuity

variable universal life insurance
: universal life insurance that includes the investment component of variable life insurance called also universal variable life insurance

whole life insurance
: life insurance that provides coverage over the life of the insured and that can be sold for surrender value or used as the basis of low-interest loans called also ordinary life insurance straight life insurance

Source: Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law ©1996. Merriam-Webster, Incorporated. Published under license with Merriam-Webster, Incorporated.