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State Life
Actuary A specialist in the mathematics of insurance who calculates rates, reserves, dividends and other statistics.
Annuity Annuity refers to a series of payment payable to a person (annuitant) annually.
Bonus The amount of profit which a life insurance company distributes among its policyholders.
Claim

 

 A claim, in the life insurance context, is a request made to a life insurance company to pay the benefit in the event of the policyholder's death.
Death Benefit A death benefit, in the life insurance context, is the amount payable to the claimant in case of death of a life insured.
Endowment A form of life insurance in which the life insured is covered for a sum payable on death of the life insured during a particular term or his or her survival to the end of the term.
Lapsed Policy A policy where second year premium is not paid becomes lapsed and no claim whatsoever is valid against a lapsed policy.
Life Insurance Agent A life insurance agent is the name given to those who are licensed to sell life insurance. He analysis the insurance needs of individuals and families and advises them about appropriate life insurance policies.
Life Insurance Company A life insurance company, in life insurance terminology, is a company that assumes the risk and expenses in the event of a policyholder's death.
Life Insured The life insured refers to the person whose life is insured against a life insurance policy. It is in the event of the death of the life insured that the death benefit is paid out to the nominee.
Mortality Rate Mortality rate is a statistic that shows the total number of deaths (typically per thousand people) within a certain demographic group of people. If you are in a group with a high mortality rate, e.g., people who have been habitual smokers for more than thirty years, your life insurance premiums will likely be higher than people who have not been long-term habitual smokers will.
Mortgage Insurance Mortgage insurance is life insurance in which the total value of the death benefit decreases annually. Mortgage insurance is also known as decreasing term life insurance.
Nominee A nominee is a family member or other person that a policyholder has designated as the recipient of the pay out from a life insurance policy in the event of his or her death. A policyholder can nominate more than one person as nominee and specify their respective shares.
Non-medical Scheme A facility in which the insurance company issues insurance policy without carrying out medical and other clinical examinations upto certain age and sum insured limits.
Policy The policy is the legally binding life insurance agreement that spells out the responsibilities of both the insurance company and the life insured.
Policy Illustration A policy illustration, also known as a projection, is used to estimate life insurance cost, death benefit, and surrender value in the future. A policy illustration is usually provided when you are considering purchase of a life insurance policy.
Policy Loan A policy loan is a loan incurred when borrowing against the surrender value of a life insurance policy.
Policyholder The policyholder is the person who has taken out the life insurance policy. It should be noted that the policyholder and the insured are not always the same. It is possible to take out a life insurance policy on someone else's life.
Premium The premium is the amount of money that is payable to a life insurance company in exchange for coverage. The amount of the premium that you pay is determined by complex calculations that are aided by mortality rate and other statistics.
Reinsurance In effect, insurance that an insurance company buys for its own protection. The risk of loss is spread so a disproportionately large loss under a single policy doesn't fall on one company. Reinsurance enables an insurance company to expand its capacity; stabilize its underwriting results; finance its expanding volume; secure catastrophe protection against shock losses; withdraw from a line of business or a geographical area within a specified time period.
Renewal The automatic re-establishment of in-force status effected by the payment of another premium.
Reserve An amount representing actual or potential liabilities kept by an insurer to cover debts to policyholders. A reserve is usually treated as a liability.
Revival The process by which a lapsed policy is put into in force status. Unpaid premiums, late fee and evidence of insurability are required for revival of a policy.
Risk Management Management of the pure risks to which a company might be subject. It involves analyzing all exposures to the possibility of loss and determining how to handle these exposures through practices such as avoiding the risk, retaining the risk, reducing the risk, or transferring the risk, usually by insurance.
Supplementary Cover A supplementary cover is a special addition to a life insurance policy that allows for extra benefits. A supplementary cover will typically incur a higher premium.
Surplus The amount by which assets of a life insurance company exceed its liabilities.
Surrender Value Surrender value is the cash value of a life insurance policy that you receive if you terminate a life insurance policy.
Term Insurance Term insurance is insurance that is temporary, as opposed to endowment life insurance. Here the life insured is covered only during the term of policy and does not get any maturity benefit.
Three Payment Plan A form of endowment insurance in which 25% of the sum insured is paid after expiry of 1/3rd and 2/3rd of the term and remaining 50% is paid on expiry of whole term.
Underwriter An underwriter, in life insurance terminology, is the person who assesses the proposed lives insured and determines the premium to be charged depending on their risk classification.
Whole Life Assurance Whole life assurance is the plan which provides coverage for whole life of the life insured. The policy matures when the life insured attains age of 85 years.
Whole Life with Limited Payment Whole Life with Limited Payment is a kind of life insurance policy with fixed premiums for some length of time. Whole Life with limited payment is typically more expensive than the conventional whole life assurance, but the surrender value of such a policy can build up fairly rapidly.
With Profit Life Insurance With Profit Life Insurance is a form of life insurance that participates in the profits of the life insurance company and the respective policyholders get their share in the form of reversionary bonus.