Glossary of Term Life Insurance Terms

Here is a list of definitions for the most important life insurance terms. These are the terms you should know before applying to get a term life insurance quote online.

Beneficiary - this is the person or persons the policyholder names to receive the death benefit of the policy upon the policyholder's death.

Cash value - this term refers to the amount of cash available in the policy for withdrawals or loans. Remember when you apply to get a term life insurance quote online that term policies do not accrue cash value over time or retain any value after they expire.

Convertible term policy - term life insurance policy that can be converted to a permanent life insurance policy at the discretion of the policyholder without evidence of insurability.

Face amount - the amount of money stated on the policy's face that will be paid in the event of death.

Insurability - an applicant's acceptability to a life insurance company.

Permanent life insurance - if you are certain you want to get a term life insurance quote online, this term doesn't necessarily apply to you. However, if you are open to other options, permanent life insurance provides a lifetime of insurance protection with premiums that never increase. Permanent life insurance also has the ability to accumulate cash value over time.

Policyholder - the person who owns a life insurance policy. Usually, this refers to the person who is actually insured, but it may also be a trust, corporation, partnership, or relative.

Premiums - payments the policyholder makes to an insurance company to buy a policy and keep it active.

Renewable term insurance - term life insurance that may renewed at the end of the specified term at the option of the policyholder and without proof of insurability for a certain number of consecutive terms. As the age of the insured person increases, the rates will increase at each renewal.

Term life insurance - life insurance that does not accumulate cash value and for which the premium increases as the insured person gets older. You can get a term life insurance quote online from various insurers on our site.

If you have any questions, please check out our Frequently Asked Questions page.