life insurance

noun

: insurance providing for payment of a stipulated sum to a designated beneficiary upon death of the insured

Examples of life insurance in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

During separate trials for Young and Phillips in 2010 and 2014, respectively, prosecutors laid out their theory of the murder plot: Young constructed and detonated a pipe bomb in exchange for money that Phillips received from Triano’s life insurance policy. —Matt Allen, ABC News, 24 Jan. 2025

But there was reason to think Ms. Andrew was involved, as part of a plot to obtain the proceeds of a life insurance policy, and the authorities charged both of them with capital murder. —Adam Liptak, New York Times, 21 Jan. 2025

One example is private placement life insurance, a tax shelter that really has nothing to do with life insurance at all. —Tax Notes Staff, Forbes, 11 Dec. 2024

The purpose of any insurance - whether car insurance, life insurance, or homeowner’s or renter’s insurance - is to reduce our risk from a large loss. —Renee Hsia, Forbes, 13 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1781, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

life insurance

noun

: insurance providing for a specified sum to be paid when the insured person dies

Legal Definition

life insurance

noun

: 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