The Simple Definitions of Life Insurance Terms 

Face Value:

The face value is the amount constructional obligated by an insurance policy to pay the named beneficiary in the event of the policyholders death.

Cash Value: 

Life insurance policies such as Whole Life and Universal Life policies have an investment value built into each policy. With each Premium payment a portion of that paid amount is invested into a financial vehicle.  The value of the investment total is considered the cash value.

Policy Loans:

Whole Life insurance policies allow policyholders to borrow money from their own built up cash value.  When you borrow from the policy, you are charged interest. If you are still paying onto the policy via premiums, then your premium will be higher, because you are also paying the interest on your loan, until it is paid back.

Cash Surrender Value:

The cash surrender value is the amount you would receive, from any built up Cash value in a whole life policy, minus any policy loans and interest.

Decreasing Term Insurance: 

As the name indicates decreasing term insurance is a term life insurance that reduces the amount of payoff over a period of time.  Decreasing Term Insurance is usually used for longer-term loans or mortgages which the value of payout decrease as the “debt” decreases of time. Basically you are insuring or covering the full amount due on a loan or debt. If you were to pass away before the debt was settled or paid off, the decreasing term insurance would pay of the balance of that debt.

Premiums:

Premiums are the amount of money due to keep the contact of a life insurance enforce.  The premium is what you pay each month, quarter, or year.

Contestability Period:

Almost all insurance policies have a contestability period. This time period is usually 2 years.  In the event that someone passes away while still in the contestability period, they may not get the face value of the policy, but rather a return of all premiums paid.  The contestability period is in essence a probationary time frame to make sure that a terminally ill individual doesn’t reap a windfall for his beneficiaries, with their inside information of their terminal condition.