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

Alex Murdaugh attempts to arrange his own death in a plan to secure his surviving son a $10 million life insurance payment, officials say. —ABC News, 13 May 2026

The life insurance policy was about half of the captive's investment portfolio and was designed to cover the taxpayer's mortgages in the event of his death. —Jay Adkisson, Forbes.com, 10 May 2026

Others may consider a hybrid life insurance policy, said Rob Burnette, investment advisor representative and professional tax preparer at Outlook Financial Center. —Medora Lee, USA Today, 9 May 2026

Fidelity’s guidance on finances after divorce warns that neglecting to update beneficiaries on bank and retirement accounts and life insurance policies is a common error, and that those designations can supersede wills and trusts. —Rebecca L. Palmer, The Orlando Sentinel, 8 May 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1781, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for life insurance

• assurance
• durance
• reassurance
• reinsurance

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