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

Weeks before her husband's death, she is accused of fraudulently securing a $100,000 life insurance policy for her husband with his forged signature, and then fraudulently claiming the benefits following his death, according to the charging document. —Meredith Deliso, ABC News, 23 Feb. 2026

Years before her husband's death, Richins opened numerous life insurance policies on Eric Richins without his knowledge, with benefits totaling nearly $2 million, prosecutors alleged. —CBS News, 23 Feb. 2026

Goldman Sachs initiates Ethos Technologies as buy Goldman says the online life insurance provider has plenty of upside. —Michael Bloom, CNBC, 23 Feb. 2026

Court records allege Richins owed millions of dollars related to real estate ventures and had taken out multiple life insurance policies on her husband. —Stepheny Price, FOXNews.com, 23 Feb. 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