ACCELERATED DEATH BENEFIT If the owner of an insurance policy becomes terminally ill (defined by the individual policy) an insurance company may grant the right of the policy owner to receive a percentage of the face amount of the policy.

ACCIDENTAL DEATH BENEFIT Sometimes referred to as double indemnity, this benefit will pay an additional amount if the insured's death occurs as the result of an accident.

ACTUAL CASH VALUE When a property owner places a claim for insurance the Actual Cash Value is determined by the cost to replace with like property (or comparable property) less depreciation.

AGENT A person who sells insurance. In the State of Florida they must be registered with the Florida Department of Financial Services.

ANNUITY A type of a life insurance policy that pays an amount at regular intervals to the person who is insured. There are several types of annuities which offer different options to the insured.

ARBITRATION A beneficiary of an insurance claim agrees to settle a dispute with an insurance company by agreeing to a third parties decision.

BENEFICIARY A beneficiary is the person (or entity) that is eligible to receive benefits from an insurance policy.

CANCELABLE An insurance contract that an insurance company (or the insured person) may cancel at any time. Certain life policies cannot be cancelled by the insurer.

CARRIER The insurance company who sells the policy is generally referred to as the insurance carrier.

CASH SURRENDER VALUE The amount that the insurance company will pay in the event the insured cancels their policy (not that this is not generally the same as the face value of the policy).

CONDITIONAL RECEIPT This refers to specific items the insured must satisfy before the insurance company will agree to accept the applicant for coverage.

COVERAGE The amount of protection provided to the insured.

DECREASING TERM POLICY Generally done as mortgage protection insurance, this refers to insurance that decreases annually (though it may decrease monthly) on a given schedule.

DEFERRED ANNUITY When payments on an annuity are designated to start at a date in the future they are considered deferred annuities.

ENDORSEMENT A form attached to the policy which may change the terms of the policy under specific conditions.

ENDOWMENT INSURANCE A form of insurance whereas if the insured is still alive at the end of a specific period of time, or if the insured is deceased it would be paid to the beneficiary.

FACE AMOUNT The death benefit which is stated on the first page of the policy.

FEE The price for professional services.

GRACE PERIOD The period of time which your policy may remain in effect if your premium is not paid on time. This can rage from ten (10) to thirty-one (31) days.

GUARANTEED INSURABILITY RIDER (GIR) Allows the insured specified ability to purchase additional insurance at specific times without providing additional medical information.

INSTALLMENT REFUND ANNUITY The insured is guaranteed that if they die before receiving payments in the full amount of what they invested, the insurance company will pay the difference to the beneficiary in installments.

INSURANCE POLICY The contract between the insurance company and the insured - this is the complete contract.

INSURED The person (or entity) who the insurance company has agreed is entitled to their services (or benefits)

JOINT LIFE POLICY A policy which pays a death benefit to one of two insured. Some pay on the death of the first and others on the death of the second.

KEY MAN INSURANCE A policy that is taken out on an employee of a company who is crucial to that companies success and is payable to the employer.

LAPSE When the policy expires due to a lack of premiums being paid.

LEVEL PREMIUM INSURANCE When the premium paid is the same from the beginning to the end of the policy it is considered level premium.

LIFE INSURANCE A contract between a life insurance and insured persons guaranteeing benefits to a beneficiary in the event of death (may also in some cases be paid to the insured in the event of disability or catastrophic illness).

MATURITY When the face amount of the policy is due.

MORTALITY DEATH TABLE A chart that is used to show death at various ages.

NON FORFEITURE VALUE Values in a policy that are guaranteed even if premiums are not being paid.

ORDINARY LIFE Whole Life Insurance that the insured pays for as long as they are alive (also known as straight life).

PAID UP Some policies allow the insured to pay for insurance for a specified period of time (10 years or more) and this ends the premium payments. The policy does however continue for the rest of the insured's life.

POLICY DIVIDEND If the premium charged to an insured and the insurance company does not incur the same amount in expenses they may pay a policy dividend back to the insured.

POLICY HOLDER The person who has physical possession of an insurance policy.

POLICY OWNER The person (not always the insured) who makes all the decisions about the policy.

PREMIUM The fee that an insured pays to an insurance company in return for coverage.

RIDER A document that is attached to an initial policy which may modify certain conditions of the insurance policy (excludes conditions, decreases benefits under certain terms, etc.)

TERM The time that an insurance policy is issued for.

UNDERWRITER The person who determines risk, rates and coverage. An underwriter must be specifically trained.

WHOLE LIFE Policies that cover the insured for their entire life of a person.

When searching online for insurance, make sure you understand all of your options before you begin obtaining quotes. Most often, Term Life Insurance is the most affordable option for families. Many Term Life policies may also be purchased with a rider that would allow the policy to be converted at some point to a whole life policy.

Term Life insurance is often the one that is selected by families for things such as covering mortgage obligations, college tuition obligations, etc., in the event of the death of a head of household. When purchasing a Term Life Insurance policy, it is critical that you determine what needs are going to need to be met in the event of death.

Universal Life is a type of life insurance based on a cash value. The policy is established with the insurer where premium payments above the cost of insurance are credited to the cash value. The potential advantage of the universal life policy is in its flexibility and the potential for greater cash value growth if the interest rates offered outperform the insurer's general account (that whole life policy cash value growth is based on).

Universal life is more flexible than whole life in two primary ways: the death benefit and usually the premium payment are flexible. The primary difference is that the universal life policy shifts some of the risk for maintaining the death benefit to the insured.

There are several ways to categorize annuities, and any one annuity may fit into several categories.

Immediate Annuities

With an immediate annuity, you pay a single premium and immediately start receiving payments at the end of each payment period, which is usually monthly or annually.

Deferred Annuities

When purchasing a deferred annuity, you pay one or more premiums over what is often called the accumulation period. The premiums you pay and the interest credited to the premiums goes into a fund called an accumulation fund. There may be a minimum guaranteed interest at which your money will accumulate during the accumulation period.

Fixed Annuities

Fixed annuities provide a fixed-dollar income payments backed by the guarantees in the contract. You cannot lose your investment once your income payments begin. The amount of those payments will not change.

Equity Indexed Annuities

May be either immediate or deferred, and earn interest or provide benefits that are linked to an external equity index, such as Standard and Poor's 500 Composite Stock Price Index.

Variable Annuities

These investments are securities, which tend to fluctuate with economic conditions. The value of a variable annuity depends upon the value of the underlying investment portfolios associated with the annuity you can lose your investment.

Important note: No information provided on this page is intended to be financial advise. Please speak with your insurance representative to discuss the options that are available to you.

Term insurance, or a "term policy," involves coverage purchased for a specific period of time. A term policy pays a death benefit only if the policyholder dies within the time period for which the policy is written and premiums are paid.

Key Characteristics of Term Life Insurance:

*Provides more life insurance coverage for your premium dollar in the early years

*Pays benefits only if the insured dies during the coverage period

*Does not usually accumulate cash value

*Is suitable for large amounts of coverage for specific periods (i.e. 1, 5, 10 or 20 years, etc.) or to age 60 or 65

Useful for:

*Parents of young children

*People with large financial obligations

*Home buyers