Accelerated Death Benefit: policy in which a portion of the death benefit (normally 25%) becomes payable to the insured for a specified medical condition prior to death in order to extend the life of the insured. Upon death the beneficiary receives the remainder of the death benefit.

Acceptance: agreement to an offer, in contract law, thus forming a contract. For insurance contracts, the insurer usually acknowledges willingness to underwrite a risk by issuing a policy in exchange for a premium from an applicant.

Additional Insured: person added to a life insurance policy other than the primary insured.

Age Change: the date on which a person becomes one year older. Insurance companies use either age-nearest-birthday or age-last-birthday.

Age limits: the maximum age which an insurance company will underwrite risk or continue to insure it.

Agency: a group of individuals with common management whose goal is to sell insurance.

Amendment: provisions added to the original insurance policy which alters or modifies the original contract.

Application: written statements on a form by a prospective insured about him/herself.

Aviation Exclusion: indicated that coverage does not apply unless the insured is a passenger on a regularly scheduled airline. If the insured is killed while on a private aircraft the beneficiary does not receive the death benefit.

Beneficiary: a person designated by the policy owner to whom the death benefit is paid.

Benefit: the monetary sum paid to the beneficiaries.

Broker: an insurance salesman who searches the marketplace in the interest of clients, not insurance companies.

Brokerage: insurance coverage sold by a broker versus being sold by an agent. This is what ConsumerQuote USA does.

Business Life and Health Insurance: coverage providing funds for maintenance of a business in the event of a key person, owner, or partner.

Commission: fee paid to an insurance salesperson as a percentage of the premium.

Conditional Receipt: evidence of a temporary contract obliging a life or health insurance company to provide coverage as long as a premium accompanies an acceptable application.

Contingent Beneficiary: a person designated by the policy owner to whom the death benefit is paid in the event of both the insured and primary beneficiaries simultaneous death.

Convertible Term Insurance: coverage that can be converted to a permanent life insurance policy regardless of the insured's physical condition and without a medical examination.

Coverage: the amount of living and death benefits.

Date of Issue: date on which an insurance company issues a policy. This may be different from the date the coverage becomes effective.

Death Benefit: the amount payable upon the death of the insured.

Dependant: a person who relies on another for economic support.

Effective Date: date which an insurance policy goes into force.

Evidence of Insurability: documentation of physical fitness by an applicant for insurance, usually taking the form of a medical examination.

Exclusions: a provision in an insurance policy that indicates what is denied coverage.

Extra Percentage Tables: form of substandard ratings which shows additions to standard premiums to reflect physical impairments of applicants.

Face Amount: sum of insurance provided by a policy at death.

Family History: background information used to by underwriting to determine the probability of hereditary disease.

Final Expense Fund: amount of life insurance required to purchase burial, probate, medical, and other costs associated with death.

Fixed Premium: payment for coverage that remains constant throughout the same premium-payment period.

Flat Extra Premium: certain fixed payment made in addition to the regularly scheduled premium.

Guaranteed Renewable: insurance policy renewable at the option of the insured for a specific number of years or until a certain age without a physical examination or evidence of insurability. Nothing can be changed except for the premium rate.

Insurability: a circumstance in which an insurance company can issue life insurance based on the standards set by the company.

Insured: the party covered by an insurance policy.

Insurer: the company offering protection through the sale of an insurance policy.

Issued Business: policies that have been sold to and paid for by the insured, but not yet delivered to the insured.

Joint Life Insurance: coverage of two or more persons with the death benefit payable at the time of the first death.

Level Term Insurance: coverage in which the face amount of a policy does not increase or decrease as long as the policy is in force.

License: legal authority obtained by an insurance company, agent, broker, or consultant which permits them to do business in a particular state.

Life Expectancy: probability of a person living to a specific age based on a mortality table.

Medical Examination: physical checkup required for life and health insurance to determine if the applicant meets the companies underwriting standards. Physicals are administered by medical personnel selected by the insurance company at its expense.

Mode: frequency of premium payment, for example annually, semi-annually, quarterly, or monthly.

Mortality Table: chart showing the rate of death at each age in terms of number of deaths per thousand.

NAIC – Model Life Insurance Solicitation Regulation National Association of Insurance Commissioners: governs the method of selling life insurance to prevent fraud and misrepresentation by agents or insurers.

Net Worth: total assets minus total liabilities.

Nonresident Agent: agent who is licensed and who markets and services insurance policies in a state in which he or she is not domiciled.

Occupational Risk: relationship between the occupation of an insured and the degree of risk involved for the insurance company.

Offer: the insurance application accompanied by the first premium.

Paramedical Examination: medical check of an applicant for life or health insurance by a medical professional who is not a physician.

Personal History: insurance applicant's life and health record, financial standing, driving record, general character, vocation, and habits. These factors are used by the underwriter to determine the risk associated with each case.

Policy Fee: flat amount added to the basic premium rate to reflect the cost of issuing a policy, establishing the required records, sending premium notices, and other related expenses.

Policy Owner: individual or other entity who owns an insurance policy.

Preexisting Condition: illness or disability for which the insured was treated for or advised within the stipulated time period before applying for life insurance.

Pre-authorized Check System (PAC): arrangement where the insured authorizes the insurance company to draft his/her checking account for the premiums due on an insurance policy.

Preferred Risk: an insured or applicant for which the insurance company has a lower risk of incurring a loss than the standard applicant.

Premium: rate that the insured is charged based on the risk and loss associated.

Premium Notice: a message to the policy owner that the premium is due on a specified date.

Rated Policy: statement in which a life insurance applicant is charged a higher premium based on a unique impairment, occupation, or hobby.

Reinstatement: restoration of a policy that has lapsed because of nonpayment of premiums after the grace period has expired.

Reinsurance: a form of insurance that insurance companies buy for their own protection. The insurer reduces the amount of risk by giving a portion of its liability to another insurance company.

Renewable Term Life Insurance: coverage is renewable at the option of the insured, without a physical examination. The premium cannot be increased to reflect any physical condition but will reflect the life expectancy of the insured at that particular age.

Replacement: exchange of a new policy for one that is already in-force.

Rider: endorsements to life insurance policies that provide additional benefits or limit an insurance company's liability for payment of benefits under certain conditions.

Substandard Risk: a person whose physical condition is less than standard or who has a hazardous occupation or hobby.

Standard Risk: one that is regarded by underwriters as normal and insurable at standard rates. Other risk classifications are given credits or debits based on their deviation from the standard.

Suicide Clause: limitation in all life insurance policies stating that no death payment will be made if the insured commits suicide within the first two years that the policy in in-force.

Survivorship Life Insurance: coverage on more than one person that pays a benefit after all of the insureds die.

Term Life Insurance: life insurance that stays in effect for only a specified, limited period. If an insured dies within that period, the beneficiary receives the death benefits. If the insured survives, the policy ends and the beneficiary receives nothing.

Underwriter: an individual who performs underwriting to determine if an applicant is insurable at standard rates, substandard rates, preferred rates, or uninsurable.

Underwriting: process of examining, accepting, or rejecting insurance risks, and classifying those selected, in order to charge the proper amount of premium for each. This spreads the risk among a pool of insureds in manner that is equitable for the insureds and profitable for the insurer.

Waiver of Premium: in life insurance, action by an insurance company canceling premium payments by an insured who has been disabled for at least six months.