Life Insurance is a contract of assurance to make payment of the insured amount, upon the death of the assured or at maturity of the policy, whichever is earlier.
The various types of insurance in practice in US are classified in accordance to the risks covered. In case of life insurance, the parties involved are:-
The owner of the policy, who enjoys the power to name and/or change the beneficiary
The cestui que vie, or the person whose life is the subject matter of the policy
The beneficiaries
Life insurance, again, can be classified under the following categories:-
Whole – Life Insurance
Term Life Insurance
Endowment Life Insurance
Industrial Life Insurance
Mutual Life Insurance
Group Life Insurance
Straight Life Insurance
Limited Payment Life Insurance
Single Premium Life Insurance
It can be mentioned here that Straight Life Insurance, Limited Payment Life Insurance and Single Premium Life Insurance are all specialized and specified cases of Whole – Life Insurance.