What does Term Life Insurance Cover?

Term life insurance is life insurance on an individual person that pays out a death benefit to the beneficiary if the insured person dies from an accident or natural causes.

The "Excluded" causes of death are stated in the life insurance policy. For example, suicide is excluded if it happens within 2 years of purchasing the policy (one year in some states).

Upon purchasing the life insurance policy the owner of the policy (which may be the insured) chooses a beneficiary or beneficiaries who would receive the death benefit proceeds from the life insurance policy upon the death of the insured.

In a term life insurance plan you select the "term" which is the duration of your life insurance coverage. Term policies may last for a term of 10, 15, 20 or 30 years.

If the insured person dies during the term while the life insurance coverage is "In Force", the death benefit is paid out.

If the insured person outlives the term of the term life insurance policy, there is no death benefit paid on the policy.

Learn more about term life insurance coverage and how it works.