The policyholder is the one who proposes the purchase of the life insurance policy and pays the premium. The policyholder is the owner of the policy, and he/she may or may not be the life assured.

Life assured is the insured person. Life assured is the one for whom the life insurance plan is purchased to cover the risk of untimely death.

‘Sum Assured’ is the term used for an amount that the insurer agrees to pay on death of the insured person or occurrence of any other insured event.

The sum assured is the amount that the life insurance company will pay to the beneficiary if the insured person dies during the policy tenure.

The sum assured is chosen by the policyholder at the time of purchase.

The ‘beneficiary’ is the person nominated by the policyholder to whom the sum assured, and other benefits will be paid by the life insurance company in case of an unfortunate eventuality. The beneficiary could be the wife, child, parents, etc.

The ‘policy tenure’ is the duration for which the policy provides life insurance coverage. The policy tenure can be any period ranging from 1 year to 100 years or whole life, depending on the types of life insurance plan and its terms and conditions.

Maturity benefit is the amount that the life insurance company pays when the life assured outlives the policy term.

At the end of the premium-paying term, the policy will pay you equal annual maturity benefits for 4 or 8 years, as selected by you.

Maturity benefits comprise of the full sum assured plus maturity bonuses.

The first maturity benefit will be paid at the end of the premium-paying term, and on the subsequent policy anniversaries thereafter. Once the payment of the maturity benefits begins, the policy cannot be cancelled or modified.

The premium is the amount you pay to keep the life insurance plan active and enjoy continued coverage. If you are unable to pay the premium before the payment due date and even during the grace period, the policy terminates.

You can pay the life insurance premium as per your convenience.

Regular Premium Payment - You can pay premium regularly throughout the policy term either – monthly, quarterly, half-yearly or yearly.

Riders are an additional paid-up feature to widen up the scope of the base life insurance policy.

The ‘Death Benefit’ is what life insurance company pays to the beneficiary in case the life assured dies during the policy term.

It is applicable to all new life insurance policies purchased. Free-look period is a time frame during which one may choose to return the purchased policy.

If you are not comfortable with the terms and conditions, you can return the policy within the Free-look period. The insurance company after deducting the expenses incurred on medical examination, stamp duty charges and other charges will refund the remaining premium. IRA specifies free-look period in life insurance is 30 days after receiving the policy document.

If you couldn’t pay the renewal premium for your policy on time, life insurance company gives you an extension in the number of days after the premium payment due date. A ‘Grace Period’ can be period of 15 days in case of monthly premium payment mode, and 30 days in case of annual premium payment mode.

If the policyholder does not pay the premiums even before the end of grace period, the policy lapses.