Whole Life Assurance.—If the term is used without qualifica tion, the sum insured is payable at death, and the premiums throughout life.
Whole Life Assurance by Limited Payments.—The sum in sured is payable at death, and premiums cease at death or at the end of an agreed period.
Endowment Assurance.—The sum insured is payable at death or at the end of a fixed period, when premiums cease.
Double Endowment Assurance.—As above, except that the sum payable on survival of the agreed period is double that payable on death.
Joint Life Assurance.—The sum insured is payable when the first death arises out of a group of two or more persons. Effected by partners in a business to provide a fund on the death of either of them.
Term Assurance.—The sum insured is payable only if death arises within a period agreed upon. School fees policies are term assurances for sums payable annually until the expiry of a certain period, corresponding to that of a child's education.
Options.—A term assurance premium may be increased so as to allow the insured to continue the policy at the end of a certain period as a whole life or endowment assurance at normal rates, whatever may then be his or her state of health.
Deferred Assurance.—Children's lives may not be insured except for small sums under industrial policies. A deferred assurance policy may, however, be effected under which premiums are returnable in the event of the child's death before age 21, and which the child can continue after 21 as a whole life or endowment assurance, irrespective of health.
Group Assurance.—Insurance for a certain sum on the life of each member of a group of employees, usually term assurance renewable yearly, the sum insured often being one year's wages.
Certain special benefits are sometimes offered concurrently with life insurance. Disability benefit involves the suspension of premium payments during permanent disability, and in its most developed form, the payment in addition of a monthly sum to the insured, usually 1% of the sum insured, without prejudice to the ultimate payment of the sum insured in full. Free medical
overhaul at intervals and financial assistance towards surgical treatment are further examples of special benefits offered by cer tain offices.
Pure endowments, payable on survival over a certain period, are not strictly life insurance, but the granting of these forms part of a life insurance company's business.
Proprietary life insurance institutions are nominally controlled by shareholders, who, however, only receive as a rule about 5% to io% of the profits, the remainder going to the participating policy-holders.
Composite offices are those which transact more than one kind of insurance; they are, as a rule, proprietary.
Breslau Table.—Used by the Equitable society for its first pre mium tables.
Northampton Table.—Based on deaths in Northampton, 80. Constructed on unsound basis, but erring on the safe side when issued in connection with insurance contracts. The standard table till 1815.
Carlisle Table.—Based on census and death records in two par ishes of Carlisle, 1779-87. The standard table till 1872, and used after that for valuing reversions, etc.
Seventeen Offices Table.—Constructed in 1838 from the expe rience of insured lives, but used more in America than Great Britain.
H. (Healthy Males) Table.—Based on experience of insured lives till 1863. The standard British table for 3o years from 1872.
Om. Males) Table.—Based on experience of insured lives 1863-93. The standard table from i9o3 onwards.
American Experience Table.—Published in 1867. Adopted as standard in several States of the U.S.A.