Glossary

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Death Benefit

The amount payable to the beneficiary upon the death of the insured, or the second of two insureds named in a Survivorship Policy.

Death Benefit Options

Are the options available that vary by policy but may include a range as follows: Option 1 - Level specified amount. Option 2 - Specified amount plus return of cash value. Option 3 - Specified amount plus return of premium.

Declination

Is the rejection of an application for insurance coverage by an insurance company which can occur as a result of the applicant’s health or occupation.

Deductible

Is the amount of loss payable by the policyholder. It can be either a specified dollar amount, a percentage of the claim amount, or a specified amount of time that must have elapsed before benefits are paid. The simple rule being, the larger the deductible, the lower the premium charge for the same coverage.

Default Component

Is the part of the Asset Valuation Reserve which protects against future credit related losses.

Deferred Annuity

Is a contract in which annuity payouts begin at a pre-determined future date.

Deferred Compensation Plan

Is a plan which enables an employer to provide income, through policy values, to key executives, typically supplementing other retirement plans.

Deferred Group Annuity

Is a group annuity that provides for the purchase each year of a paid-up deferred annuity for each individual group member. The total sum of these deferred annuities will be received by the member upon retirement.

Defined Benefit Plan

Is a pension plan that specifies the benefits an employee will receive upon retirement. The benefit provisions take length of service and salary into consideration and are typically funded by the employer on behalf of the plan participants.

Defined Contribution Plan

Is a pension plan into which a specified amount of money is set aside each year by an employee and, in many cases, a company for the benefit of the employee. These funds accumulate until the retirement of each participant, when they are distributed as a lump sum or monthly annuity. Benefits are calculated based on the amount of contributions plus earnings.

Deposit Administration Group Annuity

Is a pension plan in which contributions paid by an employer are deposited to accumulate interest. The undivided fund is used to purchase annuities as each individual member of the group retires.

Deposit Term Insurance

Is a policy in which the first year’s premium is larger than subsequent premiums, due to the fact that an additional one-off deposit premium is also paid at the outset. A partial endowment is typically paid at the end of the term period. In many cases, the partial endowment can be applied toward the purchase of a new term or whole life policy. A deposit term policy can also be converted to an ordinary life or decreasing term life insurance, without the insured having to furnish evidence of insurability.

Deposit-Type Contracts

Are contracts that do not provide coverage for mortality or morbidity risks.

Directly Invested Plan

Disability Benefit

Is the benefit paid under a disability income insurance policy. It can also be a feature added to life insurance policies that provides for waiver of premium, and occasionally the payment of monthly income, should the policyholder become permanently disabled.

Disability Income Insurance

Is an insurance contract that can provide periodic payments, or in some instances, a lump-sum payment, which would be based on the insured’s income replacement requirements, if an insured is unable to work due to illness or injury.

Dividend

Is an amount of money re-paid to the owner of a participating life insurance policy. The money is generated when results from actual mortality, interest, and expenses turn out more favorable than originally expected when the premiums were set. The amount of any dividend is set by the insurer, based on the insurer’s standards.

Dividend Addition

Is an amount of Paid-Up Insurance that is purchased with a policy dividend and subsequently added to the policy’s face amount.

Dollar Cost Averaging (DCA)

Is an optional program that enables a policy owner to systematically reallocate specified dollar amounts from fixed or money market accounts to variable accounts at regular intervals. As a result of allocating on a regularly scheduled basis, as opposed to reallocating the total amount at one particular time when a unit price might be high, there is an improvement in average cost (per unit) for the client.

Double Indemnity Rider

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