Life insurance (or life assurance , especially in the Commonwealth of Nations ) is a contract between an insurance policy holder and an insurer or assurer , where the insurer promises to pay a designated beneficiary a sum of money upon the death of an insured person. Depending on the contract, other events such as terminal illness or critical illness can also trigger payment. The policyholder typically pays a premium, either regularly or as one lump sum. The benefits may include other expenses, such as funeral expenses.
51-613: Sumitomo Life Insurance Company ( 住友生命保険相互会社 , Sumitomo Seimei Hoken Sōgo-gaisha , Sumisei ) is a mutual life insurance company in Japan , founded in 1907 and headquartered in Osaka . In 2005, the company announced a joint venture with the People's Insurance Company of China . The new company was named PICC Life Insurance, which sells insurance products, including savings-oriented endowment insurance policies. In 2012, Sumitomo Life decided to become
102-414: A cash value up to its date of maturation. The owner can access the money in the cash value by withdrawing money, borrowing the cash value, or surrendering the policy and receiving the surrender value. The three basic types of permanent insurance are whole life , universal life , and endowment . Whole life insurance provides lifetime coverage for a set premium amount. Universal life insurance (ULl)
153-577: A rider . If a rider is purchased, the policy generally pays double the face amount if the insured dies from an accident. This was once called double indemnity insurance . In some cases, triple indemnity coverage may be available. Amicable Society for a Perpetual Assurance Office [REDACTED] Amicable Society for a Perpetual Assurance Office, Serjeants' Inn, Fleet Street, London, 1801 [REDACTED] Amicable Society coat of arms [REDACTED] Fire insurance contract of 1796 Amicable Society for
204-472: A $ 100,000 policy in the competitive US life insurance market. Most of the revenue received by insurance companies consists of premiums, but revenue from investing the premiums forms an important source of profit for most life insurance companies. Group insurance policies are an exception to this. In the United States, life insurance companies are never legally required to provide coverage to everyone, with
255-619: A Perpetual Assurance Office ( a.k.a. Amicable Society ) is considered the first life insurance company in the world. References [ edit ] ^ Anzovin, p. 121. "The first life insurance company known of record was founded in 1706 by the Bishop of Oxford and the financier Thomas Allen in London, England. The company, called the Amicable Society for a Perpetual Assurance Office, collected annual premiums from policyholders and paid
306-425: A baseline for the cost of insurance, but the health and family history of the individual applicant is also taken into account (except in the case of Group policies). This investigation and resulting evaluation is termed underwriting . Health and lifestyle questions are asked, with certain responses possibly meriting further investigation. Specific factors that may be considered by underwriters include: Based on
357-459: A certain age limit. Some policies also pay out in the case of critical illness. Policies are typically traditional with-profits or unit-linked (including those with unitized with-profits funds). Endowments can be cashed in early (or surrendered) and the holder then receives the surrender value which is determined by the insurance company depending on how long the policy has been running and how much has been paid into it. Accidental death insurance
408-463: A life insurance company would have to collect approximately $ 50 a year from each participant to cover the relatively few expected claims. (0.35 to 0.66 expected deaths in each year × $ 100,000 payout per death = $ 35 per policy.) Other costs, such as administrative and sales expenses, also need to be considered when setting the premiums. A 10-year policy for a 25-year-old non-smoking male with preferred medical history may get offers as low as $ 90 per year for
459-405: A loan secured by real property and usually features a level premium amount for a declining policy face value because what is insured is the principal and interest outstanding on a mortgage that is constantly being reduced by mortgage payments. The face amount of the policy is always the amount of the principal and interest outstanding that are paid should the applicant die before the final installment
510-405: A policy is the policy owner, while the insured is the person whose death will trigger payment of the death benefit. The owner and insured may or may not be the same person. For example, if Joe buys a policy on his own life, he is both the owner and the insured. But if Jane, his wife, buys a policy on Joe's life, she is the owner and he is the insured. The policy owner is the guarantor and they will be
561-441: A profit. The cost of insurance is determined using mortality tables calculated by actuaries . Mortality tables are statistically based tables showing expected annual mortality rates of people at different ages. As people are more likely to die as they get older, the mortality tables enable insurance companies to calculate the risk and increase premiums with age accordingly. Such estimates can be important in taxation regulation. In
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#1732855562083612-762: A similar fund in 1769. Between 1787 and 1837 more than two dozen life insurance companies were started, but fewer than half a dozen survived. In the 1870s, military officers banded together to found both the Army ( AAFMAA ) and the Navy Mutual Aid Association (Navy Mutual), inspired by the plight of widows and orphans left stranded in the West after the Battle of the Little Big Horn , and of the families of U.S. sailors who died at sea. The person responsible for making payments for
663-422: A strategic partner of Bao Viet Insurance from Vietnam by acquiring 18% of the company's shares previously held by HSBC . This article on an insurance company is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article about a Japanese corporation- or company-related topic is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Life insurance Life policies are legal contracts and
714-653: Is a relatively new insurance product, intended to combine permanent insurance coverage with greater flexibility in premium payments, along with the potential for greater growth of cash values. There are several types of universal life insurance policies, including interest-sensitive (also known as "traditional fixed universal life insurance"), variable universal life (VUL) , guaranteed death benefit , and has equity-indexed universal life insurance . Universal life insurance policies have cash values. Paid-in premiums increase their cash values; administrative and other costs reduce their cash values. Universal life insurance addresses
765-565: Is a type of limited life insurance that is designed to cover the insured should they die as a result of an accident. "Accidents" run the gamut from abrasions to catastrophes but normally do not include deaths resulting from non-accident-related health problems or suicide. Because they only cover accidents, these policies are much less expensive than other life insurance policies. Such insurance can also be accidental death and dismemberment insurance or AD&D . In an AD&D policy, benefits are available not only for accidental death but also for
816-784: Is any coverage that determines benefits based on actual losses whereas "assurance" is coverage with predetermined benefits irrespective of the losses incurred. Life insurance may be divided into two basic classes: temporary and permanent; or the following subclasses: term, universal, whole life , and endowment life insurance. Term assurance provides life insurance coverage for a specified term (usually 10–30 years). Term life insurance policies do not accumulate cash value, but are significantly less expensive than permanent life insurance policies with equivalent face amounts. Policyholders can save to provide for increased term premiums or decrease insurance needs (by paying off debts or saving to provide for survivor needs). Mortgage life insurance insures
867-439: Is paid. Group life insurance (also known as wholesale life insurance or institutional life insurance ) is term insurance covering a group of people, usually employees of a company, members of a union or association, or members of a pension or superannuation fund. Individual proof of insurability is not normally a consideration in its underwriting. Rather, the underwriter considers the size, turnover, and financial strength of
918-432: Is reserved only for the healthiest individuals in the general population. This may mean, that the proposed insured has no adverse medical history, is not under medication, and has no family history of early-onset cancer , diabetes , or other conditions. Preferred means that the proposed insured is currently under medication and has a family history of particular illnesses. Most people are in the standard category. People in
969-410: Is typically determined at the time the policy is purchased, and it is based on factors such as the policyholder's age, health, and occupation. The death benefit is only payable if the policyholder dies while the policy is in effect. If the policyholder outlives the policy, the death benefit is not paid, and the policy will typically expire. Some policies may allow the policyholder to receive a portion of
1020-487: The asset-management industry, and life insurers have diversified their product offerings into retirement products such as annuities . Life-based contracts tend to fall into two major categories: An early form of life insurance dates to Ancient Rome ; "burial clubs" covered the cost of members' funeral expenses and assisted survivors financially. In 1816, an archeological excavation in Minya, Egypt (under an Eyalet of
1071-716: The Eastern Roman Empire . The earliest known life insurance policy was made in Royal Exchange, London on 18 June 1583. A Richard Martin insured a William Gybbons, paying thirteen merchants 30 pounds for 400 if the insured dies within one year. The first company to offer life insurance in modern times was the Amicable Society for a Perpetual Assurance Office , founded in London in 1706 by William Talbot and Sir Thomas Allen . Each member made an annual payment per share on one to three shares with consideration to age of
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#17328555620831122-677: The Mutual Benefit Life Insurance Company , submitted an article to the Journal of the Institute of Actuaries detailing an historical account of a Severan dynasty -era life table compiled by the Roman jurist Ulpian in approximately 220 AD during the reign of Elagabalus (218–222) that was included in the Digesta seu Pandectae (533) codification ordered by Justinian I (527–565) of
1173-739: The Ottoman Empire ) produced a Nerva–Antonine dynasty -era tablet from the ruins of the Temple of Antinous in Antinoöpolis , Aegyptus that prescribed the rules and membership dues of a burial society collegium established in Lanuvium , Italia in approximately 133 AD during the reign of Hadrian (117–138) of the Roman Empire . In 1851, future U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Joseph P. Bradley (1870–1892), once employed as an actuary for
1224-498: The 1980s and 1990s, the SOA 1975-80 Basic Select & Ultimate tables were the typical reference points, while the 2001 VBT and 2001 CSO tables were published more recently. As well as the basic parameters of age and gender, the newer tables include separate mortality tables for smokers and non-smokers, and the CSO tables include separate tables for preferred classes. The mortality tables provide
1275-493: The CQV for the proceeds), was found liable in court for contributing to the wrongful death of the victim ( Liberty National Life v. Weldon , 267 Ala.171 (1957)). Special exclusions may apply, such as suicide clauses, whereby the policy becomes null and void if the insured dies by suicide within a specified time (usually two years after the purchase date; some states provide a statutory one-year suicide clause). Any misrepresentations by
1326-658: The Directors tried to ensure that policyholders received a fair return on their investments. Premiums were regulated according to age, and anybody could be admitted regardless of their state of health and other circumstances. The sale of life insurance in the U.S. began in the 1760s. The Presbyterian Synods in Philadelphia and New York City created the Corporation for Relief of Poor and Distressed Widows and Children of Presbyterian Ministers in 1759; Episcopalian priests organized
1377-466: The US population male mortality rates of 1.3 per 1,000 at age 25 and 19.3 at age 65 (without regard to health or smoking status). Upon the insured's death, the insurer requires acceptable proof of death before it pays the claim. If the insured's death is suspicious and the policy amount is large, the insurer may investigate the circumstances surrounding the death before deciding whether it has an obligation to pay
1428-482: The above and additional factors, applicants will be placed into one of several classes of health ratings which will determine the premium paid in exchange for insurance at that particular carrier. Life insurance companies in the United States support the Medical Information Bureau (MIB), which is a clearing house of information on persons who have applied for life insurance with participating companies in
1479-439: The agreement of the original beneficiary. In cases where the policy owner is not the insured (also referred to as the celui qui vit or CQV), insurance companies have sought to limit policy purchases to those with an insurable interest in the CQV. For life insurance policies, close family members and business partners will usually be found to have an insurable interest. The insurable interest requirement usually demonstrates that
1530-523: The chief official—the earliest known reference to the position as a business concern. The first modern actuary was William Morgan , who served from 1775 to 1830. In 1776 the Society carried out the first actuarial valuation of liabilities and subsequently distributed the first reversionary bonus (1781) and interim bonus (1809) among its members. It also used regular valuations to balance competing interests. The Society sought to treat its members equitably and
1581-403: The claim. Payment from the policy may be as a lump sum or as an annuity , which is paid in regular installments for either a specified period or for the beneficiary's lifetime . Death benefits are the primary feature of life insurance policies, and they provide a lump sum payment to the beneficiaries of the policyholder in the event of the policyholder's death. The amount of the death benefit
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1632-492: The corporation of the Amicable Society for a perpetual assurance office , Gilbert and Rivington, 1854 Anzovin, Steven, Famous First Facts 2000, item # 2422, H. W. Wilson Company, ISBN 0-8242-0958-3 Baynes, Thomas Spencer, The Encyclopædia Britannica: a dictionary of arts, sciences, and general literature, Volume 13, H.G. Allen, 1888 Price, Richard, Observations on reversionary payments: on schemes for providing annuities for widows, and for persons in old age; on
1683-491: The development of modern life insurance. James Dodson , a mathematician and actuary, tried to establish a new company aimed at correctly offsetting the risks of long-term life assurance policies, after being refused admission to the Amicable Life Assurance Society because of his advanced age. He was unsuccessful in his attempts at procuring a charter from the government . His disciple, Edward Rowe Mores ,
1734-498: The exception of Civil Rights Act compliance requirements. Insurance companies alone determine insurability, and some people are deemed uninsurable. The policy can be declined or rated (increasing the premium amount to compensate for the higher risk), and the amount of the premium will be proportional to the face value of the policy. Many companies separate applicants into four general categories. These categories are preferred best , preferred , standard , and tobacco . Preferred best
1785-427: The group. Contract provisions will attempt to exclude the possibility of adverse selection . Group life insurance often allows members exiting the group to maintain their coverage by buying individual coverage. The underwriting is carried out for the whole group instead of individuals. Permanent life insurance is life insurance that covers the remaining lifetime of the insured. A permanent insurance policy accumulates
1836-410: The insured on the application may also be grounds for nullification. Most US states, for example, specify a maximum contestability period, often no more than two years. Only if the insured dies within this period will the insurer have a legal right to contest the claim on the basis of misrepresentation and request additional information before deciding whether to pay or deny the claim. The face amount of
1887-487: The last seven years. As part of the application, the insurer often requires the applicant's permission to obtain information from their physicians. Automated Life Underwriting is a technology solution which is designed to perform all or some of the screening functions traditionally completed by underwriters, and thus seeks to reduce the work effort, time and data necessary to underwrite a life insurance application. These systems allow point of sale distribution and can shorten
1938-558: The loss of limbs or body functions such as sight and hearing. Accidental death and AD&D policies pay actual benefits only very rarely, either because the cause of death is not covered by the policy or because death occurs well after the accident, by which time the premiums have gone unpaid. Various AD&D policies have different terms and exclusions. Risky activities such as parachuting, flying, professional sports, or military service are often omitted from coverage. Accidental death insurance can also supplement standard life insurance as
1989-436: The members being twelve to fifty-five. At the end of the year a portion of the "amicable contribution" was divided among the wives and children of deceased members, in proportion to the number of shares the heirs owned. The Amicable Society started with 2000 members. The first life table was written by Edmund Halley in 1693, but it was only in the 1750s that the necessary mathematical and statistical tools were in place for
2040-573: The nominees of deceased members from a common fund." ^ Amicable Society company history Archived 2011-07-23 at the Wayback Machine "The Amicable Society was established on July 25, 1706 as the Amicable Society for a Perpetual Assurance Office under a charter of Queen Anne and lays claim to being the first mutual life assurance society established in the world." ^ Baynes, p.180 Sources [ edit ] Amicable Society, The charters, acts of Parliament, and by-laws of
2091-448: The perceived disadvantages of whole life—namely that premiums and death benefits are fixed. With universal life, both the premiums and death benefit are flexible. With the exception of guaranteed-death-benefit universal life policies, universal life policies trade their greater flexibility for fewer guarantees. "Flexible death benefit" means the policy owner can choose to decrease the death benefit. The death benefit can also be increased by
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2142-504: The person to pay for the policy. The insured is a participant in the contract, but not necessarily a party to it. The beneficiary receives policy proceeds upon the insured person's death. The owner designates the beneficiary, but the beneficiary is not a party to the policy. The owner can change the beneficiary unless the policy has an irrevocable beneficiary designation. If a policy has an irrevocable beneficiary, any beneficiary changes, policy assignments, or cash value borrowing would require
2193-440: The policy is the initial amount that the policy will pay at the death of the insured or when the policy matures , although the actual death benefit can provide for greater or lesser than the face amount. The policy matures when the insured dies or reaches a specified age (such as 100 years old). The insurance company calculates the policy prices (premiums) at a level sufficient to fund claims, cover administrative costs, and provide
2244-420: The policy owner, usually requiring new underwriting. Another feature of flexible death benefit is the ability to choose option A or option B death benefits and to change those options over the course of the life of the insured. Option A is often referred to as a "level death benefit"; death benefits remain level for the life of the insured, and premiums are lower than policies with Option B death benefits, which pay
2295-458: The policy's cash value—i.e., a face amount plus earnings/interest. If the cash value grows over time, the death benefits do too. If the cash value declines, the death benefit also declines. Option B policies normally feature higher premiums than option A policies. The endowment policy is a life insurance contract designed to pay a lump sum after a specific term (on its 'maturity') or on death. Typical maturities are ten, fifteen, or twenty years up to
2346-541: The premiums paid if they outlive the policy. The specific uses of the terms "insurance" and "assurance" are sometimes confused. In general, in jurisdictions where both terms are used, "insurance" refers to providing coverage for an event that might happen (fire, theft, flood, etc.), while "assurance" is the provision of coverage for an event that is certain to happen. In the United States, both forms of coverage are called "insurance" for reasons of simplicity in companies selling both products. By some definitions, "insurance"
2397-449: The purchaser will actually suffer some kind of loss if the CQV dies. Such a requirement prevents people from benefiting from the purchase of purely speculative policies on people they expect to die. With no insurable interest requirement, the risk that a purchaser would murder the CQV for insurance proceeds would be great. In at least one case, an insurance company that sold a policy to a purchaser with no insurable interest (who later murdered
2448-526: The terms of each contract describe the limitations of the insured events. Often, specific exclusions written into the contract limit the liability of the insurer; common examples include claims relating to suicide , fraud, war, riot, and civil commotion. Difficulties may arise where an event is not clearly defined, for example, the insured knowingly incurred a risk by consenting to an experimental medical procedure or by taking medication resulting in injury or death. Modern life insurance bears some similarity to
2499-423: The time frame for issuance from weeks or even months to hours or minutes, depending on the amount of insurance being purchased. The mortality of underwritten persons rises much more quickly than the general population. At the end of 10 years, the mortality of that 25-year-old, non-smoking male is 0.66/1000/year. Consequently, in a group of one thousand 25-year-old males with a $ 100,000 policy, all of average health,
2550-407: The tobacco category typically have to pay higher premiums due to higher mortality. Recent US mortality tables predict that roughly 0.35 in 1,000 non-smoking males aged 25 will die during the first year of a policy. Mortality approximately doubles for every additional ten years of age, so the mortality rate in the first year for non-smoking men is about 2.5 in 1,000 people at age 65. Compare this with
2601-467: Was able to establish the Society for Equitable Assurances on Lives and Survivorship in 1762. It was the world's first mutual insurer and it pioneered age based premiums based on mortality rate laying "the framework for scientific insurance practice and development" and "the basis of modern life assurance upon which all life assurance schemes were subsequently based". Mores also gave the name actuary to
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