life insurance

American

noun

insurance providing for payment of a sum of money to a named beneficiary upon the death of the policyholder or to the policyholder if still living after reaching a specified age.

life insurance British

noun

another name for life assurance

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of life insurance

First recorded in 1800–10

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The health challenges priced him out of the life insurance he wanted.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 7, 2026

Additionally, SpaceX does not maintain key-person life insurance on Elon Musk.

From Barron's • Jun. 5, 2026

“There will be almost no impact on the life insurance industry,” Kett wrote.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 4, 2026

Certain types of cash-value life insurance can also play a role in indirectly reducing or even avoiding some RMDs.

From MarketWatch • Jun. 3, 2026

She is the company’s top life insurance salesperson.

From "In the Time of the Butterflies" by Julia Alvarez

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023