Split Dollar Life Insurance
Definition of "Split dollar life insurance"
Policy in which premiums, ownership rights, and death proceeds are split between an employer and an employee, or between a parent and a child. The employer pays the part of each year's premium that at least equals the increase in the cash value. The employee may pay the remainder of the premium, or the employer may pay the entire premium. When the increase in cash value equals or exceeds the yearly premium, the employer pays the entire premium. If the employee dies while in the service of the employer, a beneficiary chosen by the employee receives the difference between the face value and the amount paid to the employer (the cash value or the total of all premiums paid by the employer- whichever is greater). Thus, during employment, the employee's share of the death benefit decreases. If the employee leaves the employer, the latter has the option of surrendering the policy in exchange for return of all premiums, or selling the policy to the employee for the amount of its cash value. There are two types of split dollar life insurance policies: Endorsement-the employer owns all policy privileges; the employee's only rights are to choose beneficiaries and to select the manner in which the death benefit is paid. Collateral-the employee owns the policy. The employer's contributions toward the premiums are viewed as a series of interest-free loans, which equal the yearly increase in the cash value of the policy. The employee assigns the policy to the employer as collateral for these loans. When the employee dies, the loans are paid from the face value of the policy. Any remaining proceeds are paid to the beneficiary.
Popular Insurance Terms
Computer system established by London trade associations for processing insurance policies. The work of LIMNET involves the notification and settlement of insurance policy claims. ...
Statistical function that displays the probability of determining a stated number of successes in a series of trials in which the probability of success is the same in each trial. In ...
Life insurance policy clause. If at the end of the grace period the premium due has not been paid, a policy loan will automatically be made from the policy's cash value to pay the premium. ...
Component of necessary coverage determined by the "needs approach" to life insurance for a family. It is intended to cover last-minute expenses as well as those that surface after the death ...
Plan whereby adjustments are made in the premium, as the premium increases to reflect the non proportionate increases in expenses. Generally, the expenses of acquisition costs, ...
Coverage under which initial premiums are less than normal for the first few years, then gradually increase for the next several years until they become level for the duration of the policy. ...
Statement in which a life insurance applicant is charged a higher-than-standard premium to reflect a unique impairment, occupation, or hobby, such as a history of heart disease or a circus ...
Type of coverage of property owned by one person at several locations, including merchandise, materials, fixtures, furniture, specified machinery, betterments, and improvements made by ...
Actuarial equivalent method of calculating the premium rate through the development of the following equation: probability that the event insured against occurs x face amount of policy x ...
Have a question or comment?
We're here to help.