Definition of "Tontine"
Early life insurance that provided benefits only to survivors who lived to the end of a certain period of time. In the mid-17th century, Lorenzo Tonti, an Italian, devised a scheme to raise money for the French government of Louis XIV. It involved a state lottery in which the oldest survivor would collect the pot. One woman, age 96, hit the jackpot shortly before her death. Tontine policies were introduced in the U.S. in the 1860s, but condemned in the Armstrong investigation in 1905 in New York State and subsequently outlawed everywhere 45 years later.
Popular Insurance Terms
Assumption of total disability when an insured loses sight, hearing, speech, or a limb. When such a loss occurs to an insured with disability income insurance, the insurer often assumes ...
Deductible amount between a basic health insurance plan and major medical insurance. ...
Same as term Tabular Plans: retrospective rating system with basic, minimum, and maximum premium rates listed in manual tables. Calculation of an individual premium involves adjusting the ...
Form showing notification that an insurance policy has been renewed with the same provisions, clauses, and benefits of the previous policy. ...
Upper limit on the maximum possible interest rate an insurance company will pay. If the market interest rates are below that maximum, the insurance company pays the market interest rate. In ...
Replacement car or additional car as used in the personal automobile policy. ...
Minimum degree of injury or loss for which an injured party can sue, even though covered by no fault automobile insurance. Traditionally, an accident victim had to prove the other driver ...
Element usually found in industrial life insurance policies under which the insurance company upon the death of the insured under certain conditions is allowed to choose the beneficiary if ...
Type of grantor-retained income trust (grit) in which the grantor retains the right to the assets of the trust should he or she die before the term of the trust expires. ...
Have a question or comment?
We're here to help.