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
Written statement by an insurance company attesting to the powers it has vested in an agent. ...
Trust established under the auspices of the Internal Revenue Code that permits the maintenance of a separate account within the employer's defined benefit pension plan from which to pay the ...
Increase or decrease in the surrender charge of the life insurance policy or annuity contract depending on the current financial markets. The cash value is adjusted upward if the policy ...
Rule adopted by the financial accounting standards board that requires that obligations owed to re-insurers under multiyear insurance contracts must be reported as liabilities by the ceding ...
Person who engages an agent or broker for advice and possible purchase of insurance. ...
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Rate of increase in asset value. ...
Time during which an assessment life insurance company has the right to assess policyholders if losses are worse than anticipated in the premium charged. ...
Physical contact of an automobile with another inanimate object resulting in damage to the insured car. Insurance coverage is available to provide protection against this occurrence. ...
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