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
Legislation that provides support for legal actions against individuals or organizations involved in systematic illegal activities. This act has been applied against insurance organizations ...
Investments made in a variety of securities issued by government agencies. ...
Approved or accepted policy for a particular type of risk. The only type of risk covered by a standard form mandated by law is the fire policy. In 1886, New York adopted a standard fire ...
Transfer of high severity risks through the insurance contract to protect against catastrophic occurrences. While insurance is generally not the most cost-effective means of recovery of ...
Option under a participating life insurance policy in which dividends are left on deposit with the company to accumulate at a specified interest rate. If this option is chosen, it is ...
Nominal interest rate minus the rate of inflation. ...
Provides the same coverage as a comprehensive personal liability insurance policy, plus coverage to exposures that are peculiar to farms, such as farm business operations, farm employees ...
Flow of funds out of one financial instrument, whose interest rates are low, into another financial instrument, whose interest rates are higher. In the early 1980s, insurance companies ...
Same as term Fixed Dollar Annuity: annuity that guarantees that a specific sum of money will be paid in the future, usually as monthly income, to an annuitant. For example, a $1000-a-month ...

Have a question or comment?
We're here to help.