The words they use, in plain English.

A tax-free swap of one life policy or annuity for another under IRC Section 1035 — legitimate and useful, but frequently abused to justify needless churning.

A rider that lets you collect part of your own death benefit early if you become terminally or chronically ill — often included at no extra premium.

Data-driven approval that skips the medical exam for healthy applicants, using prescription, MIB, and third-party records to price you in days or minutes.

An insurance contract to grow money tax-deferred or turn a lump sum into income — often wrapped in steep surrender charges, and not the same thing as life insurance.

Selling a policy on a rosy, non-guaranteed projection the contract never actually promises — then letting the guaranteed reality quietly emerge years later.

The person or entity that receives the death benefit when you die. Primary gets it first; contingent is the backup — and it must be kept current after life changes.

The classic counter-strategy to permanent insurance: buy cheap term life for protection and invest the premium savings separately, rather than in the policy.

The maximum interest rate an indexed policy will credit in a given period, no matter how far the underlying index actually climbs.

A captive agent sells one company's products; an independent agent can shop multiple carriers — a difference that shapes whose interests the recommendation really serves.

The savings bucket inside a permanent policy that grows over time — but in most designs it is NOT paid on top of the death benefit; the insurer keeps it at death.

Needlessly replacing a working life insurance policy to generate a fresh commission — churning is within the same insurer, twisting is switching companies.

The first ~2 years after a policy starts, when the insurer can investigate a claim and deny it if the application contained a material misrepresentation.

The monthly charge a carrier pulls out of your policy's cash value to pay for the actual death-benefit protection — and it climbs every year as you age.

The amount an insurer pays your beneficiary when you die — the whole point of the policy. Also called the face amount, and it's usually income-tax-free.

A non-guaranteed refund of the year's overcharge on a participating whole life policy — often used to buy paid-up additions that compound the policy's value.

Small permanent whole life sold to cover burial costs — easy to qualify for, but very expensive per $1,000 and often sold with a two-year graded benefit.

A deferred annuity whose interest is tied to a market index through caps and participation rates, with a floor of zero and a long surrender schedule.

The guaranteed minimum interest an indexed policy will credit in a bad year — usually 0% — the one part of the 'no market losses' pitch that's actually true.

A 10–30 day window after a new policy is delivered during which you can cancel for a full refund of premiums — no penalty, no reason required.

The roughly 30-day window after a missed premium during which your coverage stays in force before the policy lapses — and a claim is still payable.

A rider that lets you buy more life insurance later at preset dates without a new medical exam — valuable if your health might decline before you need the coverage.

Life insurance with no health questions and guaranteed approval — but expensive, small, and usually saddled with a 2–3 year graded death benefit.

Universal life priced for a lifetime no-lapse guarantee with little or no cash value — effectively permanent term insurance to age 100 or beyond.

The split in every permanent-policy illustration between what the carrier is contractually bound to deliver and what it merely hopes to — only one side is a promise.

The multi-page projection of a policy's future values, split into guaranteed and non-guaranteed columns — the single most important document in the sale.

A permanent life policy whose cash value earns interest tied to a stock index — capped on the upside, floored at zero, and loaded with costs that rise as you age.

A sales concept that pitches a high-cash-value whole life policy as a personal bank you borrow against — real in mechanics, heavily oversold in the marketing.

When a policy terminates because premiums stopped or the cash value ran dry — ending coverage, often at the worst possible time and with nothing paid out.

A rider that lets you draw on your life insurance death benefit to pay for long-term care — a hybrid product whose value hinges on the exact trigger definitions.

An industry-shared database of coded information from prior insurance applications that carriers check during underwriting — which is why lying on an application fails.

A life policy funded so fast it fails an IRS test and loses its tax advantages — withdrawals and loans become taxable, with a penalty before age 59½.

The coordinating body of state insurance regulators — it writes influential model laws but is NOT a federal agency and has no direct authority over insurers.

The death benefit minus the cash value — the insurer's own exposure, and the exact base the monthly cost of insurance is charged on.

What you keep if you stop paying a cash-value policy: take the cash surrender value, or convert it to reduced paid-up or extended-term coverage.

Small chunks of fully paid-up whole life insurance bought with dividends or extra deposits — they compound both cash value and death benefit over time.

The percentage of an index's gain your indexed policy actually credits before the cap is applied — another dial the carrier controls.

Borrowing against your permanent policy's cash value. It accrues interest and, if unpaid at death, reduces the death benefit your beneficiary receives dollar for dollar.

Swapping one life insurance policy for another — sometimes a genuine upgrade, often a commission-driven move that quietly costs you charges and protections.

What you pay — monthly or annually — to keep coverage in force. Can be level or flexible, and stopping it can cost you the policy after a short grace period.

The health tier an insurer assigns you — Preferred Plus, Preferred, Standard, or substandard — that sets your price. Small class gaps mean big premium swings.

Restoring a lapsed policy to active status by paying back premiums with interest and re-proving insurability — which restarts the contestability clock.

A term-life feature that refunds your premiums if you outlive the term — for a price that's far higher than plain term plus investing the difference.

An optional add-on that changes what your life insurance policy covers or costs — some are genuinely valuable protections, others are pure commission padding.

Coverage approved on a few yes/no health questions with no medical exam — faster than fully underwritten, but priced higher for skipping the labs.

The state-run safety net that pays covered claims — up to statutory limits — if a life insurer becomes insolvent, funded by assessments on other insurers.

A standard provision excluding death by suicide from the death benefit for the first two years — after which suicide is covered like any other cause of death.

A penalty the carrier subtracts if you cash out or pull too much from a policy or annuity in its early years, on a multi-year declining schedule.

A health surcharge for higher-risk applicants: each numbered or lettered table adds roughly 25% to the Standard premium, stacking fast for serious conditions.

The benchmark premium level on a universal life or IUL policy that sets the agent's first-year commission — the hidden reason behind a lot of sales pressure.

The federal law governing marketing calls and texts — it requires 'prior express written consent' for automated outreach and ties directly to how insurance leads are sold.

Pure life insurance for a set number of years — the most coverage per dollar, with no cash value and nothing back if you outlive the term.

The process an insurer uses to assess how risky you are to insure — pulling your health, records, and data — then setting your price and rate class.

Permanent life insurance with flexible premiums, where your cash value must keep covering a cost of insurance that rises every year — or the policy lapses.

A pitch that your premiums will 'disappear' after a few years as the policy's own values pay them for you — based on projections the insurer never guaranteed.

Universal life whose cash value is invested in market subaccounts — real upside, real losses, and layered fees stacked on top of a rising cost of insurance.

A rider that makes the insurer pay your premiums for you if you become totally disabled and can't work — keeping the policy in force while your income stops.

Permanent life insurance with a guaranteed level premium, a guaranteed cash value, and — if the policy is participating — non-guaranteed dividends.