Glossary

Accident insurance covers for death, injuries, permanent/temporary disability and loss of income arise due to unexpected accidents during the benefit period. Specified benefits will be paid according to the policy coverage.

Agent is a person who arranges an agreement on behalf of his insurer with the third party.

Annuity is an insurance plan that offers payouts to the insured, mainly used as retirement fund. The insured receives regular payments as he/she lives or during a specific period from the insurance company. The main characteristic of annuity is the provision of certain financial protection after retirement.

Beneficiary is the person or party to receive the policy benefit if the event insured against occurs. If no beneficiary is specified in the policy, the proceeds payable on the death of the insured will be treated as the estate of the insured.

The amount payable to the policyholder should he decide to surrender the policy.

You have the right to cancel the policy within the cooling-off period and obtain a refund of any premiums and premium levy (if any) paid provided that no claim has been made under it. You must submit a written notice signed by you to China Life (Overseas) at 22/F, CLI Building, 313 Hennessy Road, Wan Chai, Hong Kong within 21 calendar days after the delivery of the policy or Notice of policy Issuance (telling you about the availability of the policy and the expiry date of the cooling-off period) to you or your representative, whichever is earlier.

Critical illness insurance provide a lump sum when the insured is diagnosed of any of the critical illnesses listed in the benefit provision while it is still in effective.

Dividend comes from the share of divisible surplus (if any) and is determined by the insurance company every year and is declared on each policy anniversary. The amount of each dividend depends on the overall performance of the company such as investment performance, and the dividend is not guaranteed. Policyholders may choose to leave the dividend on deposit with the company for interest, withdraw the dividend, use the dividend to offset future premiums or purchase a paid-up insurance.

An addition to an original insurance policy that becomes a part of the insurance contract. Its main purpose is to expand or limit the benefits payable.

Endowment life insurance bears a fixed period during which death cover is in effect. In the event of death, the beneficiary will receive the insured sum plus accumulated dividends (if any) from the insurance company. If the insured is alive when the policy matures, the policyholder will receive maturity benefits from the insurance company.

Health insurance indemnifies the insured for medical expenses incurred in the event of accident, or sickness after the waiting period while the policy is in force. Expenses are reimbursed for actual expenses incurred, and/or daily cash is paid to the insured while he/she is hospitalized, depending on the protection selected.

The interest an insurance policyholder has in the risk that is insured. The owner of a life insurance policy has an insurable interest in the insured when (1) the policyholder is likely to benefit if the insured continues to live and; (2) is likely to suffer some loss or detriment if the insured dies.

Insurance provision is the part of the policy defining the rights and obligations of each party of the policy contract. It comprises of the basic plan provision and rider benefit provision.

Policyholder is a company or organization carrying on insurance business. It has the right to receive premium once an insurance contract is established and the obligation to assume any liabilities in accordance to the risks it has underwritten.

With life insurance, benefits are payable when prescribed living or death event occurs. In general, life insurance can be divided into 4 categories: whole life insurance, endowment life insurance, term life insurance and annuity insurance.

A written document that contains the terms of the contractual agreement between an insurance company and the owner of the policy. A complete policy usually comprises of insurance provisions, application form, health declarations, medical reports, any endorsements or related documents.

The person or business that owns an insurance policy.

Term life insurance provides pure life coverage during a fixed period without savings, dividends or investment elements. In the event of death while the policy is in effect, the beneficiary will receive the insured sum from the insurance company. Since term life insurance does not have any cash value, it has the lowest premium among three types of life insurances. When the policy expires, there is no mature benefit payable as the plan has no savings element. Mortgage insurance is a kind of term life insurance whereby the insured sum decreases as the amount of outstanding mortgage decreases.

Waiver of Premium Benefit is a supplementary benefit to an insurance policy, waiving premiums otherwise payable while the insured is totally disabled, keeping the insurance in force.

Whole life insurance covers the insured till the age of 100. It provides a life-long protection with savings element. Throughout the covered period, premium payable remains unchanged. Apart from cash value, participating policy also provides dividends distributed annually by the insurance company. Accumulated dividends can be withdrawn any time. In the event of an unfortunate death of the insured, the insurance company will pay to the Beneficiary the sum assured and accumulated dividends (if any).