Having trouble with life insurance terms? Help is at hand!

When a professional comes from a life insurance company to sell an annuity, the customer is often left perplexed. They don't talk in simple terms like "life insurance rate", "life insurance settlement" or "life insurance policy," and tend to use jargon that leaves the customer spinning. While selling annuity and life insurance plans, these life insurance agents mention so many concepts such as: accumulated value, risk amount, beneficiary, right of reservation and the like that the customer is left wondering whether they are buying term life insurance or attending a complex life insurance lecture.

Understanding the various terms that are used is as important as getting a life insurance itself because it is part of your overall retirement planning. This is true irrespective of whether you are looking for term life insurance, whole life insurance or long-term care insurance. A financial consultant should be able to help you with these concepts, and can help you to appropriately deal with the agent who comes to sell you an annuity.

Let us look at some of the common terms used in life insurance:

Accumulated value - This is a total of all the life insurance premiums and the accrued interest that has been added to your account. The accumulated value is the amount before deductions like expenses or loans.

Accelerated death benefit - This is a life insurance policy that is offers all the proceeds of the investment if the insured faces a terminally ill health condition.

Accrual taxation - This is a type of tax that necessitates the insured to pay federal tax after certain period of the life insurance policy.

Amount at risk - This is the cash value minus the face amount in a whole life insurance.

Attained age - This is the number of years that you have already completed.

Beneficiary - A beneficiary is the person who will get the annuity or the lump sum amount equal to the life insurance cover.

Cash surrender value - The cash surrender value is the amount that an insured receives if the life insurance policy is cancelled.

Cash value - The cash value is an amount that is provided in case of a lapse in life insurance policy.

Commutation rights - These are rights that belong to the beneficiary who can convert the life insurance cover into an annuity or a full payment.

Contingent beneficiary - This is the person who will get the life insurance annuity or the full payment if the primary beneficiary is also no longer alive.

Death benefit - This is the amount that the legal heirs of the insured pay if he looses his life.

Declaration - This is a portion of the life insurance document that states the personal details of the insured. These include name, features, address, policy period, life insurance benefits, life insurance settlement terms and conditions and related information.

Economic loss -This is the money used in the expenditure of property damage, funeral expenses, wages lost and medical and hospital billings.

Elimination period - This term is used to understand indicate the time between the durability of life insurance policy.

Exclusions - the various hazards that are mentioned in the life insurance for which the benefits are not guaranteed.

Federal funds - These are the reserve balances that the life insurance companies share among themselves.

Grace period - The amount of time that is allowed to the insured when the deadline for the life insurance premium is over.

Immediate annuity - This refers to a life insurance that is purchased with an investment of a large amount. Installments are paid out to the insured as annuity over regular periods of time.

Right of conversion - This is the right of an individual to convert a group policy into an individual if they leave the group that had a group life insurance policy.

Credit life insurance - This is an insurance that a business owner may have. It is used as collateral and the beneficiary is generally the loan provider.

Variable universal life insurance policy - This is a policy where a life insurance premium and life insurance benefits are adjustable.

Though not complete, this set of terms used in any life insurance sale can help you in asking the right questions related to life insurance and also in understanding the answer that the life insurance agent provides.