Generally thought of as being interchangeable with life assurance, but isn’t. Life insurance insures you for a specific period of time, at a premium fixed by your age, health and the amount the life is insured for. If you die while the policy is in force, the insurance company pays the claim. However, if you survive to the end of the term or cease paying the premiums, the policy is finished and has no remaining value whatsoever as it only has any value if you have a claim. For this reason, life insurance is much cheaper than life assurance (also called whole of life).
Assurance
Generally thought of as being interchangeable with insurance but isn’t. Assurance is cover for events that WILL happen but at an unspecified point in the future (such as retirement and death) and insurance covers events that MAY happen (such as fire, theft and accidents). Therefore you buy life assurance (you will die, but don’t know when) and car insurance (you may have an accident). Assurance policies are for a fixed term, with a fixed payout, and unlike life insurance have an investment aspect: as a life assurance policy increases in value, the bonuses attached to it build up. If you die during the fixed term, the policy pays out the sum assured. However, if you survive to the end of the policy, you then get the annual bonuses plus a terminal bonus.
