Split Dollar Life Insurance
Definition of "Split dollar life insurance"
Policy in which premiums, ownership rights, and death proceeds are split between an employer and an employee, or between a parent and a child. The employer pays the part of each year's premium that at least equals the increase in the cash value. The employee may pay the remainder of the premium, or the employer may pay the entire premium. When the increase in cash value equals or exceeds the yearly premium, the employer pays the entire premium. If the employee dies while in the service of the employer, a beneficiary chosen by the employee receives the difference between the face value and the amount paid to the employer (the cash value or the total of all premiums paid by the employer- whichever is greater). Thus, during employment, the employee's share of the death benefit decreases. If the employee leaves the employer, the latter has the option of surrendering the policy in exchange for return of all premiums, or selling the policy to the employee for the amount of its cash value. There are two types of split dollar life insurance policies: Endorsement-the employer owns all policy privileges; the employee's only rights are to choose beneficiaries and to select the manner in which the death benefit is paid. Collateral-the employee owns the policy. The employer's contributions toward the premiums are viewed as a series of interest-free loans, which equal the yearly increase in the cash value of the policy. The employee assigns the policy to the employer as collateral for these loans. When the employee dies, the loans are paid from the face value of the policy. Any remaining proceeds are paid to the beneficiary.
Popular Insurance Terms
Choice among the following options made by retiree prior to retirement concerning the distribution of benefits: option since all income payments cease upon the death of the retiree. Monthly ...
Action (s) that the insured must take, or continue to take, for the insurance policy to remain in force and the insurance company to process a claim. For example, the insured must pay the ...
Process of the continual reinsurance of a ceding company's portfolio of insurance policies. All premiums that have been ceded become earned premiums. ...
Financial instrument established irrevocably for a minimum of 10 years, after which the principal reverts to the grantor upon termination of the trust. A key feature is that earnings from ...
Policy used to provide the funds for buy and sell agreements under which an income payment or a series of income payments is paid to the buyer of the disabled partner's interest contained ...
Measurement of income received by households from employment, self-employment, or investment and transfer payments, as provided monthly by the United States Department of Commerce. ...
Re-registration of existing shares when there is any change in the name of the owner (s). Such a circumstance may occur when the owner (s) of the shares gives these shares to another ...
Federal agency that regulates commerce across state lines. The ICC does not oversee insurance, which is subject to regulation by the states according to Public Law 15, McCarran-Ferguson ...
Written agreement attached to a policy to add or subtract insurance coverages. Once attached, the endorsement takes precedence over the original provisions of the policy. For example, under ...
Have a question or comment?
We're here to help.