Life insurance is a term that refers to protection an individual receives upon their death, in exchange for the payment of a premium (regular payment). Because of the nature of a life insurance, the death of the insured would not allow the insured to receive the compensation, but instead the insured specifies another person as a beneficiary. As the beneficiary in a policy, the life insurance company will then need to pay the specified amount from the policy. In a term life insurance, the policy only operates as long as the time period specified in the policy. If the insured person lives beyond the time period, the policy will need to either be renewed or will end. In whole life insurance, the other popular form of life insurance, the benefits of life insurance can be delivered for the full extent of the insured's life or until premiums have been halted.