Glossary
Insurance Agent Terms & Vocabulary
15 essential insurance agent terms with plain-English definitions: the vocabulary you’ll hear in training and on day one.
Key insurance agent vocabulary
These 15 terms come up constantly in insurance agent training, on the job and in interviews. Knowing them helps you follow instructions, document accurately and sound prepared.
- Beneficiary
- The person who receives life insurance benefits.
- Binder
- Temporary proof of coverage.
- Book of business
- An agent’s client portfolio.
- Captive agent
- An agent who sells for one insurer.
- Deductible
- What the insured pays before coverage.
- Independent agent
- An agent who represents several insurers.
- Liability coverage
- Protection against claims by others.
- Policy limit
- The maximum the insurer pays.
- The price of an insurance policy.
- Renewal
- Continuing a policy for another term.
- Rider
- An add-on to a policy.
- Term life
- Life insurance for a set period.
- Umbrella policy
- Extra liability coverage.
- Underwriting
- Evaluating risk to price policies.
- Whole life
- Permanent life insurance with cash value.
Practice these terms
Test yourself with the free Insurance Agent practice test: it includes vocabulary questions built from this list. For a complete course, see Insurance Agent training.
Browse terms from every career in our career glossary.