What does the term life mean?

Term life is a temporary life insurance policy. It is called term life insurance because it is purchased only for a temporary period of term, anywhere between 5 to 30 years. During the term period, a term life policy guarantees a certain amount of death benefits to the beneficiary, tax free, in the event of the policy holder's death. The most popular term life policy is level term life insurance where the premiums remain level throughout your term period.