There are three basic types of life-insurance contract. Term insurance is issued for a specified number of years, protection expires at the end of the period and there is no cash value remaining. Whole-life contracts run for the whole of the insureds life and also accumulate a cash value, which is paid when the contract matures or is surrendered, the cash value is less than the policy's face value. Endowment contracts run for a specified time period and pay their full face value at the end of the period.