Term life insurance is a type of life insurance that provides coverage for a specific period of time, such as 10, 15 or 20 years. There are four distinct types of term life insurance: level term, decreasing term, increasing term and convertible term. Level Term allows the policyholder to purchase a fixed amount of coverage for an agreed upon period at a set rate. Decreasing Term delivers lower death benefits over time while the premiums remain constant. Increasing Term offers increasing death benefit amounts in combination with rising premiums each year. Lastly, Convertible Term enables policyholders to convert their existing policies into permanent ones without any additional medical exams or proof of insurability being required.