At the end of a term life insurance policy’s term, policyholders have the option to either renew the policy for a predetermined term of their choosing, convert the policy to a permanent plan or let the plan expire. While letting the plan expire in most term policies means losing the money paid into premiums, some providers offer “return-of-premium” options that can be selected at the onset of a policy and allow people to pay higher premiums in exchange for the option to have all premium payments returned if they outlive their term.