A life insurance policy contains a war exclusion. If the insured dies while serving in combat, the insurer will typically:

Why A is correct

A war or military service exclusion limits the insurer's obligation when death results from war, whether declared or undeclared, or from military service in a combat zone. Instead of the full face amount, the insurer typically pays a limited sum, such as the total premiums paid or the policy's cash value or reserve. The exclusion protects the insurer from the catastrophic and largely uninsurable mortality risk of war and is a standard provision found in many life insurance contracts, particularly those issued during wartime.

Why the other options are wrong

• B) The full face amount is not paid because the war exclusion specifically limits the death benefit for deaths caused by war or military service. The exclusion narrows the insurer's duty to the limited payment described, so full payment is not made.
• C) Double indemnity is the accidental death benefit, not the war exclusion; war deaths are generally excluded from accidental death coverage as well. Death from combat is not an accident within the accidental death benefit's meaning and is excluded instead.
• D) The insurer does not keep all premiums; the typical war exclusion returns premiums paid or pays the cash value, so some value is provided. Keeping nothing would be unfair; the limited payment returns something to the estate or beneficiary.

Memory hook

War clause: not full benefit, but premiums or reserve walk back home.