Page 32
Louisiana Medicaid Eligibility Manual Eligibility Factors
Reissued June 9, 2026
Page 32 of I-1630 Replacing September 23, 2024
Revised/added text indicated by underscore
Deleted text indicated by “**” Life Insurance
Life insurance is a contract under the terms of which the insured pays premiums to the insurer for the period specified in the policy (contract) and the insurer agrees to make a cash payment of a specified amount at the death of the insured.
The face value is the amount of basic death benefit contracted for at the time the policy is purchased.
A policy's cash surrender value (CSV) is a form of equity value that it acquires over time. A life insurance policy is a resource if it generates a CSV.
Types of Life Insurance
Burial
A policy is considered burial insurance if:
• It accumulates no cash surrender value, and
• It can be used only to pay for burial expenses.
If a "burial" policy has a cash surrender value to which the owner has access, the policy is not burial insurance. Refer to Ordinary Life.
Ordinary Life
Ordinary life insurance:
• Is also called whole life and straight life,
• Is a contract under the terms of which the insured pays premiums:
- For their lifetime,
- To age 100,
- By single premium, or