The owner of the insurance policy agrees to make regular premium payments (or one single premium payment) to the insurance company.
In return, the insurance company agrees to payout a death benefit to the beneficiary of the insurance policy upon the death of the insured person, if the life insurance policy is "In Force" at time of insured's death, and the death is a covered cause of death; such as, natural causes or an accident.
Learn more about how a life insurance policy works.