tontine

Estimated CEFR level: C2 — Proficiency

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

noun a form of life insurance whereby on the death or default of a participant his share is distributed to the remaining members
noun an annuity scheme wherein participants share certain benefits and on the death of any participant his benefits are redistributed among the remaining participants; can run for a fixed period of time or until the death of all but one participant

From French tontine, named after Lorenzo de Tonti, who introduced the scheme into France in around 1653. Thus, from Tonti + -ine.

Upon the same revenue, more money can always be raised by tontines than by annuities for separate lives. — An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, Adam Smith
In the dead of winter he and Henri de Tonty, son of Lorenzo Tonty, who invented the tontine, his lieutenant, started down the Illinois, with a following of eighteen Indians brought from New England, and twenty-three Frenchmen. — Life on the Mississippi, Mark Twain

tontine insurance

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