In Montenegro life insurance may only be sold by companies holding a life insurance licence from the Insurance Supervision Agency. A term (risk) policy pays the agreed sum to the beneficiaries only if the insured person dies during the contract and has no savings element, while an endowment (mixed) policy combines death cover with savings paid out at the end of the contract. With unit-linked insurance you bear the investment risk. Your proposal binds you for eight days, or thirty days when a medical examination is needed, and you can withdraw from an individual contract within 30 days of the notice that it was concluded, without obligations under the contract. If the insurer's answer does not satisfy you, you complain to the Agency within one year of the company's last decision.
This guide explains which types of life insurance exist, how the contract is concluded, when you can withdraw and surrender a policy, whom to insure with and how to file a complaint.
Which types of life insurance exist?
| Type | What it covers | Savings |
| term (risk) insurance | death of the insured person during the contract | no |
| pure endowment | a payout if the insured person lives to the end of the contract | yes |
| endowment (mixed) insurance | death during the contract and survival to its end | yes |
| annuity insurance | periodic payments for a set period or for life | yes |
| unit-linked insurance | death and investment in units of investment funds | investment with risk |
- With term insurance, if the insured person lives to the end of the contract, the beneficiary receives nothing and the insurer keeps the premium as the price of cover.
- A term life policy serves as collateral when you take out a bank loan.
- With endowment insurance the sum on death and the sum on survival do not have to be the same.
- Endowment contracts as a rule share in the insurer's profit, but the contract does not guarantee the amount of profit.
- With unit-linked insurance part of the premium goes to death cover, part to investment in funds and part to costs, so at the end you receive the portfolio value minus taxes and costs.
- On top of the basic policy you can add riders for the consequences of an accident, serious illnesses such as malignant tumours and heart attack, surgical procedures and a premium waiver during incapacity for work after an accident.
How is the contract concluded?
- Before the contract the insurer gives you the policy conditions and the key information document on the product, and for unit-linked insurance also the fund prospectus and the fund's key information.
- Before the contract you also receive the surrender value table, the basis for profit sharing, the premium with all costs and taxes and information on your right to withdraw.
- You receive this information in writing, in the official language of Montenegro, and on another durable medium or a website only if you agree to that.
- You usually submit the proposal on the insurer's form, and as a rule it binds you for eight days from its receipt by the company, or thirty days when a medical examination is needed.
- If within that period the insurer does not reject a proposal that does not depart from the policy conditions, the contract is deemed concluded.
- The policy, as proof of the contract, contains at least the parties, the insured person, the risk, the term, the premium, the sum insured and the date of issue.
When can you withdraw and surrender a policy?
- You can withdraw from an individual life insurance contract within 30 days at the latest of receiving the insurer's notice that the contract was concluded, and you then bear no obligations under the contract.
- You can surrender endowment insurance before it ends, only after a certain number of years and if you paid the premiums for that period, and the payout follows the surrender value table in the policy.
- With a paid-up conversion you stop paying premiums, the contract stays in force and at the end the insurer pays a reduced sum under the table of paid-up amounts.
- A policy loan is an advance up to the surrender value of the policy, on which you pay interest.
- By assignment you transfer the right to the payout of the sum insured to a creditor, most often the bank that gives you a loan.
- If the insurer offers indexation, the sum insured and the premium rise to protect the value of the sum against inflation.
- The insurer informs you in writing once a year about your profit share.
Whom should you insure with?
- The Insurance Supervision Agency's register lists a life insurance licence for Lovćen životna osiguranja, Wiener Städtische životno osiguranje, Uniqa životno osiguranje and Grawe osiguranje.
- You conclude the contract directly with the company or through insurance agents and brokers, including banks that act as insurance agents.
- Before the contract an agent or broker tells you the register they are entered in, the company they work for and your right to complain.
- One person can hold several life insurance policies, so compare offers from several companies and read the exclusions carefully.
How do you file a complaint?
- First you write to the insurer, agent or broker whose work you are unhappy with.
- You turn to the Agency if you are not satisfied with the answer or the company did not decide within the legal deadline, at the latest one year after its last decision.
- In the complaint you state your name, address and phone number, the subject and reasons and the name of the company, and you attach a copy of the proposal or policy, your earlier letter, the company's answer and evidence.
- You hand in the complaint at the Agency's registry office at Moskovska 17A in Podgorica, by post or by email to agencija@ano.co.me.
- The Agency sends you its final answer within 30 days of gathering all relevant facts, but it does not assess the validity of findings by the insurer's medical examiners and experts.
- The procedure stops if you start a dispute in court or at the Centre for Alternative Dispute Resolution, or settle with the company.
A loan for which the bank asks for a policy is covered in our guide to a consumer loan, and savings without insurance in our guide to bank savings. What a family receives from the state after the breadwinner dies is explained in our guide to the survivor's pension, and another voluntary policy in our guide to comprehensive car insurance.
Frequently asked questions
What is term life insurance? Term insurance pays the agreed sum to the beneficiaries if the insured person dies during the contract, has no savings element and often serves as loan collateral.
Do I get money back if I outlive a term policy? No, the insurer keeps the premium as the price of the death cover, and a payout exists only with endowment insurance or pure endowment insurance.
Can I withdraw from life insurance? You can withdraw from an individual contract at the latest 30 days after receiving the notice that it was concluded, without obligations under that contract.
What is the surrender value of a policy? The surrender value is the amount the insurer pays you if you end endowment insurance early, after a certain number of years of payments, under the table in the policy.
Who bears the risk with unit-linked insurance? You as the policyholder bear the risk of changes in the value of fund units, and the insurer bears the insurance risk.
Where do I complain about an insurer? First to the insurer, then to the Insurance Supervision Agency, at the latest one year after the company's last decision.
Sources
The types of life insurance, riders, the proposal, the policy, pre-contract information, the 30-day right to withdraw, surrender, paid-up conversion, policy loans, assignment and indexation are described in the Insurance Supervision Agency's consumer handbook on life insurance of December 2025. The one-year deadline, the content of a complaint and the Agency's procedure are described in the Agency's leaflet on the complaints procedure, and the companies licensed for life insurance in the register of insurance companies. The information was checked on 28 September 2026. Fijaka is a classifieds platform; this text is not insurance or investment advice.