A joint life insurance policy provides life insurance protection for two or more lives.

When one of the insured persons dies, the life insurance policy pays the death benefit and the life insurance coverage ends. It no longer covers the other insured person under the life insurance policy. 

A joint and last survivor life insurance policy does not pay out a death benefit when the first person dies, but pays out the death benefit upon the death of the last person to die who is insured under the life insurance policy.