A _______________ guarantees that if the contract owner of a variable annuity dies prior to annuitization the beneficiary will receive at least as much from the variable annuity as the owner paid in premiums.

A guaranteed death benefit may be defined as a benefit term which guarantees that a beneficiary will surely receive a [tex]\text{death benefit}[/tex] if the annuitant expires or dies before the annuity begins paying the benefits.

It is a safety net where when the annuity dies while making the payments or the contract is in the accumulation phase.

Variable annuity is defined as an agreement or a [tex]\text{contract}[/tex] between a person and the [tex]\text{insurance company}[/tex], under which the [tex]\text{insurer agrees}[/tex] to make [tex]\text{periodic payments}[/tex] to the person, beginning either immediately or at some future date.

Thus, [tex]\text{Guaranteed Death Benefit}[/tex] guarantees a beneficiary to receive payments from the variable annuity which is guaranteed by the Guaranteed Death Benefit when the contract owner of the variable annuity dies before annuitization.