What do you mean by 'guaranteed surrender value' in a life policy?

The Guaranteed Surrender Value is the amount guaranteed to the policy holder in case of voluntary termination of a policy before maturity. The minimum surrender value allowed is equivalent to an assured percentage of the total amount of premium paid by the policy holder. Surrender value is the amount that a policy holder receives from the insurer in case he plans to terminate the policy before its maturity. If a policyholder decides to end the policy before it matures, he is liable to receive a certain sum that has accrued as his saving. From this amount the insurer deducts the surrender charge and the remaining is transferred to the policyholder. A regular premium policy acquires guaranteed surrender value after the policyholder has paid the premiums continuously for three years if the premium paying term is 10 yrs or more. For policies where premium paying term is less than 10 yrs, policy acquires guaranteed surrender value after 2 years premiums have been paid. When an individual decides to terminate his policy, all the benefits attached with it cease to exist, including the life cover. Therefore, the policy holder should only terminate the policy if he feels that it no longer fulfils the requirement or if he realizes that the policy was sold with false promises.