When it comes to life insurance, this is the single most misused term in the business. There is really only one type of life insurance that you can call "mortgage life insurance". Just because a mortgage is one of the debts you would like a life insurance policy to pay off, doesn't mean that the term life insurance policy is not legally called "mortgage life insurance". That would be no different from renaming you life insurance policy a "tuition life insurance" policy, merely because you are hoping to secure your children's opportunity to attend college should you die too soon. That remind me of the time an insurance agent asked me if I was covered should I die prematurely. I told him that anytime I die I would have to feel it was premature. Anyway...
There is only one type of mortgage insurance actually. Mortgage insurance is life insurance that is tied to you mortgage in one or more ways.
On the other hand, if anyone can buy the policy, and you can leave the money to anyone you choose, and the benefit is not tied to your mortgage balance, it is called "life insurance".
Now you can call it whatever you like. But insurance agents should avoid those fictitious names because they confuse the public.
What's Best?
Actually, mortgage life insurance is almost never a good deal for the consumer. All things being equal, there are more benefits to buying good old "life insurance".
And please do yourself a favor, never add your mortgage life insurance premiums to your mortgage. You are now borrowing the money to pay for your over priced life insurance, with interest, over a 15 to 30 year term. THAT should be illegal.
So find the lowest cost term life insurance plan from a financially stable company (which most are) and never say "mortgage life insurance again.