Mortgage life insurance is a decreasing term life insurance policy whose length matches the length of one’s mortgage and whose benefits decrease according to the mortgage amortization schedule of the mortgage. It is designed to basically equal the mortgage in both length and time throughout the entire life of the mortgage so that is the insured were to pass away, the mortgage would be paid in full, no more, no less.
These are often confused with mortgage insurance, but they are completely different. A mortgage life insurance policy only pays if you pass away, not if you cannot afford your mortgage. PMI, on the other hand, insures the bank from a loss if the mortgagee does not pay.