Final answer:
A variable life policy is characterized by a flexible death benefit, not a fixed death benefit or premium. Fixed premium payments and guaranteed cash value are not elements of a variable life policy, while having an investment component is indeed a characteristic of such policies.
Step-by-step explanation:
The answer to the student's question on an element of a variable life policy is that a variable life policy is characterized by a flexible death benefit. Unlike traditional whole life policies with a fixed death benefit and premium, variable life policies allow policyholders to invest the cash value in various investment options, which can lead to a variable rate of return. The death benefit can increase if the underlying investments perform well, but can also decrease if the investments do poorly. However, there is typically a guaranteed minimum death benefit.
Variable life policies do not generally come with a guaranteed cash value as the cash value is tied to the performance of the selected investment options. Fixed premium payments are associated with traditional whole life insurance, not variable. And, an investment component is indeed a feature of variable life policies, making the notion of 'no investment component' incorrect for this type of policy.