Life Insurance - so many questions, so few answers

I have been trying to get my dad some life insurance, but it is very confusing trying to sort it all out. For example, if I get him insurance, and he dies from a cause not covered by it, do I loose all the money paid in or do I get back at least what I had paid into the insurance policy?

I'm so lost trying to figure it out that I think my best bet is going to be to call around and get a life insurance quote and some information from someone that knows about that stuff.

One that I have been hearing about is guaranteed (or something like that), it seems to be one that will pay back what was paid into it if it does not pay off the full amount of the policy. That is what I need, since I can not afford to just toss that money away.