Surrender charges are levied by the insurance company when an investor withdraws money in excess of the acceptable amount before the specified date.
Usually, the surrender charge is expressed as a percentage of the amount of the money that is either withdrawn or surrendered, and is generally imposed on the premiums paid and not the gains.
Because the surrender charge usually declines over time, it typically reaches 0% after a number of years. This information is taken directly from the policy's prospectus.