Life Insurance: The policy you hope to never use.

On it's simplest level, a life insurance policy is a contract to pay a specific amount if you die. They are betting you are gonna live, and you, the shrewd businessman that you are, bet that you will die.

As any life agent will tell you, "we are all gonna die some day." Still it seems kinda morbid. The purpose is usually to leave your spouse and family with the income (or custodial duties) that you could have provided. There are also tax advantages that can be take advantage of.

A simple policy that makes this legal document for a specific period of time (usually renewable) is Term Life Insurance. Since the need addressed here is financial protection, and the Big Insurance Company is a sound anchor in our economy (a piece of the Rock), why not add to the premium you pay, an amount that will compound with the company's investments (promoting revolution in Chile, etc.) and grow to give your policy a cash value that eventually will pay the premium?

A great package. The protection you probably would purchase till the kids are grown, and a windfall of savings after 10 or twenty years. A Whole Life Policy.

Or, then again, you could still buy the term policy and finance the purchase of a house which will net much more in appreciation, with an interest deduction every year and limited capital gain tax consequences that can be easily avoided.