You probably will field your share of life insurance sales pitches during the next few decades. This article describes some unfortunate stories of policy holders whose financial plans were upended when the current unprecedented interest rate landscape squeezed the companies who sold them their "whole life" and "universal life" policies. The companies of course responded by squeezing their policy holders. The result in one case was a woman who, after paying more than $50,000 in premiums over several decades, faced steep hikes in future premiums. She "cashed out" rather than pay the higher premiums. Her take after forfeiting the death benefit was the remaining $4,000 in "cash value" left in the policy.
And this wasn't even the most startling story from the article. These paragraphs claim that prize:
Life insurance should be a simple product. It insures against loss of income from the loss of the life of a key bread winner. In essentially every situation I've encountered, "term" insurance is the product that fits this need.
But it is much more likely that the sales pitches you'll receive will position whole or universal life insurance as a long term investment vehicle. I think the only people who will argue that such policies are the best way to invest are insurance company representatives. I've never heard an investor, or an independent advisor to investors, suggest this as the way to best invest for the future.
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