Life Insurance as a supplemental investment?

Question

I want to buy universal life insurance as an investment option to supplement my 401K and Roth IRA. I am 40 and single, no health concerns. Is this a good option to build cash value? If so, what coverage amount would I choose? I am not limited on making larger payments to achieve higher coverage and larger return. No dependents at this time except for siblings.

Answer 1

Any well trained agent will be able to make a sales illustration look attractive.  Interest rates alone won't be enough to persuade your decision.  Here is an article I wrote that has been referenced by others a few times.  Long story short, you are exposed to additional risks in the contract few people are really able to understand or explain.

http://www.councilfinancial.com/life-ins...

Answer 2

Have you maxxed out your 401(k) and your Roth IRA? In order to do so you would have put more than $20,000 into those two accounts. If you are so rich that you can save more than that, then you probably don't need any life insurance anyway! If you can save more than that, life insurance is the WORST way on god's green earth to save money! If it's tax deferred growth you're after, look into a low cost anniuty. Don't buy the loaded up annuities that cost a fortune, check out all of the low cost options that out there. They don't have any bells and whisltes, but who cares? Bells and whistles always mean more money out of your pocket.

Answer 3

I'm an expert on this, I would suggest you take a tour here,there are expert's tips there.http://health-insurance.onlinebestoffer....

Answer 4

Life insurance is a CRAPPY investment!  RUN THE NUMBERS. Your cash value is usually 10% of what you pay in.

Would you buy a stock, that would go down 90%?  And keep buying it, every month?

Insurance is for if you die.   Investments are for if you live.  Don't confuse the two.

Answer 5

Life insurance is not a good "investment."  Buy cheaper term insurance to satisfy your insurance needs and invest the difference in "real" investments.

Answer 6

No - very poor rates of returns usually, plus, if you have no one depending on your income - why bother with life insurance.  Check into growth mutual funds.  Right now is a great time to buy since the stock market has been so bad - they are a bargin.

Answer 7

I would probably max out on my 401K, Roth IRAs, and regular IRAs before I started looking at life insurance policy for additional tax free build up.  

I'm not an investment expert but investing in life insurance is going to be tough since you have to deduct the cost of the death benefit coverage from your investment.  As you get older these deductions will increase.  If you don't need the death benefit protection it is kind of a waste.  

After you have maxed out the options I mention above, I would suggest looking at a deferred annuity.  They have the same tax deferred properties as a universal life policy without the deduction for the death benefit.  You can also get fixed and variable versions to fit your investment risk tolerance.  The variable annuities also have options for guaranteed minimum returns which are kind of cool.  Just watch out for the fees and surrender charges as they can vary wildly from company to company and can be quite high so make sure you are comfortable with them before you lock yourself into one of these things.  

Good luck.

Answer 8

First and Foremost, Insurance is NOT an investment.  If you have no one depending on you for income, you have no need for life insurance.  Max out your 401k and Roth before doing anything else.

To save money else where, contact a local financial person that you feel you can trust and get their opinion.  Talk to several to get a better idea and see if they all say the same or similar things.

Answer 9

Wow!  I am AMAZED that all of these people are saying no.  With todays money market rates going up and down, the rates on life insurance only go up!  YES Life Insurance is a good investment... CNBC even did a piece on it here..

http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=69...

Universal will not give as good of return as Whole Life, but its a good start, if you really want to get a great rate of return, look for Custom Whole Life.  You can set it up to pay on for 10 years or 15 years and then stop, within that 10-15 years, your cash value will be equal or greater to the amount you have put in, then you STOP paying and the value will grow exponentially, and you NEVER have to pay income tax on gains in life insurance, EVER!!!.  With the market being shaky, you are guaranteed a rate of return, and you can access it anytime you need to with no tax issues.  

Again, in the past it did not used to be a yes for this answer, but now, it can defiantly be used as a growth arena.