Chapter 8 Life Insurance—A General Introduction
The roots of life insurance trace back to the days of the old Greek and Roman empires. Citizens could opt to become a paid member of a funeral guild, entitling them to the coverage of their funeral expenses. In some cases, the guild even provided for an allowance to the dependents of the deceased.
Thanks to famous Western actors such as Clint Eastwood, John Wayne, and Steve McQueen, we are reminded that in the early nineteenth century many sheriffs put a price on the head of outlaws. In other words, the principle of attaching a value to an individual, either dead or alive, is not new at all.
What makes life insurance intriguing is that the value of your life does not depend on a sheriff or on the expense of your funeral, but on your own judgment. In this chapter we discuss why and how life insurance is used and identify and examine the various types of insurance.
General Applications of Life Insurance
There are basically three reasons why people decide to buy into life insurance.
Provide for Dependents
The best time to talk about death is when you are alive. As a matter of ...
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