The life insurance industry’s big secret

The life insurance industry would like the public to believe it makes profits because of its actuarial acumen. Not so. The reason insurance companies make money is because nearly 90 percent of insurance policies lapse. However, state regulators are trying to change that by enacting laws that give consumers information about alternatives to lapsing a policy. Those alternatives include a life settlement, accelerated death benefits for a terminally ill policy owner and a conversion from term to permanent life.