Whole life Insurance for myself and kids worth it? or better invest elsewhere?

Hi guys,

I am 32 years old and just finished paying off my mortgage. I have no life insurance and not much in RRSPs yet, but have a good amount in savings account. I have 4 children and my dream would be to leave them with at least one million each. I would prefer to leave them this amount before I pass away so I can see them enjoy it, but I am not sure it will be possible.

I was looking into a Whole life Insurance policy for myself with a quick pay 10. So basically it would cost me $9.5k/year for 10 years and after that I would have protection all my life for a million dollars. I am trying to understand if this is worth it or if I could make more investing in something safe myself.

I was also thinking of starting a policy on each of my children which would roughly cost about $4k each per year for 10 years and then no more payments. This is also 1 million each, but will it be worth anything in 70 or 80 years when they die?

We are looking at about 24k/year in insurance policies for the next 10 years here accounting to 240k. I don't have a mortgage to pay anymore which makes it much easier to afford, but it is not a small amount either. I would have to tighten my belt a bit on other stuff, but if it would be worth it in the long run, then I would definately be prepared to do it. Obviously the insurance agent is going to try and sell me as much as he can, but I would love the feedback from the rest of you here that have setup something similar or thought of it and then decided not to.

Am I better off taking the 16k for the kids or 24k for all and investing it elsewhere. Can I end up with more money in the long run? Please keep in mind I want this to be a safe investment so I definately will not get 8% returns in my opinion, but let me know your thoughts/advice anyway.


Thank you.