#804: Life Insurance: Prudent policy or failure of faith?
Seller beware: When the Midrash quotes the pasuk (verse) in Tehillim, "Mi ha'ish hechafetz chaim" (who is the person who desires [long] life?) with reference to the man who proclaimed around the marketplace, “Who wants life? Who wants life?” he was obviously talking about the conclusion of the pasuk which warns us to abstain from negative talk. This peddler was not selling life insurance, which is actually a commodity that advocates contemplating the very opposite of life—not what we’d consider positive talk.
(In their defense, owners of life insurance companies want people to live long, which will enable them to keep their money instead of depleting their assets.)
So, should we “buy in” to this marketing strategy; is it halachically okay to purchase a life insurance package?
Consumer: Thanks for reaching out to me today. But I don’t think I’d like to buy a policy. Such action might indicate a serious spiritual deficit—that I am, G-d forbid, mi’k'tanei amanah (among the small believers, i.e., lacking faith) by planning for the future rather than putting my trust in Hashem.
Insurance Agent: A person is obligated by the Torah to do their hishtadlus (personal effort) for parnassah (livelihood). True, there were the great tzadikim who didn't leave money in their homes overnight but would dispense everything that was donated to them to tzedakah. However, most people today do have savings accounts, and poskim do not object to putting away money in this manner for a “rainy-day.”
Consumer: I’m still not comfortable talking about end-of-life issues in such a cavalier manner. There’s a concept of al tiftach peh … (don't open your mouth [to negative forces]); we try to focus on only positive predictions for the future while doing our best to prolong life with focus on Torah and mitzvos. (With the exception, perhaps once in a while, when such thought facilitates teshuvah—regret for wrongdoing.)
Insurance Agent: What about preparing a will or buying a burial plot? These actions are also associated with “life after 120” and are firmly endorsed by halachah.
Consumer: Look, I go to work every day (though I’d rather sit and study Torah!) to support my family. This is a zechus (point of merit) which keeps me alive; by buying into a life insurance plan that will offer those relying on me an “out” in the event of… I may be losing out on this zechus.
Insurance Agent: Perhaps buying a policy can be a different type of zechus, similar to how the other acts we discussed about planning for the future is found in sefarim as a segulah (protection) for long life!
Conclusion: There is no clear halachic consensus whether either side of the argument is more “right” than the other, although all these points for or against purchasing a policy appear in the works of contemporary poskim. The proper course of action in such a case would be: puk chazi mai ama d'bar (go see what the people are doing). It has become commonly accepted to buy life insurance among religious Jews. Therefore, if the agent succeeds in convincing his customer to buy a policy, they are acting well within the confines of halachah.