Every asset we own likely has one purpose for which it is designed and which it excels at. Life insurance is designed to deliver tax-free cash at death, and this it does very efficiently. As our capital gains tax liability occurs at death, life insurance is usually the most efficient tool you can use. Capital assets owned by one spouse can be transferred to a surviving spouse tax-free at death. It is at the death of the second spouse that the tax is due. To pay this tax bill, joint-last-to-die insurance is used, and the premiums for this are much less than for single life policies. The premiums for a 55 year old couple to pay a $1M tax bill would be about $26,000 per year. To save that amount in, say, GICs at even 6% would take 38 years.