Types of life insurance
There are two types of life insurance.
Investment life insurance builds up a cash sum which pays out either if you die, or at the end of the agreed term, or life, of the policy. What you get depends on how the investments behave.
Non-investment life insurance provides protection for your dependents. If you die within an agreed timescale (the term), the policy pays out a lump sum. If you survive the term, it pays out nothing at the end of it. Since it provides protection only, it is cheaper to buy than investment life insurance.