The title is weird as fuck, I know. Essentially what they are doing is taking out a life insurance policy in my name and using it as their own bank. They have their own policies and want one for me so I can do “infinite banking.”

My stepdad read about this concept in a book and thinks it’s the greatest idea ever. They’re not making me pay for the policy, they’ll be investing in it until I have proper income to do it myself.

Apparently you can use this policy as your own bank, you can take out loans and such and when you pay it back that money is still yours? The money also grows itself overtime.

I’m worried about the consequences against me. I asked about liquidating the policy so I could just pocket the cash and they said that’d be a very bad idea. I said what happens when I move to a country where the currency is very different? Apparently that’s fine if I move to a country where the currency is better than the Canadian dollar. I asked about moving to a country where the currency is “worse.” They said that’d be a conversation for the future.

If it works out then it’d be nice to have that money when I eventually move, but what else happens to me? I tried looking up a link between socialism and infinite banking (silly, I know) and I found these two articles which do not bode well:

https://infinitebanking.org/banknotes/central-banks-and-socialism-are-forever-linked-together/

https://infinitebanking.org/banknotes/4-reasons-why-socialism-is-becoming-more-popular/

I feel sick and I don’t know what to do. I want the money but I’m so scared of the consequences.

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[–] 9 points 2 days ago*

Without being an expert and this might only apply to my country and not yours:

Over here, banks are basically giving you no interest for deposits (it was supposed to be a temporary measure during the economic crisis years, but through collusion and corruption, they've managed to keep it going for nearly a decade now). So a lot of people do this kind of thing instead. It sounds shady as fuck to me, but but half the people I know have this insurance scheme going on.

From what I understand, it's something between betting on a stock and investing in an investment fund. But instead of a stock it's your death (or injury, depending on the policy). The insurer gives you a price. That's their bet that you are going to die or whatever. They also give you an end-date to the bet (maturation). If you live, you get the prize. If you don't, someone else gets the prize (I'm quite uncertain who that is; if it goes to someone you name, like regular life insurance, or if it goes to the insurer instead). Then you pay them money every month/term/year that is a certain proportion of the price. This money is filling up to the price you agreed beforehand.

The money that accumulates in the insurance fund technically belongs to both you and the insurer, but the insurer has the rights to use them in "financially responsible ways" to make more investments and accumulate interest, which is paid back into the fund (and from what I understand, the insurer is entitled to a part of this interest as payment for their services).

Unlike a regular investment fund, you are not allowed to pull back your money from this fund (or you are, but you have to pay a heavy penalty depending on how much is left for the insurance to mature), but you are allowed to borrow against the sum. When you borrow, you still have to pay back like a regular loan, but the money returns to the fund. The interest on the loan goes fully to the insurer though (or partly? not sure).

Every few years, when the insurance matures, you get to either renew the insurance (current or new terms) or pull back the money.

Here's where it gets shady: There might be limitations on how you use any loans you make, there might be a bunch of extortionate fees and penalties for being late in payment or taking loans, the lion's share of the interest being accumulated goes to the insurer, you and your family might lose the money if you die/injure yourself/get sick too early before maturation, and worst of all, the insurance fund has no guarantee. Meaning that money in the bank are usually guaranteed up to a certain amount (so if the bank goes belly-up, you still get back your money). But since this insurance fund is not guaranteed, if something happens and your money disappears (the insurance company declares bankruptcy, economic collapse, etc) it's just gone forever.

I'd suggest you go and talk to a financial expert about this (depending on the laws in your area, the insurer might actually be obliged to put you in contact with a financial expert out of their own pocket if you ask for it). Also make things clear with your parents. Is this their way of setting up something for you, or are they just using your name for their own financial purposes? Because if it's the latter, then you would probably be legally responsible if anything untoward happens. In either case, if you don't like this being done in your name, then you should tell them you are not going to be a part of it.

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