Fungible is derived from the Latin verb fungi which means “to perform”. It has no relationship to the Latin word fungus, and its plural fungi, which include varieties of mildews, molds, mushrooms, rusts, smuts, and yeasts that, under certain circumstances, can be beneficial but are more often associated with plagues, disease, and crop failures.
"Leveraging" one's cash value (think equity in a whole life policy) to "access the use of the insurance company's money" sounds dirty, but nothing could be further from the truth. While the insurance company could be dutifully earning less than 2% on required reserve investments, it's abundantly clear why the insurance company would be enthusiastic about loaning to you instead at 4%, for example. If that's encouraging, then the fact that this is an interest-only loan (good luck finding one of those elsewhere) should really put the cherry on top, leaving you to pay back the principal at your own pace.
"Leveraging" one's cash value (think equity in a whole life policy) to "access the use of the insurance company's money" sounds dirty, but nothing could be further from the truth. While the insurance company could be dutifully earning less than 2% on required reserve investments, it's abundantly clear why the insurance company would be enthusiastic about loaning to you instead at 4%, for example. If that's encouraging, then the fact that this is an interest-only loan (good luck finding one of those elsewhere) should really put the cherry on top, leaving you to pay back the principal at your own pace.
Thanks, Hugh, for adding your wisdom and insight into how this concept works.