Life insurance policies are supposed to pay benefits after the person’s death.  If you bought the kind that can be an investment, with a lump sum available at the maturity date, usually, the funds cannot be drawn out before that time.  Some people borrow money against this amount, but in these financial times, that kind of borrowing could be risky and also; banks are not lending money very easily right now, due to the inordinate amount of bankruptcies and unpaid debts, hurting the availability of resources.  What you need to do is to write to, or call, the insurance company, and find out exactly what your options are, with regard to the cash value of this insurance, and its limited accessibility.