How do life insurance companies make money? When I ask this question of my friends, I get a variety of interesting answers — aside from a bunch of odd looks. One mathematically inclined acquaintance said insurance companies use complex actuarial tables which enable them to predict, very accurately, how long people will live and the insurers figure that, over time, they will collect more money than they pay. To this answer, I nod in slight agreement. The latter part is true but not because of any actuarial brilliance. Insurance companies make money because a massive amount of all life insurance coverage lapses.