Life insurance is one of those company perks that we tend to take for granted. Once it’s gone, you realize what you’re missing.

A while back, I wrote about letting my term life insurance lapse. I still feel bad about it, but then again, I’m still walking around, so I guess I’m ahead. For now. But I know I need to pick up a new term life insurance policy sooner or later. And I’m out here on the Internet, doing research and getting more and more confused every day.

Once upon a time, I worked for an insurance company. Not only was it once upon a time, it was for quite a long time … over ten years. Scary thought that it is, I spent over a decade toiling away for a big international insurer. I learned a little bit about insurance, mostly through osmosis. But I never considered myself an insurance kinda guy … quite the opposite, in fact.

Many moons ago, while I was still in the employ of the insurance company, I was out for a leisurely day of shopping with my wife. We were milling about in an antique store when I ran into an old high-school buddy and his new wife. I hadn’t seen Dave in years. Dave and I exchanged the obigatory introductions and howyadoins, before the conversation quickly turned to sowhatchadoins.

“I’m working for blah blah blah Insurance Company,” I told my friend, sheepishly. “But don’t worry, I don’t sell the stuff. I only help sell the stuff.”

My friend, who always was a bit on the pale side, turns an even whiter shade of pale (as the song goes). I look at him with curious compassion as the color drained from his face and an odd look (despair?) came to his eyes.

I felt like a complete idiot.

“Oh man, Dave,” I said, simultaneously putting two and two together as I extracted one foot from my mouth before I inserted the other. “I’m so sorry. You don’t sell insurance, do you?”

He nodded the affirmative. It got real quiet.

Not long after that uncomfortable moment, we bid goodbye and I bit my tongue all the way home. I’m pretty sure I ran into Dave once more in all these years, but I can’t recall if we discussed my faux pas.

So here I am, more than ten years after that chance encounter. And I need a new term life insurance policy. I know I should just pick up the phone and call my old friend, but still … I’m out here on the Internet looking for rates, getting more and more confused by the minute.