​Is life insurance a Swiss army knife?

If life insurance is like a Swiss army knife, each specific type of policy is designed for a specific purpose. If you own a life insurance policy, it is critically important you understand how your policy works. Only then will you know if this policy is still the right policy for you...

Term insurance is still the most cost-effective policy you can purchase. You are purely paying for the mortality exposure between the day your policy is issued to the day the policy ends.
 
Cash value policies were designed for two primary purposes; One to overpay your premium in the beginning years to cover the later years when the cost of the insurance increases. The other reason was to overpay your premium to accumulate extra cash value as a potential future source of dollars and income.
 
Building a cash value portfolio is a sophisticated and complex project. What type of life product do I utilize, which insurance company has the better product for me, how should I properly fund it, how will I know if the policy is performing as represented and who should I choose to represent me on my purchase?
 
Note: Who you choose to represent you in the purchase of life insurance will be more important than all the other considerations combined.