We have a yellowed Wall Street Journal article dated May 4, 1981, in which the introductory paragraph Of the article was: "Where can you get one of the highest tax-deferred or tax-free—yields on your savings? Try life insurance."

The author proceeded to discuss "'two products that truly advance the state of the art" and were "real breakthroughs for consumers." They were called -ahem- universal life and variable life. Yes, there really was a time when these two life insurance staples were exciting new products.