I’m sure that’s some of it. When you’re off work due to disability though you’re kind of on a timer. You have X amount of time to get better and come back to work before your benefit runs out, and if you don’t then you can lose your job, which loses you your health insurance and disability payments, and then shortly after that you’re bankrupt, homeless, and dying without medical care, and taking all your loved ones with you.

That’s a very stressful existence. If you’re not getting better quick enough and have a family to take care of, using your life insurance before you lose the benefit starts to seem like a really reasonable alternative.