How good is a universal indexed life insurance policy as an investment vehicle compared to bonds or annuities?

It's very good for the agent who sold it to you. Get term life until your dependents are independent and make your own investments.

It really depends on what the life insurance policy is indexed to.

Generally, assuming the same investment type, a life insurance policy will give you less return than you'd get if you invested directly into that same fund yourself. This is because of the sales charges and commissions the insurance company must charge.

I would suggest using your money to buy term life insurance (which only pays when you die) and investing the difference between that premium and your universal life premium into a mutual fund. Most funds will allow you to enroll in "share builder" programs where you can contribute a small amount ($50-$250) each month.

Don't be distracted by the rate of return or any "investment" features of any universal life policy. That is half of the story. The other half are the mortality and administrative costs coming out of the policy. These costs can usually fluctuate at any given time. If they go up significantly at a time when you are borrowing against the policy (remember "possible tax-free income") and your health is declining, you may wind up paying taxes on the entire loan amount if the policy lapses.

Ask to see an illustration at some hypothetical index rate (5-8% might be reasonable) at the maximum charges. The difference between this illustration and the one at the same interest rate with current charges reflects the amount of control these the insurance company has over your contract. Increases in these costs have nothing to do with company stability and financial strength. If it still makes sense at the guaranteed rate or you are comfortable running that much risk from one company, then go for it.

Insurance should be bought for death benefit first and foremost. This other stuff is just extra, if it happens.

BTW, in most states, it is illegal to refer to indexed life insurance or indexed annuities as "investments" rather than "savings" because they are filed as fixed insurance products. I'm not saying there aren't appropriate uses for these products, but if you get the word "investment" in writing, you might be able to get this know-nothing swine off the streets.

Actually, it sucks... Here's why- you are going to pay fees, how much all depends and the insurance company has it hidden in the policy that they give you, but it is there. These fees could equal, exceed or be less than the current rate of return on the index the savings goes to. Say, fees = 9%.
RoR = 12%. You have just made a whopping 3%. Say fees= 9%. RoR=7%. You just lost 2%. Say fees =9%. RoR= 18%. Finally, you made 9%.

The government advised the insurance industry, back in the late 70's, that life insurance is NOT an investment! It is illegal for a life insurance agent to state and/or claim that life is an investment.

Moral of the story: Invest on your own. Keep life insurance and investments separated. You can do far better investing on your own that you can "investing" with insurance.

Life insurance - ANY kind, is not a GREAT investment. Insurance is a different kind of financial tool.

Having said that, I'm not a fan of annuities either - they make a ton of money for the insurance company, and pay paltry returns to you.

Of the three, I guess bonds are the best, but that's a pretty lopsided portfolio.

Universal Index Life Insurance or the Equity Index Universal Life Insurance are great products if you know how to use it right.
You should have a protection need for your family before considering this product for investment purpose. Once you have established that there is a need for insurance and still have some extra investment need then consider putting some of that extra $ into this Index Life Insurance. The reason for that is that there are some nice tax strategies that life insurance have that any other investment vehicle don't have.
I am surprise to see these many experts who gave you answers but leave out the most important feature that may mean so much to someone who want to keep their investment from taxation. Maybe they just want to sell you a product.

Do your research and don't let people tell you thing that doesn't make sense to your intellect. Good luck.