A Dumb Question... (Updated)

At the risk of posing a question that’s maybe as dumb as it is obvious, is it actually possible to purchase a generous life insurance policy in the case of man on the verge of certain death? It’s difficult to see any insurance company going in for such a thing, regardless of how hefty the premium might be (unless it was $1 million, of course). Have any of the papers explored this with insurers to verify what their policies are in this regard?

Update: I mentioned the “not for publication” conversation between Harper and author/journalist Tom Zytaruk reported by the CBC in the comments, so I won’t repeat them again, but Steve V. has them along with some amusing hypothetical responses from Harper.

Clearly Harper was aware of the offer, although he might not have bothered to familiarize himself with the details… Yeah sure, that’s credible. I mean it’s not like he’s a wonk or a control freak, or anything. But let’s suspend our disbelief for a moment and consider the absurdity of tacitly authorizing “legitimate representatives of the Conservative Party” to make some sort of vague offer that he later contended he knew wouldn’t be accepted. “They wanted to do it, but I told them they were wasting their time,” Harper told Zytaruk. Well then what the hell was the point? Moreover, what if Cadman had accepted the offer “to replace financial considerations”? Are we to believe that Harper’s “legitimate representatives” were negotiating an offer, the details of which Harper was unfamiliar with? Sorry, but it doesn’t pass the smell test on any account.