Just why do they call it 'life insurance'?

I used to get so confused about life insurance, and I really just didn't get it. I remember when I was first trying to understand just what the heck it was, I kept asking people, "Ok, now - this 'life insurance' is for when you die, right?" I just really didn't get why they didn't just call it death insurance! I guess that would be a bit macabre, though, eh?