I'm looking at a 500k Variable Life insurance policy with Equitable Life Insurance and...

He’s using projections based on an unknown future return on your sub accounts. If the markets you invest in perform to his projections, you will be fine. But what if we go into a long Bear Market? If that happens it will not be near his projections.

The internal policy expenses and the cost of insurance will likely stay just as he says, but all of that cash performance is the key. That accumulation of money in the sub accounts is what pays for the rising cost of insurance as you age.

You should not accept his projections as fact…

Have you considered buying term life? I’m in my early 60’s and was shopping personal life insurance 4 years ago, I was looking for $700,000 and whole life and variable life were just too cost prohibitive. I contacted Policy Genius and SelectQuote and got recommended companies and policies.
I had history of high BP and cholesterol but still got a 20 year policy for the amount I needed and saved $10,000.00 a year compared to the variable and whole life quotes.
It only lasts 20 years but I have the option to convert half the value in whole life till I’m 68. It allows me to invest the money I saved, in 20 years I’ll have invested $200,000 that I would have spent on insurance and I still have good protection for my loved ones.

So the additional fees + rising Cost of Insurance (variable is annual renewable term inside it) vs taxes. It still doesn’t make sense.
In the Variable he will be paying high fees. The cost of insurance will go up with also affects the return of cash as a lot of the policies start making loans out of the cash to pay the fees and COI. Then you have interest applied to the loan. People try to get to cute around taxes and end up hurting themselves worse in the long run. Long term your long term capital gains will be cheaper most likely than your fees, coi, and loan interest.

These policies have only been around for about 40 years. If it shows lapsing at age 96, I would guess that an increase in expenses, or underperforming the illustrated return would lapse it sooner. There is also a sequence of return risk, meaning that expenses and mortality will be withdrawn during a down market. If you Google Vanguard Capital Markets projection, they have U.S. equities at 2.4-4.4% per year for the next 10 years with growth stocks being flat. If they are correct, expenses count more than ever.