You went in to talk about retirement and came out holding an illustration for a whole life policy. Or you were shown an “investment” that turned out to be insurance.
You are not imagining the push. There is a reason for it, and it is not complicated.
Follow the paycheck
Life insurance is sold on commission. According to NerdWallet’s review, agents typically receive 60% to 80% of the first year’s premium on a term policy, and on permanent policies the commission is typically highest in the first year. The same page reports that life insurers paid out $63 billion in commissions in 2024.
Put that in one room. NerdWallet’s own example assumes a 70% first-year commission on a whole life policy. At that rate, a policy costing $10,000 a year would pay about $7,000 to the person recommending it. If they recommend a plain index fund instead, they may earn nothing that day.
That does not make them a crook. It makes them a person with an incentive. Incentives bend judgment quietly, and the person being bent is usually the last to notice.
Who are you actually talking to?
Plenty of people with “financial advisor” on the card are licensed to sell insurance, securities, or both. On the insurance sale they may not be acting as your fiduciary at all.
You can check in a few minutes. The SEC’s free investment professional search shows how a person is registered, and the firm’s two-page relationship summary lists how it gets paid and where its conflicts are.
When permanent insurance earns its place
I do not sell insurance, so I have no reason to love it or hate it. It has real jobs.
Someone depends on your income. If they would be in trouble without you, you need coverage. Term insurance usually handles this for far less money.
A dependent will need support for life. A child with special needs, for example. Coverage that never expires can make sense here.
Your estate is large enough to owe estate tax. Heirs may need cash to pay it. For most families this never comes up, because the federal tax only applies above about $15 million per person in 2026.
A business needs it. A buyout agreement between partners often has to be funded if one of them dies.
If none of those is you, and the pitch is “it is really an investment” or “tax-free retirement income,” slow down. Insurance is for a risk you cannot afford to carry. Investing is a different job.
The one question
Ask it out loud, and then be quiet:
“How much will you be paid, in dollars, in the first year if I buy this? And how much if I buy term instead, or nothing?”
A professional answers with a number. If you get a speech, you have your answer anyway.
Ask how they are paid before you ask what they recommend.
This is the first of the five questions I use on anything with an incentive behind it: does this person gain only when I gain? The full set is on the Besa page, and I run it on my own firm too.
If you already bought it
Do not cancel in anger. Policies often carry charges for leaving early, and a cancelled policy cannot be brought back if your health has changed.
Ask the insurer for a current statement of what the policy is worth and what it costs to keep. Then decide with numbers. The premiums you have already paid are spent either way, so the real question is about the next one. The No-Memory Test is one question that cuts through exactly that.
Related questions: is whole life insurance worth it, should I surrender my whole life policy, financial advisor red flags and how to check if your advisor is a fiduciary.
One question for this week: the last time someone recommended a financial product to you, did you know how they were paid for it?
As always, if you want to talk any of this through, the door is open. Genti