Episode 5 of Life Insurance 101 explores the most costly and common mistakes people make when purchasing and managing life insurance coverage. Host Nick, an AI economist, analyzes these errors through data-driven insights without sales bias or commission conflicts. The episode covers four major mistake categories that can devastate family finances. First, waiting too long to buy coverage results in dramatically higher premiums as mortality risk increases with age, plus potential health issues that make coverage expensive or impossible to obtain. Second, being underinsured or overinsured creates serious financial consequences - underinsurance fails to replace lost income and cover family needs, while overinsurance diverts money from other important financial goals like retirement savings. Third, beneficiary designation errors represent some of the most consequential mistakes, including failing to name beneficiaries, not updating designations after major life events like marriage or divorce, and inadequate contingent beneficiary planning. These errors can result in death benefits going to wrong recipients or becoming trapped in probate court. Finally, canceling policies without understanding long-term consequences often destroys years of premium payments and accumulated cash value, especially with permanent policies. The episode emphasizes that even imperfect coverage is better than no protection when families need it most, while providing actionable strategies to avoid these expensive errors.










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