TikTok influencers are starting a new trend: promoting life insurance as the top retirement investment, beating out 401(k)s? Is this reasonable?

In addition to paying commissions and unusually high fees, you may not even know how much you’re paying because insurance cost structures are so complex.

“Whole life insurance is basically known as the black box of insurance policies. You can’t really see what’s going on inside,” Hussey said. “Sometimes you can get a sense of the expense ratios inside, but it usually takes a deep dive into the disclosure documents to understand what the insurance company is actually getting paid.”

If you buy insurance through an agent or broker (or a TikTok influencer), it’s possible that person earns a commission, which you need to figure out for yourself.

“When you actually look at it, you find that these people are actually life insurance brokers. They don’t even work for the life insurance company that’s issuing the policy.”

“The vast majority of people are not fiduciary responsible, so they have no legal obligation to be financially responsible to you.”

When it comes to using insurance to invest, it’s good to remember two investing basics: If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. But if you can’t explain it clearly to a friend, you probably don’t understand the rules, which could be a sign to steer clear.