Most people are taught to buy term insurance and invest the rest—but what if that advice is based on a massive misunderstanding of how life insurance actually works?

In this episode, we break down why dividend-paying whole life insurance is fundamentally misclassified, how insurance companies really make money, and why Nelson Nash believed banking, not investing, was the missing piece.

In WTB Episode 253, we continue our deep dive into Becoming Your Own Banker by Nelson Nash, focusing on mortality tables, underwriting, modified endowment contracts (MECs), and why whole life insurance behaves more like a banking system than an insurance product.

We explore:

Why term insurance is incredibly profitable for insurance companies

How underwriting selects for people who actually live longer

Why retirement at 65 was built on a flawed assumption

How MEC rules really work (and why they're not the end of the world)

Why universal life, variable life, and indexed UL fail long-term

How to properly structure a whole life policy for Infinite Banking

If you've ever been told "whole life is bad," this episode explains where that belief came from—and why it persists.

Key Takeaways:

Death is not an if—it's a when, and insurance should be structured accordingly

Term insurance is statistically designed not to pay out

Responsible, underwritten individuals live longer—and insurers know it

Whole life insurance is misclassified, leading to bad financial decisions

Infinite Banking works best when cash value is prioritized over death benefit

MEC policies aren't catastrophic—but understanding the rules matters

Chapters:

(00:00) – Why the insurance industry misunderstands its own products

(05:50) – Mortality tables, underwriting, and who actually lives longer

(10:52) – Retirement at 65 and the Social Security fallacy

(18:03) – MEC rules, overfunding, and policy design explained

(31:27) – Why universal, variable, and indexed life insurance fail

(39:21) – Why Infinite Banking is caught, not taught

📘 Haven't read Becoming Your Own Banker yet? Start there. 📅 Want help structuring a policy correctly? Schedule a conversation with our team. 💬 Drop your questions or comments below—we read and respond.

Links Mentioned: Becoming Your Own Banker by Nelson Nash https://www.withoutthebank.com/shop...

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