Why do some experts recommend avoiding whole life insurance?

The main arguments are cost and sales incentives. Permanent policies like whole life often charge premiums six to 10 times higher than term life, and they commonly pay agents more than 100% of the first-year premium (sometimes up to 120%), while term life typically pays about 30% to 80%. Because those commissions are front-loaded, agents earn the most in the year the policy is sold, which raises the concern that sales recommendations can favor high-commission products.