Consumer News: Auto Safety Recall Derby - Week of September 07

Many people know they need coverage years before they actually get it and misconceptions about cost and age may be part of the delay

• 72% of life insurance owners wish they had bought coverage sooner, even though 70% knew it was important before they purchased a policy.

• Cost may be a bigger misconception than consumers realize, with 42% saying they would have acted sooner if they had known coverage was more affordable than expected.

• Major life events can turn life insurance from something people put off into an urgent priority, with becoming a parent emerging as the top trigger.

Life insurance is one of those things many people know they should probably have, but it can be surprisingly easy to put off. Maybe you assume youre too young to need it, think coverage will be too expensive, or simply figure youll get around to it later.

A new survey from Ethos suggests that waiting may be a common regret: 72% of life insurance owners say they wish they had started protecting their future sooner, while 70% say they knew life insurance was important before they actually bought a policy.

So what finally gets people to stop putting it off and what makes them wish they had acted earlier? ConsumerAffairs spoke with Nichole Myers, chief underwriter at Ethos, to take a closer look at what may be driving Americans to delay coverage.

How the survey was conducted and what it found

Ethos conducted its survey in July 2026, asking 1,079 U.S. adults who currently own life insurance about what motivated them to finally buy coverage, how long they waited, and what may have prompted them to act sooner.

Participants were 18 and older, with an average age of 44. Some survey questions allowed respondents to select more than one answer.

The findings suggest there can be a significant gap between knowing life insurance is important and actually purchasing a policy. Heres a look at the key findings:

• 70% of respondents said they understood the importance of life insurance long before buying it.

• 72% said they wished they had started protecting their future sooner.

• 8% assumed coverage would be too expensive.

• 42% said they may have acted sooner if they had known it was more affordable than expected.

• Becoming a parent emerged as the most common moment that made protection feel urgent, cited by 35% of respondents.

Why the delay?

Nearly three-quarters of respondents said they wished they had bought life insurance sooner than they did. So, what is the primary reason behind the delay?

"Life insurance is a unique kind of transaction, in which most people are buying protection for something they do not want to happen or dont want to think about, Myers said. So, it feels easily postponed without any clear deadline forcing the decision.

What I have learned is that people aren't missing the message they're missing the moment. And that moment comes as a part of some big event in life, such as having a baby or getting married."

The most common misconception: cost

Myers hopes these findings shed light on the biggest misconception about life insurance: its too expensive.

"For the 38% of those who felt it was too costly, they are probably thinking about pricing structures from 10 or even 20 years ago or the wrong type of insurance altogether, she said.

In reality, a healthy 30-year-old can get a meaningful amount of coverage for less than a dollar a day. That gap between perception and reality lines up with our finding that 42% of people say learning it was more affordable would have moved them to act sooner.

A long-term investment

Perhaps not unsurprisingly, the youngest survey respondents were twice as likely to delay coverage as older survey respondents. However, Myers encourages consumers of all ages to think about the long-term benefits associated with getting life insurance at a younger age.

"Being invincible at a young age is part of the natural development process, she said. The industry needs to remind consumers that purchasing life insurance is truly one of the wisest financial moves you can make. Applying for coverage when you are young and healthy, keeps your premium lower throughout the life of the policy.

Generation Z is driven by facts and concise explanations that come from their mobile phones and social media influencers. Reminding them that protecting their family with life insurance can be as simple as an online application with just a few health questions, easily completed from the sidelines of a child's soccer game or while you are waiting for your food delivery is a good place to start.

Secure protection sooner than later

For those who may still be on the fence about life insurance, Myers said the present is the best time to act.

"The time is right, she said. You are never younger than you are today. So set yourself a deadline for this week and do not procrastinate because statistics show that nearly one out of three individuals, who wait, ends up waiting more than a year, which is a year of protection you could have already had in place for your family.

A verification code can be the last thing standing between a scammer and your account

• Never give a verification code to someone who calls or texts you: This is important even if they claim to work for your bank or another company you trust.

• The timing can make the scam especially convincing: A scammer may be trying to access your account at the same time the verification code lands on your phone.

• An unexpected verification code is a warning sign: Don't share it; instead, go directly to the company's official app or website and check your account.

You request a verification code. Your phone dings. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, you get a call or text from someone asking you for that code.

Coincidence? Maybe not.

Consumer advocate Lori Fullbright recently warned her followers on Instagram about an increasingly important rule for protecting your online accounts: Never share a verification code with anyone.

And the timing of these can make them particularly convincing.

A criminal may already be attempting to log into your account, reset your password, or set up an account using your information. That action can trigger the legitimate company to send a verification code to your phone.

The scammer doesn't necessarily get some special notification that you received the code. In many cases, they know it's arriving because they're the person who triggered it.

That's when the phone call or text can come.

Why they desperately need your code

Think of your verification code as the second lock on your front door.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) explains that your password is one key and your verification code is another. Even if a scammer has managed to obtain your password, the verification code can prevent them from getting inside your account.

That's exactly why they want you to hand it over.

The scammer might call pretending to be your bank's fraud department and say the following, "We just sent you a six-digit security code. Can you read that back to me so I can verify your identity?"

It sounds reasonable on the face of it, but the scammers may already be at a verification screen, waiting for you to hand over the code that they need to get into your account.

Give it to them and you may have just helped them get past the security system designed to keep them out.

The FTC's advice couldn't be simpler: Never give your verification code to someone else. Anyone asking you for an account verification code is a scammer.

Pay attention to the timing

This is one of the biggest clues consumers can watch for.

If a verification code arrives that you didn't request, somebody else may be attempting to access an account associated with your phone number or email.

And if a stranger calls or texts around the same time asking you for that number, don't assume the person is responding to a security alert. They could be the reason you got the alert in the first place.

Pro tip: Its also smart to never approve a login notification you didn't initiate. Tapping "Approve" on an authentication request can potentially accomplish the same thing as handing over a code.

Read the entire verification text

Most of us see a verification text and immediately hunt for the six-digit number. Instead, youll want to slow down and read the rest of the message. Security messages often tell you what the code is for and warn you not to share it.

Heed that warning, as a legitimate employee will never call or text you asking for a code. Think of it this way: They would basically be asking you to defeat their company's own security system by reading them the secret code it just sent to you.

If someone asks for it, always end the conversation.

What if you actually requested the code?

There's an important distinction.

If you opened your bank's app, entered your password, and requested a verification code, it's perfectly normal to receive one.

Enter it yourself into the app or website you were already using. Don't give it to another person.

The FTC says verification codes exist specifically to prove that the person logging into the account is really you.

Already shared it? Don't wait

If you've given a verification code to somebody and then realize something isn't right, youll want to act immediately.

Start by changing the password on the affected account and make it unique from any other password youve used elsewhere. Use a password generator to help with this.

Then youll want to login to that account and check for any unfamiliar devices, password changes, purchases, transfers, or changes to your phone number or email address.

Also, when contacting a financial institution, get in the habit of always contacting the bank or card issuer using the phone number on the back of your card, on your statement, or its official app.

Never call a number supplied by the person who contacted you. And never trust caller ID as proof you're speaking with your bank, as caller ID information can easily be spoofed these days.

A UNC study found a Southern twist on the Mediterranean diet supported weight loss while improving overall diet quality

• A 24-month study compared a Mediterranean-style eating plan with a calorie-focused weight loss program.

• Both groups lost and maintained weight, with returning participants losing about 10 pounds on average.

• The Mediterranean-style group made bigger improvements in overall diet quality, including eating more healthy fats and fewer carbohydrates.

The Mediterranean diet has long been associated with an emphasis on foods such as vegetables, fruits, whole grains, nuts and healthy fats. But researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill wanted to see what would happen if those principles were adapted to the foods and preferences of people living in the Southeast.

The resulting approach, called the Med-South Weight Loss Program, emphasizes foods including nuts, vegetable oils, whole grains, non-starchy vegetables and fruit. Researchers tested whether this eating pattern could help people lose weight while also improving the overall quality of their diets.

The findings, published in JAMA Network Open, suggest that focusing on the quality of the foods you eat may offer an additional benefit during a weight loss program even when it doesn't necessarily lead to more weight loss.

How the study worked

The study included 360 adults with a body mass index of 30 or higher who were recruited from seven primary care practices in central North Carolina. Participants were randomly assigned to either the Med-South program or a control program that primarily focused on reducing calorie intake.

The Med-South program lasted 24 months and was divided into three phases. The first four months focused on improving diet quality. Months five through 12 shifted the focus toward weight loss while maintaining the eating pattern, followed by a final phase focused on maintaining weight loss.

Researchers assessed participants at four, 12, and 24 months, looking at measures including body weight, diet quality, and blood pressure. They also used food questionnaires and a device called the Veggie Meter to assess carotenoid levels in the skin, which can reflect fruit and vegetable intake.

What the results mean for you

The results weren't quite a case of one diet beating the other. After 24 months, there was no significant difference in weight loss between the two groups.

In the study's primary analysis, participants in the Mediterranean-style group lost an average of 3.40% of their body weight, compared with 3.51% in the control group. Among people who returned for follow-up visits, average weight loss was about 4.5 kilograms, or roughly 10 pounds, in both groups.

Where the Med-South approach stood out was diet quality. Participants reported greater improvements in measures of overall diet quality, along with higher intake of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats and lower carbohydrate intake.

Incorporating a healthful dietary pattern into lifestyle weight loss programs should be a priority, researcher Thomas Keyserling, M.D., MPH, said in a news release. While similar weight loss can be achieved with calorie-restricted diets, there are added benefits to chronic disease prevention associated with a healthful dietary pattern.

For consumers, that suggests a weight loss plan doesn't necessarily have to revolve around calories alone.

The researchers say more work is needed to understand exactly how those diet-quality improvements may affect long-term health.

Cutting back sounds simple, but a new study suggests that sticking to strict screen-time limits may be harder and less beneficial than expected

• Young adults asked to sharply reduce their social media use generally struggled to stick with the limits.

• Those who did cut back didnt report greater improvements in well-being than people who continued using social media normally.

• The findings suggest that a one-size-fits-all time limit may not be the best approach for everyone.

If youve ever decided youre going to spend less time scrolling, only to find yourself back on your phone later that day, new research may feel familiar. A set of studies looked at whether asking young adults to significantly reduce their social media use could improve their well-being.

The research attempted to replicate a 2018 study that found some benefits from limiting social media use, including reductions in loneliness and, among participants who initially had high levels of depression, depressive symptoms. Researchers wanted to see whether those findings would hold up now that social media has become even more deeply woven into everyday life.

The answer wasnt quite what they expected.

Researchers put limits to the test

Across the first three studies, researchers recruited 644 iPhone users under age 30, including both students and nonstudents. Participants provided screenshots from Apples Screen Time feature and completed weekly assessments measuring factors including depression, anxiety, loneliness, autonomy, emotions, and life satisfaction.

Participants were randomly assigned either to continue using social media as usual or to limit their use for three weeks, generally to 30 minutes per day. Researchers also tested other approaches, including limiting interactions to people participants knew offline and restricting the apps participants believed had the biggest effect on their mental health.

The researchers later conducted a fourth study involving 229 young adults. This time, the limit was relaxed to 60 minutes per day, and participants received daily reminders.

The limits were hard to follow

None of the approaches produced meaningful improvements in well-being compared with normal social media use. But there was a major complication: Most participants didnt actually stick to the limits.

At the beginning of the first three studies, participants were using social media for nearly three hours a day on average. Of the 346 people in the time-limit groups who provided follow-up data, only 10% stayed under 30 minutes for even one week, while fewer than 5% did so for at least two weeks.

In the fourth study, more than half of participants never met the one-hour target on any of the 21 days. Only two participants met the target every day.

That means the findings dont prove that substantially reducing social media use cant improve well-being. Instead, they highlight how difficult strict limits can be to maintain and how complicated social media use has become.

Its not just a site; its an entire environment where youre interacting, viewing content, sharing content, and expressing yourself, researcher Andrea Howard said in a news release.

For consumers, the takeaway may be less about hitting a magic number of minutes and more about figuring out what role social media plays in your own life. The researchers suggest that people who want to change their habits may benefit from personalized plans, gradual reductions, or continued support rather than a universal time limit.

If you feel like you would like to put your phone away for a certain number of hours a day, then theres no reason not to try it, Howard said. Thats a personal improvement or self-management activity.