You buy a life insurance policy to cover your family's expenses after you die.
If you bungle -- by getting too little coverage, skipping payments or not updating your policy -- the result can be a quagmire.
The same goes for celebrities, with oodles more money at stake.
Their life insurance policy errors can lead to dwindled coverage equal to far less than what stars are worth.
See these big-name examples of what not to do.
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Whitney Houston might have been able to afford more life insurance.
Whitney Houston's accidental bathtub drowning death last year related to heart disease and cocaine use was shocking, but not completely surprising, given the 48-year-old Grammy winner's longtime struggle with drug and alcohol abuse.
What was surprising was that she reportedly had only $300,000 worth of life insurance, even though documents filed in her 2007 divorce from Bobby Brown claimed she earned more than $1 million from performances.
Gary Coleman of 'Diff'rent Strokes' had difficulty getting coverage.
After former child star Gary Coleman died of a brain hemorrhage in 2010, his ex-wife pleaded in a public video for financial support to pay for his funeral.
She claimed the "Diff'rent Strokes" actor had difficulty getting life insurance because of kidney disease.
The lesson? Consult a life insurance agent or financial adviser, and try to snag even a small life insurance policy to cover funeral arrangements.
Michael Jackson's death spurred life insurance lawsuits.
The "King of Pop" Michael Jackson's 2009 death from the anesthetic propofol spurred lawsuits over the singer's life insurance.
His family and a concert promoter have battled Lloyd's of London over a $17.5 million policy.
And, according to reports, a Jackson aide didn't keep up with payments on a separate policy that would have left his children up to $22.5 million, so the estate received just a $3 million payout.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
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