The Best 17 Dollars EVER Spent!

A True Story…

One day I received a request for information from a client who understood he desperately needed life insurance. He was a mattress delivery driver who hauled mattresses across the country and sometimes would be out on the road for a week or two at a time for deliveries. For story purposes we will call this client Paul.  

Paul told me he had a large family with 5 young children and a stay home spouse who worked tirelessly doing all of the endless tasks required to raise 5 young children. I laughed and joked a little bit saying she is working harder than the both of us and Paul laughed in agreement.

Paul and I got to talking and discussed his health and lifestyle and how he had a couple pre-existing conditions, like high blood pressure, diabetes and sleep apnea. I shared with Paul none of those conditions will prevent him from getting covered as long as they are all under control. We started to shop the market to find him a starter policy as Paul’s budget was tight with him having so many mouths to feed. We ended up finding a great rate with Prudential and doing a 500k 20 year term policy. I had discussed with Paul that this is a lower amount of coverage than what he should have but a heck of a lot better than nothing. I also shared with him that he should call me back every few years as his income increases to see if we can increase his coverage to what he really should have in place. 

During our call I asked Paul if we should also look at doing something for his wife Michelle (alias) and he instantly shot down the idea and said “oh no, I am the only one that works so she doesn’t need it.”  My response was…

Paul you are right as you are the only one in the family that is generating income, but imagine if you had to pay someone to do everything that Michelle is doing at home.

Paul paused for a second and I could almost hear the gears turning in his head. So I added, “God forbid a death occurs to Michelle, 1 of 2 things would happen, you would either have to pay someone to do everything she does currently or you would have to work less to pick up the slack yourself. In both scenarios a major loss of income will occur which is exactly why Michelle needs to have some coverage in place.”

Paul agreed with my recommendation for Michelle and then asked how much for 250k on a 20 year duration?  I said, well let’s find out, so I gathered all the details to give a quote for Michelle and came to find out it was incredibly affordable and too good to pass up. Her 250k 20 year duration came out to $17 a month. I remember Paul saying, “I wouldn’t even notice that.”

We set everything up and got Paul and Michelle approved for coverage, then they activated the coverage and set up a monthly plan for Paul and an annual payment plan for Michelle since it was so inexpensive.  

A few years go by and Paul calls me out of the blue and says he is ready to finally increase his coverage. We go over some numbers and scenarios and I ask if we should also look at increasing Michelle’s amounts as well? I am shocked by what I hear next. Paul begins to stumble over his words… He seems distraught and I start to feel like I frustrated him by asking a simple question, then he unloads on me. He says that he actually had forgotten that he had bought that policy on Michelle, being that it was so inexpensive he never even thought about it again and it just automatically was paid for each year, however sadly Michelle had passed away in a tragic accident 18 months ago. This news took my breath away and I had to gather my composure. I ask Paul if he ever received the claim? He says, no, I never even filed one. I shared with him that the policy has continued to be paid for even after Michelle’s passing and explain to him how the claim process will work.  

Exactly 10 days after that conversation Paul received a $250,000 tax free check. I am sure he wishes it was more and not even close to the real value Michelle provided for the family but it is a constant reminder that she was valuable beyond measure and this is just a small token of her love for their family.

Life Insurance can never replace the emotional loss of our loved ones however having life insurance can at least help ease the financial loss a little bit. This is the reason why we buy life insurance.