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| TRUE STORIES | |||||||||||||||
| If you are on this site then chances are you really care about your family. While most of us care, sometimes it's human nature to procrastinate and put off applying for coverage for a myriad of reasons. 'We're really busy this month' or 'Call us after the holidays', or 'I have enough life insurance', are just 3 of the most common rationalizations we hear every day from caring families. Here are a few human stories, one has a sliver lining and the other two do not. The stories below are true. Names have been changed for privacy purposes. Do any of these insurance prospects sound like you? | |||||||||||||||
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| Story 1 — SEND ME SOME INFORMATIONAt what point will information paralyze you? |
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| John was a father of 2 whom one of our our sales associates called shortly after he returned a life insurance form to our office. He mentioned that he was only interested in how much the coverage was going to cost. His family was on a tight budget and he needed the coverage to be as inexpensive as possible. Since we have access to many companies our associate ran a variety of quotes for him. The quotes were among the cheapest that he could be found on the term market. It was explained to him that he would have a 30 day free look period even after receiving his policy to get a refund of his first month's premium. He asked the associate to 'send him some information'. The associate e-Mailed a consumer brochure on the policy and emailed him the rates with his contact information. He e-Mailed him a second time a week later to see if he had reached any decision. He said he was still looking around and waiting to receive 'more information' and to call him after the holidays. In the new year our sales associate called John again. But John wasn't there. His wife said that he had died just before Christmas in an accident. She said she had asked John to look into getting a policy for the family but they just gotten too busy. Of course it was very regrettable for everyone involved. When the agent hung up the phone he said he stared at his computer screen. John had told him he had about $50,000 of coverage at work. He was 38 years old. One of the low cost options that was presented also stuck out to the agent on the screen. $300,000 of coverage, 10 year level term, $12.70 per month. It didn't take an accountant to figure out how far $50,000 would go for a woman with two young children. ($10,000 was probably spent on funeral expenses alone.) While we don't know exactly what happened to John's wife and kids we can say that we regret his decision to not at least apply for the coverage that would have provided a financial cushion for his family. For just $12.70 a month his entire mortgage would have been paid off with $75,000 to spare. He had lots of information from us. Most likely he had a lot of information from other agencies. But one thing he didn't have was a life insurance policy and that's a shame for his family. |
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| Story 2 — I HAVE ENOUGH INSURANCE…Are you really sure about that? |
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| It's never a good experience for a life insurance agent to get a call from a husband or wife who has just lost their spouse. This time it especially stung. I could remember sitting down at the kitchen table in New Jersey with 'Susan' and her husband 'Ronnie' when I was brand new in this business like it was yesterday. Both Sue and Ronnie were great people. They had 4 children ranging in ages from 4 to 12 years of age and being at their big house filled with kids, pets and a few kids that were not their own was a dizzying but fun experience. I remember the appointment; fun and great people, but not much of a sale. I remember trying to convince Ronnie that he needed more life insurance. Though he had a $150,000 life insurance policy and close to another $150,000 of coverage through his employer I pointed out that with his salary of $80,000 he was only providing his family with just over 3 years of income replacement. Then there was the $240,000 mortgage. Ronnie told me 'I have enough life insurance'. I told him that being the sole breadwinner meant his family really depended on him to have this right. Nonetheless Ronnie repeated in a friendly way 'but I have enough life insurance, I'm not worried about that.' I left the house that night writing nothing but a small disability policy which would have made about half their mortgage payments for a few years if Ronnie had become disabled. It was a good little policy and I was happy they had the coverage.  When Sue called me with the news of Ronnie's sudden death (heart attack) years later it was hard explaining to her that the policy that we started 6 years ago was not a life insurance policy. She mentioned that she expected that but had to ask and told me that Ronnie had switched jobs 9 months ago and he no longer had any work life insurance. That means his family was left with $150,000. On a life style of $80,000 per year and 4 mouths to feed and a mortgage to pay that money would be gone fast. I wasn't surprised at all when I was on a sales call in their area the following month and saw the 4 sale sign in the yard. What else could she do? Of course she'd have to sell the house and downsize. There was no way to afford the property taxes in that neighborhood now with a big mortgage payment. The kids would surely have to switch schools. Sarah would have to go back to work and become the new sole breadwinner for her family, she had been out of the workforce for over 16 years. I was almost angry with myself for not being more forceful and persuasive with Ronnie when he kept telling me he had 'enough life insurance', because that couldn't have been further from the truth. |
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| Story 3 — IF NOT NOW, WHEN?By the way, How much is your cable bill? |
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| Fortunately there are good stories out there. And of course not everyone who doesn't take a life insurance policy dies and untimely death. For every procrastinator or information gatherer out there there are people who take action to protect their families. Even if it does take a little persistence on our part. One of my former associates made a sales call to couple in their early 40's. After showing the plans and designs the husband said he'd need some time to think about it. The policy was fairly small and the agent explained their right to a 'free look' and review of their policy but he still wanted to think about it. Almost ready to give up and wondering what he was doing at the house if the guy was not willing to spend just over $35.00 a month to protect his family my associate was about to give up. The agent saw that there were kids running around and he said 'come on, I bet your cable TV bill is more than twice as much as this insurance premium.' The husband laughed. He was right. His cable bill alone each month was over $70.00. He agreed and signed the no medical life insurance plan and gave the agent a check for the first months premium. While he was still relatively underinsured the $150,000 death benefit would pay off the entire home with money to spare in the event that something happened. Three days later he was dead. He was in an auto fatality even before the application was submitted to the insurance company. Less than a month later the insurance company issued his wife a check for $225,000 honoring the coverage that her husband purchased on that day for just over $32.00. (The policy also had an accidental death benefit on it which paid out more if the death happened by accident.) While the agent could do nothing to help with the emotional loss of a husband and father, in many respects he still felt like a hero for doing his part in getting that application signed and a check for $32.00. At least the family would not have to travel through emotional AND financial hell. He had done his job. |
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