I don't expect anyone to read this but this is my life right now.

[JCarson 730]

I don’t expect anyone to read this but with what I am going through right now it needs to be said. 

 

If you don’t know I am a Financial Planner by trade, I hold my Certified Financial Planner designation along with several other credentials. One of those credentials is my Life Insurance License. No, I am not here to sell anything and won’t answer questions related to investment selection and trying to get rich quickly. 

What I would like to make note of is our society's aversion to insurance to the point it causes great harm. Right now, I am dealing with a widow, she is distraught over losing her husband. And she should be.  

 

She is also living with an immense amount of guilt. She asked her husband to go to the grocery store. She sent him on the errand that took him to the point in time where a drunk driver didn’t stop at a four way stop, instead blew through the intersection at over 100km (about 62.14 mi)/h into the side of her husband’s car killing him instantly.  

He left her with a mortgage, some other minor debt, 2 children under the age of 18, and the cost of his funeral. Add on to this he was the largest income earner in the family. In fact, he earned 60% of the family income. Seems tragic to most of us.  

 

I am going to get a little more detailed, the woman I am talking about hasn’t clued in to the fact that she is now facing a financial crisis on top of her emotional crisis. It is still too new to her; she is still too caught in her grief and guilt to understand what she will be dealing with. The woman is 31, her children are 2 and 5, the mortgage for the house they bought 5 years ago still has a mortgage of $450000. Her income alone will not cover her basic lifestyle let alone the added costs of the funeral. She is in a financial crisis. 

When her and her husband bought the house, I talked to them about ensuring that they had a risk management plan, putting insurance in place to deal with the issue of what happens if one of them dies, I talked to them again when each of their children were born, as they had now brought another life into the world and should consider how that child will be cared for if something happens to one or both of them. 

 

All three times I spoke with them she was willing to investigate options, to look at the costs and to see if they could afford it. Unfortunately, he in all three instances looked at me then looked at his wife and said the exact same thing all three times “The chances of anything happening to us are extremely small, I won’t pay hard earned money to an insurance company and get nothing out of it.” 

 

The reality is he is both correct and incorrect all at the same time. The chances of an individual in their late 20’s to early 30’s dying at least in North America is extremely small, most of those individuals who buy insurance meeting that criteria get no financial payout. Where I argue is they do get something, and that is piece of mind and risk protection if the extreme happens. In his instance the extreme did happen. For less than $20 a month (assuming a Term 10 policy in Ontario) he was not willing to consider how his family would be impacted if the unexpected were to occur. In his instance the unexpected did occur. 

 

So, I will get to my point. If you are an individual who has anyone dependent on you or if you have debt (mortgage, credit cards, etc.). If by you dying someone will be left with not only an emotional crisis but a financial crisis, I urge you to contact someone in your area and discuss how you can put together a plan that reduces or eliminates that burden. If you say that you love these people you will not leave them to face what is coming for this woman. 

 

My secondary note. If you are the type of asshole who decides to have a few drinks and get behind the wheel of a vehicle, please rethink your life. You do not get the right to impact someone else to this level. No excuses, just stop doing it. 

[Daniel Janser 2,184]

Very touching and sad story and so relatable.

 

Where I live, people tend to over insure themselves. There are also (life) insurances available which will pay out regardless whether one dies or not. 

 

The insurance and the client agree to a certain age (mostly it is the legal retirement age) when the insurance will pay out a certain amount anyway. Cherry on top: this kind of insurance premium can be deducted from the taxes.

 

If such products do exist in NA that would be ideal as it would not give the feeling 'to pay for something I will never use' as you described in your article plus it does not give you the feeling to bet on your own demise, if you decide to get that insurance (I know that this is of course not the case, but one could understand why people have this feeling).

 

And I agree that drinking and driving does not mix well and I hope the responsible driver (or should I say irresponsible driver) is held accountable for his actions, both financially and serving time in correctional facility. 

Edited February 15 by Daniel Janser

[Smarch 3,157]

3 hours ago, JCarson said:

I don’t expect anyone to read this but with what I am going through right now it needs to be said. 

 

If you don’t know I am a Financial Planner by trade, I hold my Certified Financial Planner designation along with several other credentials. One of those credentials is my Life Insurance License. No, I am not here to sell anything and won’t answer questions related to investment selection and trying to get rich quickly. 

What I would like to make note of is our society's aversion to insurance to the point it causes great harm. Right now, I am dealing with a widow, she is distraught over losing her husband. And she should be.  

 

She is also living with an immense amount of guilt. She asked her husband to go to the grocery store. She sent him on the errand that took him to the point in time where a drunk driver didn’t stop at a four way stop, instead blew through the intersection at over 100km (about 62.14 mi)/h into the side of her husband’s car killing him instantly.  

He left her with a mortgage, some other minor debt, 2 children under the age of 18, and the cost of his funeral. Add on to this he was the largest income earner in the family. In fact, he earned 60% of the family income. Seems tragic to most of us.  

 

I am going to get a little more detailed, the woman I am talking about hasn’t clued in to the fact that she is now facing a financial crisis on top of her emotional crisis. It is still too new to her; she is still too caught in her grief and guilt to understand what she will be dealing with. The woman is 31, her children are 2 and 5, the mortgage for the house they bought 5 years ago still has a mortgage of $450000. Her income alone will not cover her basic lifestyle let alone the added costs of the funeral. She is in a financial crisis. 

When her and her husband bought the house, I talked to them about ensuring that they had a risk management plan, putting insurance in place to deal with the issue of what happens if one of them dies, I talked to them again when each of their children were born, as they had now brought another life into the world and should consider how that child will be cared for if something happens to one or both of them. 

 

All three times I spoke with them she was willing to investigate options, to look at the costs and to see if they could afford it. Unfortunately, he in all three instances looked at me then looked at his wife and said the exact same thing all three times “The chances of anything happening to us are extremely small, I won’t pay hard earned money to an insurance company and get nothing out of it.” 

 

The reality is he is both correct and incorrect all at the same time. The chances of an individual in their late 20’s to early 30’s dying at least in North America is extremely small, most of those individuals who buy insurance meeting that criteria get no financial payout. Where I argue is they do get something, and that is piece of mind and risk protection if the extreme happens. In his instance the extreme did happen. For less than $20 a month (assuming a Term 10 policy in Ontario) he was not willing to consider how his family would be impacted if the unexpected were to occur. In his instance the unexpected did occur. 

 

So, I will get to my point. If you are an individual who has anyone dependent on you or if you have debt (mortgage, credit cards, etc.). If by you dying someone will be left with not only an emotional crisis but a financial crisis, I urge you to contact someone in your area and discuss how you can put together a plan that reduces or eliminates that burden. If you say that you love these people you will not leave them to face what is coming for this woman. 

 

My secondary note. If you are the type of asshole who decides to have a few drinks and get behind the wheel of a vehicle, please rethink your life. You do not get the right to impact someone else to this level. No excuses, just stop doing it. 

I'm actually in the process of obtaining quotes for Life Insurance and god damn is it confusing on what to do lol

[BOOM 8,759]

I read every word and respect you for posting this.