A recent article in The Wall Street Journal, “Families With a Missing Piece,” tells how the early death of a parent can reverberate decades later in a child’s life. In particular, the article details the profound emotional impact of these losses and how a special camp called Comfort Zone provides grieving children a safe haven where they can gain emotional support from their peers who also lost a parent. As the article explains, the campers benefit by sharing their feelings of pain, fear and guilt that they may have carried around for years. What the article didn’t touch on is the financial hardship that may also accompany the death of a parent and its far-reaching impact.
I just finished serving as a judge for the LIFE Foundation’s LIFE Lessons college scholarship program. Each year, LIFE receives hundreds of applications from young people who lost a parent or guardian who had no life insurance or inadequate coverage. Every applicant submits an essay describing the financial troubles that ensued after their loss and the impact its now having on their ability to achieve their academic dreams.
Of the more than 1,400 young people who applied for a scholarship this year, 88 percent said losing a parent or guardian had a significant to very significant financial impact on their family. For many, grieving was likely put on hold because they were faced with the immediate financial stress of how their family would now make ends meet, pay funeral costs and other bills, or even put food on the table. Nearly six in 10 applicants said the death of their parent or guardian resulted in the family moving to less expensive housing; half said their surviving parent or guardian had to get a job or work longer hours, and 47 percent said their family had to turn to family and friends for financial help.
Within their written essays, more financial hardship details that they’ve endured come to light. Essay after essay describe how these young people were thrust into taking on adult responsibilities like a full time job or caring for siblings.
Every child who loses a parent or guardian faces a long process of emotional healing, but no one should have to put grieving on hold to deal with the financial aftermath caused by a family member’s death. If you’re a parent and have children who would suffer financially if you were to die prematurely, I encourage you to take a few minutes to watch and read the stories of some of our past scholarship recipients. Their stories underscore the importance of making smart financial plans for the future, including proper amounts of life insurance, since none of us is guaranteed a tomorrow.
They dangle from our key chains, encircle our desks, hang on our walls and sit on our mantels. Through photographs, our loved ones are all around us, even when we are not physically with them. Their pictures serve as constant reminders of what matters most in our life.
To encourage people to share their greatest expressions of love, the LIFE Foundation launched on Jan. 15 its Crazy4Love Photo Contest as part of its Insure Your Love campaign running through Valentine’s Day. Dozens of people have already uploaded their pictures to Tumblr.com capturing the first moment with a newborn baby or their first blushes as a newly engaged or wedded couple.
The moments captured in many of these photos also are pivotal life events. In addition to the joy and happiness they bring, they often come with promises to care and protect. One very important way to protect those we love is through life insurance. Share your greatest expression of love for those dearest to you in your life at www.insureyourlove.org. You may win a weekend getaway with your loved one and learn a little more about the connection between love and life insurance.
I hate impractical gifts or things I’ll never use, like pashminas. They never look right with my clothes. I have no idea how to drape them. I just look like I’ve been attacked by a large piece of fabric.
For me, I like gifts that keep on giving. A few things I learned recently about disability insurance helped me decide that this is a gift I’m giving myself and my family this holiday season.
It could save my marriage. I always think every Saturday when my husband heads out on his long bike rides, even with ice on the road, I’m glad he has disability insurance. He should have the same peace of mind about me. The stress of a disabling injury on our marriage would be tough, but worse would be the added stress of a lost income and caring for a disabled spouse.
It gives me choice. After we’d quickly blow through the $5,000 rehabilitation coverage provided by our health insurance; then what? Without disability insurance, my options for care would be pretty limited. Most likely, I would not be able to afford care in my own home. I want to know I’ve done all I can to make sure I will have choices available to me if I become disabled.
It gives me control. Workers’ Compensation and Social Security disability insurance have lots of restrictions. Many people who apply get denied. Privately owned disability insurance, whether obtained through the workplace or individually purchased, does not have severe restrictions. Typically, if a disability prevents you from working, you’ll be covered. No need to wait months and sometimes even years to see if the government will come to your assistance.
It gives me hope. Often times, people who suffer a disability have major victories like beating cancer, regaining mobility or being able to return to work. Often the difference of getting from Point A to Point B is disability insurance, which allows a person to focus on recovering rather than worrying about money.
I know all you pashmina lovers of the world, especially my mother-in-law, might not appreciate my sentiments, but this year I say, “You can keep your coverage, I’m getting what I need through my insurance agent.”
I came on board about a month ago as the LIFE Foundation’s communications director. Like at most foundations, LIFE has a small staff with immense drive and creativity producing amazing results on a small budget. That didn’t surprise me. What did, though, was that when I chose LIFE, I didn’t realize I would be so frequently reminded of DEATH.
First, you should know that I’m the kind of person who as soon as I hear a news anchor launch into a tragic story, I switch the channel as fast as my fingers will move. I don’t want hear it. Even in my office at LIFE, which overlooks Arlington Cemetery, I close the shades. Too much glare. Besides, I need to see my computer. But on it, I’ve been watching or reading story after realLIFEstory of families, businesses, men, women and children, telling me to stop turning the channel, stop closing my shades. Even if I wanted to I can’t now, it’s my job and I need to understand why we do what we do, why you do what you. Why do you buy insurance? What happens when we don’t have it; what it means when we do.
My husband, a former CPA, said after we had our first child that we had to get life and long-term care insurance. After the next two kids came along, both at once, he increased coverage on both of us, even though we were paying more in childcare than our mortgage. I asked, “Why are we doing this when we are barely saving these days?” He just said, “It’s important.” I didn’t get it and it irritated me that I couldn’t eat out as much or had to “cut my spending” so he could put our money toward something intangible, hypothetical.
After coming to LIFE, watching reality play on my computer screen, seeing how the staff and the industry embrace the people featured in our realLIFEstories and LIFE Lessons programs, I get it now. In fact, I’m ready to increase our coverage. I told my husband that I want us to sit down with a financial professional, and not just arrange this stuff online, but get a real partner who will help us find the best options for us. I’m excited about LIFE and the lessons I’m going to learn here. I hope I can do my part to get the message out and be an asset to this industry and this organization. Here’s to LIFE.
