Real-Life Stories:

A stay at home mom doesn’t need coverage, right?

It was close to 11 p.m. the December night when boxer Oscar de la Hoya lost his fight to Manny Pacquiao. The Virgens were saying goodbye to their extended family after watching the match together. Still basking in the glow of family and good food, they headed off to their Port Hueneme, Calif., house. On the way, a hit-and-run driver slammed into their pickup truck. The truck rolled over, pinning Nicolas and wife Teresa inside. Son Gabriel and daughter Mayra managed to crawl out and were only slightly injured. When rescue workers arrived, Teresa was already dead. Nicolas had three broken vertebrae and multiple fractures in his arms. “In one second your life changes,” Nicolas says.

After their injuries were tended to, the Virgens started picking up the pieces. Thankfully Teresa had life insurance to help them do it. Initially the couple wasn’t convinced that Teresa needed a policy of her own since she did not work outside the home. As a building contractor, Nicolas saw the rationale for his own life insurance. But their insurance agent Irene Henry made the case that there would be expenses if something were to happen to Teresa. “Think of all the things that Teresa does,” Irene recalls explaining to them.

The life insurance allowed them to pay bills while Nicolas was out of work for nearly two years recovering from his injuries, including an amputated finger. It also helped with college expenses for Mayra and her older sister, Susana. If not for the insurance, Nicolas is certain that his family would have lost their home. “It’s like Teresa is still watching over us and taking care of us,” he says.

 

Father of four didn’t think he could afford insurance

With four young children, a wife with a modest income, a mortgage and some business debt, Michael Rowe had an obvious need for life insurance. But the family budget was stretched thin and Mike didn’t think he could afford it.

That didn’t stop agent Craig Miller, CLU, ChFC, CSA, from calling Mike several times to arrange an appointment. He knew Mike was taking an enormous risk and was determined to do something about it. When they got together, they spoke for hours before Mike finally agreed that he needed to fit life insurance into his budget. Mike bought a universal life policy that would protect his family while allowing him to accumulate cash value that he could tap into for future needs.

Over the next few years, Mike called Craig several times to say he wanted to cancel the policy because he needed money for his business. Each time, Craig persuaded him otherwise. But knowing that Mike’s financial challenges wouldn’t soon disappear, Craig convinced Mike to use the policy’s accumulated cash value to keep the coverage in force and he lowered his premium to a largely symbolic amount of $1 a month.

Two years later, Craig learned that Mike had terminal brain cancer. Although the Rowe’s knew from their monthly checking account statements that they were still sending $1 to the insurance company, Mike’s wife, CindyLu, couldn’t believe that $1 could keep a $100,000 policy in force. But Craig assured them that the cash value had kept the policy from lapsing and that money would be there for CindyLu and the children.

A week before losing his battle with cancer at age 47, Mike sent Craig a letter thanking him for his persistence. "The day you came over to talk about life insurance I was predetermined not to buy any. The events of that evening will forever change the lives of my family," he wrote.

 

Ensuring a college future for their children

Greg Knoll lived life to the fullest. He loved sports cars, snowmobiles, speedboats – “anything that was loud and fast,” says Melissa, his wife. An economics major in college, he grew bored with his desk job at a mortgage company and opted for something more exciting. He joined the Minneapolis police department and became an undercover officer. But one area of life where he took no chances was with his family.

Greg met Melissa in college and they married shortly after graduating. While still in their mid-20s, the two talked with their insurance agent, Joe Fox, CLU, ChFC, CLTC, about life insurance. They were young and healthy and didn’t expect to need it soon. But they had a new home with a mortgage and were ready to start a family. Greg already had the maximum amount of coverage he could get from his employer, but knew he needed more and bought it through Joe.

In 2006, when Greg was 36, he began experiencing chronic heartburn that wouldn’t go away. After gall bladder surgery failed to cure it, doctors discovered a rare form of stomach cancer. When Greg passed away two years later, Melissa found herself unprepared for the aftermath. His death was “never part of the plan.” Fortunately, Joe was with her every step of the way, guiding her through the many personal and financial decisions that followed.

The life insurance proceeds paid off significant debts that had accumulated during Greg’s illness. They also allowed Melissa to pay off her mortgage and set up college funds for daughters Neva, 11, and Morgan, 6. “Without the insurance, I would not have been able to stay in our house and provide a stable life for the girls,” says Melissa.