Case studies

https://lifehappens.org/videos/we-thought-we-had-a-lifetime/ 

Kiristen says that her mom, M’Linda, is her role model: a strong independent woman who always wants the best for her children. That hasn’t been easy, though. Kiristen’s dad, Kenneth, died in a boating accident when she was just 4. On that fateful day, this young family’s world was turned upside down.

“My two parent, two income household was no more,” says Kiristen. “In the blink of an eye, my brothers, sisters and I were fatherless and being raised by a grieving single mother with a modest income.” While M’Linda and Kenneth had talked about getting life insurance, they never followed through. As M’Linda says, “We thought we had a lifetime to do that.”

It didn’t take long for the financial hardship to reach their day-to-day life. They found themselves forced to move homes when they could no longer afford the rent. And Kiristen remembers many dinners consisting of hot dogs, as it was what they could afford some weeks.

Over the years, Kiristen has studied hard and is excited to go to college with the hopes of becoming a doctor. Given that the family has lived paycheck to paycheck, it has been hard to save for college, so after-school jobs and financial aid will help Kiristen on her path. “While something devastating happened, it’s not going to stop me from achieving my dreams,” she says.

As she has gotten older and her mom has shared more about the financial struggles they faced, Kiristen now understands that “life insurance would have given my family stability. It not only gives you peace of mind, it provides for your loved ones after you are gone.” M’Linda echoes that sentiment with this advice to other young families: “Don’t wait to get life insurance. Tomorrow isn’t guaranteed.”

 https://lifehappens.org/videos/michael-sizemores-60-second-video/ 

At 26, Michael Sizemore was living two of his dreams. Ever the athlete, he was training to participate in his first marathon. And he was enjoying his new position advocating for the unemployed and disadvantaged in his community through the nonprofit organization where he worked. After years of study and earning his masters degree in public administration, he felt prepared to start his life’s mission of helping others.

Both those dreams came crashing down around him one night while he was out with friends. As they were walking across the street, a drunk driver ran a red light at high speed and hit Michael.

Click the link above to watch the full length version.

 https://lifehappens.org/videos/protection-during-a-financial-storm/ 

Being a small-business owner is rewarding. It gives you the freedom to do what you love and to control your destiny. This appealed to Mike Jaap, who took a wealth of experience and built a metal recycling business. It paid off with exponential growth and profits.

His insurance professional Bill Cassidy was there to offer him advice—unique advice he hadn’t heard from his other advisors. Bill recommended that Mike put a whole life insurance policy in place to protect his family and as a means to build cash value.

Then came the economic crisis of 2008. His business took a huge blow when markets contracted and several major oversees clients were unable to pay their bills. Mike thought it was the death knell of his business. That is until he called Bill.

Distraught, Mike laid out the facts. His bank had withdrawn his line of credit. Without it, he wouldn’t be able to keep his business afloat, which would mean laying off a few dozen employees as well.

Bill had a simple question for him: “How much money do you need to keep your business going right now?” Perplexed, Mike gave him a figure. “No problem,” said Bill. “We can have that money in your account in two days.” What Mike had forgotten was the power of his whole life policy and the cash value it had accumulated over the dozen years he had had it.

The infusion of money from a loan against the cash value in his policy allowed Mike to regroup and keep his business going, and in the process it protected his family financially as well as his employees. Once things were stabilized, Bill and Mike set up a plan to repay the loan, so the money would be there in the event that outside forces again came to bear on his business.

Mike is thankful for these living benefits of life insurance that help him weather the financial storm. “There were a lot of sleepless nights, but my whole life insurance policy allowed me to stop worrying and keep my business,” he says.

*Withdrawing or borrowing funds from your policy will reduce its cash value and death benefit if not repaid, and may result in a tax liability if the policy terminates before the death of the insured.

 https://lifehappens.org/videos/its-about-family/ 

Jenny was single and in her 20s, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t thinking about the future. In fact, she knew she wanted to have a family one day and that saving for retirement—even this early on—was a priority.

That’s why after meeting with insurance professional Jim Silbernagel, she decided to buy a permanent life insurance policy. She knew it would help her with both goals: provide the life insurance coverage she sought and the ability to accumulate cash value to help with saving for retirement.

Jenny’s dream of having a family did come true. She met Jim on a blind date, and once married, they welcomed a son, Michael, and then several years later twins, Samuel and Nathaniel. As often happens with growing families, finances got stretched tight, and Jim suggested they cancel Jenny’s policy to save money. Jenny was adamant that they keep it. Instead, they used some of the accumulated cash value to pay the premium and keep the policy in force.* That decision would be life changing for her family.

The Chich family was looking forward to welcoming their fourth child—a girl, but tragically Jenny died while giving birth. The shock to her family was overwhelming. While life insurance could never replace their vibrant wife and mother, Jim says that Jenny’s policy helped the family in the aftermath of her death. He was able to take a yearlong leave of absence from his job to care for newborn Emma and the boys, who were all younger than 6. “I was able to focus on my kids and not worry about how I was going to buy a gallon of milk,” says Jim.

And his advice to other families is simple: “Be prepared. You may look at the cost of premiums as scary, but if you work it into your budget you don’t even realize the money is going out. Just make sure your life insurance is taken care of.”

*Withdrawing or borrowing funds from your policy will reduce its cash value and death benefit if not repaid, and may result in a tax liability if the policy terminates before the death of the insured.

 https://lifehappens.org/videos/jh-protection-is-paramount/ 

Sam McNeely, an ex-football player, towered over everyone who came in contact with him. But his size belied a soft side—he was quick with a joke and able to befriend anyone with his easygoing ways. That’s what made Amy fall in love with him.

Within a year of getting married, they discovered they were going to be parents. That’s when they met with Sam’s cousin and insurance professional Juli McNeely, CFP, CLU, LUTCF. Amy understood from the beginning that protecting their growing family with life insurance was paramount.

While Sam had some life insurance through work, Amy convinced him to purchase an individual policy, which would give him sufficient coverage and wouldn’t disappear if he changed jobs. Amy got coverage as well. Her reason was straightforward: “I didn’t want to leave him with a child and struggle with work and finding someone to take care of her.”

Several years later, Amy was walking their daughter, Charli, to school when her phone rang. That call was the beginning of a life-altering morning that ended up with Sam in the hospital with an aortic dissection. Shortly after arriving, it would claim his life. He was just 38.

Amy has little recollection of the days and weeks that followed. During that time she relied heavily on Juli, who invested the proceeds of Sam’s life insurance to ensure that Amy would have an ongoing stream of income for years to come. It has allowed Amy to be there for Charli, instead of having to work full time and find people to care for her.

Her advice to other parents is simple: “People think life insurance is super expensive, but it’s not. For the amount of coverage we had, it wasn’t expensive at all—and it was worth everything. It’s made my sisters and friends reconsider their needs. People my age don’t think they’re going to die, but it happens.”

 https://lifehappens.org/videos/jh-a-dream-lives-on/ 

Scott Young liked to dream big. Although he came from humble beginnings, through hard work he turned a one-man enterprise into the largest heating and air conditioning business in their area. That allowed Scott and his wife, Cathy, to fulfill another dream—to build a home in the country and work it as a hobby ranch. They wanted to give their two daughters a life that revolved around the outdoors and good living.

Insurance professional Steve Sabo made sure Scott was properly insured at work and at home. Scott ran the business with his brother, David, and a buy-sell agreement funded with life insurance ensured the business could continue if one of them were to die. Plus, Scott had a personal life insurance policy that would allow Cathy and the girls to be OK financially if something were to happen to him.

As the business and Scott’s financial responsibilities grew, Steve knew it was time to reassess Scott’s life insurance needs. They did, indeed, find a need and immediately set to work to increase Scott’s personal and business coverage.

Tragically, just weeks after the life insurance applications were submitted, Scott suffered a fatal accident. On July 4, this avid outdoorsman drowned while paddle boarding in a nearby river.

While Cathy and her daughters must now make a new life for themselves without Scott, the life insurance has been invaluable. The insurance through the business ensured that Cathy was compensated for Scott’s portion of the company instead of becoming an owner of a business she had no interest in running. Scott’s personal policy cemented their dream. “I have an incredible amount of gratitude, and it’s all because of the life insurance,” says Cathy. “Without it, we’d be gone from this property. Now my daughters can grow in the home we built, as we create a new life together.”