15 Jan Don’t Wait to Get Life Insurance

Kiristen Draughn Case Study: Don’t Wait to Get Life Insurance

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.”

Many people think, “I’m young. I’m not going to die.” Statistically they may be right. However, they could end up being one of the statistics. You just don’t know—that’s the problem. The solution is life insurance. Get a comprehensive Life Insurance quote today and protect your future.

Don’t Wait to Get Life Insurance – Video Transcription

Kiristen: My dad was a comedic genius. He loved to make everyone laugh. He loved to be the like the star of the show. But he also had like a softer side. So he would write my mom love notes and little hand written letters and poems, and there was always something that she could came home to on the table that was just hand-made. And he was really loving, and very affectionate.

M’Linda (Mother/Wife): He was a recruiter for a telecom company. He loved music. He was actually a rapper in a group at one point when he was younger. And even got signed, so yeah. He was a pretty amazing person.

Kiristen: He was on a boat with his friends and they were out. And his hat flew off in the wind. And it was a hat that was, I guess, it had some memories with him – it was his father’s. So he jumped in after it.

M’Linda: There was a knock at the door. And it was two officers dressed in black and they said, “I’m sorry, ma’am, but your husband is missing.” The currents had pulled him under.

Kiristen: I just remember hugging her from behind. I’m like, “It’s okay, mom, it’s okay.” It’s not okay.

M’Linda: It took them 48 hours to find him. He was 33.

Kiristen: And it was just sad. There’s just like there’s this big lovable energy in the house and then like it’s just wiped out.

M’Linda: Immediately I was an emotional wreck. And I, you know, was now a single mom. So it was hard for me to be able to stay home and grieve because I had to work. It was just literally just day-by-day like ‘what am I going to feed the kids?’ You know, I have to give them dinner. We had no savings. I mean, we literally, we’d been married 5 years. And, you know, we talked all about this. You know we talked about estate planning stuff, we talked about life insurance. It was definitely something we wanted to do, we just thought that we had more time. When you’re having to deal with an emotional loss like that, having to deal with a financial loss and financial hardship is even more difficult. So, I mean, I would say life insurance is a must. Not a luxury, but a must.

Kiristen: My mom has raised me. She’s raised me into something I’m proud to be. Nothing’s gonna stop me. I wanna be a doctor, that’s my dream, that’s my goal. And I’m gonna do what I want to do and get done what I need to get done.