06 May Getting Life Insurance Is the Responsible Thing to Do
Getting Life Insurance Is the Responsible Thing to Do For Your Family
Summer was much like her name: bright, bubbly and energetic. She was also hardworking. At 22, she was managing her own household, working full-time as a waitress, while attending school with dreams of becoming a doctor.
She would stop by the insurance agency each month to pay her auto insurance and was always greeted by insurance professional Christie Trahan. One month, Summer revealed that she was expecting a baby. Christie was thrilled for her, but also knew she had to talk to Summer about something more serious: life insurance. Summer listened carefully, but said she’d think about it. Money was tight for the single mom-to-be; she also wanted to discuss it with her mother, Coleen.
After asking her over the course of several months, Christie told Summer that she felt she needed to ask one last time: “Are you sure you don’t want to buy that life insurance?” At $12 a month, Christie felt that it was affordable even for a working student. Summer agreed, saying that she knew it was the right thing to do, even though her mother had advised her to wait.
That was a fateful decision. Just nine months after Summer gave birth to Nathan, she was struck by a car while walking and killed.
After the accident, Coleen called Christie to ask if Summer had gone ahead and bought the policy. Christie assured her she had. Relief swept over Coleen, as she now had funds to give Summer a beautiful funeral. The death benefit also allowed Coleen to take a leave of absence from her job to take care of Nathan.
Nathan is now a happy 5-year-old, and Coleen has officially adopted him. She set aside the remaining money from Summer’s policy for Nathan to use for college. “I’m so proud of Summer for making that wise decision for Nathan,” says Coleen.
This story is a stark reminder that no one is promised a tomorrow, so the best time to buy life insurance is now. There are policies to meet every budget, and an insurance professional can help you “find the money” for this important coverage. Get a quote today!
Life Insurance Is the Responsible Thing to Do – Video Transcription
Coleen Stokes (Mother): Summer was just the best daughter that you could ask for. Just easy going, laid-back, fun. Summer went to college in Latvia and worked full time as a waitress. She was going to college in the hopes of accomplishing a Doctor’s degree in the medical field.
Christie Trahan (Licensed Insurance Professional): Coleen had a long relationship as a client here at this office and so Coleen came in with Summer one day. Summer was a newly licensed driver so I helped set up Summer’s automobile policy and that’s I met her initially.
Coleen: She was doing everything on her own. She had her own house, her own car, took care of her own insurance. She got pregnant in 2007.
Christie: I started talking to Summer about the life insurance during her pregnancy right at the beginning when I first out that she was expecting.
Coleen: Christie had offered for Summer to purchase life insurance. She said ‘Wait, I want to talk to my mom about it.’ Came home and asked me I told her to wait to buy the life insurance ’til a later time cus I know she was just making it every month.
Christie: Summer then came in later. And I talked to her and I said, ‘Summer, I know that you’re wanting to put off buying life insurance but we have some products here that are very affordable and can get you started for $12 a month. So I talked to her again and she decided to buy the life insurance that day.
Just the motherly instinct already in her said, ‘This is something that I need to do for me and my child.’
Summer was walking on the side of the road near her home and was tragically hit by a car and killed.
Coleen: At the time of the accident was 22 years old and she left behind Nathan. He was 9 months old at that time.
I felt like a part of me was kinda just gonna be missing or gone. I was worried I wasn’t gonna be able to be myself again. And so I just kinda had to regroup. I think in my heart I believe she’s still here in Nathan. She’s still here so it’s like… I deal with it like that.
Dannon Stokes (Stepfather): I was very proud of Summer for having bought this life insurance policy because it made life a lot easier in a time of tragedy like this for Coleen and I to plan her funeral, take of debts. It was a god-send.
Coleen: Having gone through this with Summer now, I think my advice to her looking back would’ve been a whole lot different. I think life insurance is worth that little extra. There’s such a lesson for young people to realize there’s no promise of a tomorrow. There’s not guarantees and you have to prepare for those ‘what-if’s.’