29 May The Importance of Disability Insurance
Valerie King Case Study: Disability Insurance Saves a Family—Twice
Valerie King was not a believer. When she transitioned from her medical residency to practicing as an emergency room physician, she didn’t think she needed disability insurance. “I could never envision a life without working,” she says. Her insurance professional convinced the young doctor otherwise.
It was wise advice. Although Valerie never thought she would need it, a condition called ulcerative colitis made the decision for her. The disease and a series of surgeries made it impossible for her to carry out her duties, and she found herself unable to practice the profession she loved. It was her disability insurance coverage that allowed her to survive financially and care for her three young daughters who she was raising as a single mother.
Life also had a second chapter for Valerie. She met and married Tim, also a divorced parent. They looked forward to raising their blended family together and sought the advice of insurance professional Larry Ricke, CLU, ChFC.
In addition to the life insurance he had recommended, Larry made sure Tim understood the importance of disability insurance. Tim didn’t believe he’d ever need it, but with Valerie’s urging he finally agreed to get coverage.
“No one thinks lightening will strike twice,” says Larry, “but in this case it did.” Tim, who had a high-profile position in the printing business, came close to dying from an undiagnosed aneurism and valve issue with his heart. A risky operation saved his life but ultimately left him unable to return to work. Again, disability insurance made it possible for the family to go on financially.
“Most people think, ‘It will never happen to me,'” says Valerie. “But the truth is it can—and does. Everything else goes away if you don’t have disability insurance coverage and you can’t work.”
Contact QQIS today and learn how you can protect your family with our comprehensive Disability Insurance products.
The Importance of Disability Insurance – Video Transcription
Valire King: Oh I became a doctor because I was born to be a doctor. I loved practicing medicine.
Larry Ricke (Insurance Advisor): Valerie was an emergency medicine physician and very good at what she was doing. Unfortunately when I met Valerie she had a conditioned called ulcerative colitis.
Valerie: Ulcerative colitis is bowel disease and I had multiple surgeries hopefully to cure it, but it just didn’t work. I had a group disability policy in my training program that was converted to a private policy as I graduated and started my private practice.
Larry: Valerie and her team came together and decided that it would be best for Valerie to stop her medical practice and to try and go on disability.
Valerie: Suddenly find yourself single mom unable to practice medicine with three children under 5. I was able to pay the morgage and put food on the table and give them a great education because of that disability policy.
Tim and I met through our insurance agent Larry Ricke.
Tim (Husband): Larry and I became acquainted through one of the printing companies that I’d owned. He thought that it would be a good idea for us to be acquainted with each other.
Valerie: About six months after we started talking, we decided we would meet in person.
Larry: And history follows. They ended up getting married and now we merged two families together.
Tim: Larry had suggested that I have disability insurance and after meeting Valerie I soon realized that it was the right thing to do.
Valerie: Tim woke up in the middle of night and said, “Valerie, I’ve got this funny feeling in my chest.” And he ended up in the emergency room and the next day at the cardiologist office we found that he had an aortic aneurism.
Tim: We ended up having open heart surgery fixing the aneurism. I came out of that surgery really a different person mentally.
Valerie: During the surgery he had some inter-operative events that led to him being unable to work. Hard to believe that this would happen twice.
Larry: Valerie and Tim have their struggles today with their health, but what they don’t have to worry about is their financial income.
Valerie: The most important insurance you’ll ever buy is disability insurance. Because without your income nothing else works. All the kids have a bright future because we had a disability policy.