50+ Lifestyles

Gift Giving Season: The Greatest Gift

By Richard J. Schillig, CLU, ChFC, LUTCF
Independent Insurance and Financial Advisor

As we approach another gift giving season, questions always surface on what to give. Let me make a suggestion. Give the greatest gift to spouse and family members that we can possibly give. The Greatest Gift is the gift of having our affairs in order. We are currently in or approaching enrollment periods; Medicare Annual Enrollment Period began October 15 and Obamacare Open Enrollment for individual major medical insurance begins November 15. During these periods, we meet with lots of folks to discuss various insurance issues related to healthcare.

One insurance topic many folks gloss over is life insurance. Regardless of age and status of our lives, life insurance is a necessity, for the sake of our survivors. Life insurance is a gift and should be considered as part of the Greatest Gift. Please allow me to share a couple of experiences with life insurance over my career.

During my very early career in the insurance business, I called on an over-the-road truck driver. I prospected this guy for quite some time and eventually this truck driver said to me “Dick, if you want to see me…..since I am over the road, the only time I can see you is on Sunday. Well, with a young family and just beginning a new career, I agreed and took that Sunday afternoon appointment that resulted in a nice life insurance sale. The truck driver, who also had a young family, thought life insurance was
important for his family and purchased the insurance plan.

I really don’t remember the amount of the life insurance, but it was a considerable amount. I made a nice commission on that sale. But four to five months later on a weekend night at home, the phone rang. In answering that phone, the caller identified himself as my truck driver client’s father-in-law. His daughter was married to the truck driver with the three young children. The caller told me his daughter’s husband – his son-in-law – was killed in a trucking accident that morning. He wanted to know if I was the insurance agent that sold his son-in-law that life insurance months before. He wanted to know if the life insurance was good. Of course, the life insurance was good. As a matter of fact, because of the accident the policy was worth double the initial face amount. It was a double indemnity…accidental death benefit. I don’t remember the amount of the life insurance, but I do remember attending the visitation for this deceased truck driver. While in the receiving line, I heard someone ask if the wife (now a widow) and the kids were going to be OK financially. The father pointed directly at me and said, “Thanks to this guy, they will be OK financially.”

More important than anything else, that life insurance kept a full-time widowed homemaker and young children in their home. The mortgage on their newer home was completely paid off, as well as other debts cleared. In addition, the life insurance provided a monthly income stream for 10 or 15 years.

This story involves a young family. Life insurance was essential for this young family. It proved for me the value of life insurance.

In subsequent years I experienced the value of life insurance for others regardless of their age or life status. Life insurance can be used to provide not only debt reduction and continuation of income as in the truck driver story but also used to provide terrific flexibility in planning for retirement. Pensions and/or retirement plan can be increased with life insurance. Life insurance may also provide for special needs children or grandchildren. Life insurance may greatly improve the transfer of cash assets from parents to children and/or grandchildren with very favorable tax ramifications. Life insurance often funds today’s very high cost of education. Newer life insurance policies can now provide for help with long-term care costs.

Having our affairs in order is the Greatest Gift. Life insurance is part of our affairs. Life insurance needs to be included and is an invaluable inclusion in your affairs.