I’ll never forget the first story I heard from an agent who wasn’t able to convince a mother she needed life insurance.
We’ll call her Suzy
Suzy spent her pregnancy worrying that her 2 twin boys would be born premature. Doctor’s reports all seemed to suggest that this was a possibility.
But to her and her husbands’ surprise, the kids were born very close to normal weight and only had to spend a few nights in the hospital.
A few days after the twins were born, Suzy was traveling back to the hospital with her mother, when she suffered a brain aneurysm and died in the car. She never got to hold her babies.
She and her husband had asked their life insurance agent to hold off until after their children were born before dealing with the paper work, but it was now too late.
The reason they delayed wasn’t because of health or budget, but because they didn’t want any bad omens before the baby boys arrived.
They thought it was bad luck.
This story changed my destiny – I stopped dreaming of being a guy on Wall Street and became a guy on Main Street helping families secure what’s most important today—family.
A person goes through different stages of emotions with their life insurance
It’s never a fun purchase to make, and there are definitely emotional stages if you aren't prepared with the necessary resources to make an educated purchase.
1. Confusion
If you’re making your first buy, it’s probable you have no idea what you’re doing.
No worries!
Thousands of consumers make their first life insurance purchase every day, and they do so successfully. But it’s also probable that they had no idea where to begin. Consider a simple, three step process:
- Find the cheapest rate.
- Apply and complete a medical.
- Be patient.
You may have a place in mind to request life insurance quotes, but if you don’t know anyone off hand, either ask a friend or shop for rates online. Once you get your feet wet in this step, the confusion cloud will begin to dissipate.
If you aren’t comfortable with the agent you picked, find a new one. It’s okay. You don’t have to use the first person you come across. That person will likely be your agent for a lot of years anyway, so make sure the relationship is solid.
If you feel comfortable, either fill out the application or complete one on the web. Submit it, schedule your medical (it’s a free medical by a traveling nurse) and you’re on your way.
Finally, be patient. This process is a 4-6 week marathon, plus or minus a week or so depending on your health.
2. Aggravation or Celebration
After the 4-6 week patience test, you’ll be given a rating.
If it’s an excellent rating and you’ll want to celebrate; if it’s dreadful and you’ll feel terrible.
If you’re celebrating, congratulations, you must be in great health and you’ll save quite a bit of money!
If you’re in the other category, fear not. Every carrier is different. Take time to shop around for the best rate.
Another carrier might be willing to offer you coverage at a lower rate.
Test the waters. If you’re working with an independent agent, they’ll be able to do this for you.
3. Security
The first night after you’ve accepted and signed off on your new life insurance policy, you might sleep pretty well.
A feeling of security might allow you peace of mind, knowing you’re not only healthy, but your family is well taken care of in the event of your unfortunate death.
Remember this feeling. It’s the reason you purchased the insurance.
Nobody buys life insurance for fun. It’s not fun.
You pay car insurance and home-owner's insurance because it’s mandatory.
You pay life insurance because you care about your loved ones.
4. Uselessness
After years into your policy, or maybe sooner, you’ll surely feel uselessness at some point.
“Why am I still paying on this thing?”
“I’m worth more dead than alive!”
“The only person benefiting from this is someone else!”
Remember that feeling of security I told you to hold onto? It might come into play here.
Years into your policy, you’ll start looking back at all the dollars you’ve spent and begin to wonder if it’s all worth it.
Just grasp that memory of peacefulness knowing your family will be taken care of… just in case.
5. Sadness and Gratitude
There’ll come a day when your life insurance is used.
The sadness of your passing (or your loved one’s) will be coupled with gratitude.
When the most someone can provide is a shoulder to cry on, your life insurance will pay for your family’s mortgage, food, and opportunity to continue the lifestyle they’ve become accustomed to.
Your age never goes backwards, so your premiums only go up. Take a moment to think about your family, and what might happen if you were no longer there to support them.
This was a guest post written by Jason Fisher, co-owner of The Life Insurance Blog. He has been in the life insurance industry for years, with a primary focus on high risk life insurance. He is an independent agent, and the opinions and views are his own.
