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It was close to 11 p.m. the December night when boxer Oscar de la Hoya lost his fight to Manny Pacquiao. The Virgens were saying goodbye to their extended family after watching the match together. Still basking in the glow of family and good food, they headed off to their house. On the way, their pickup was slammed by a hit-and-run driver. The truck rolled over, pinning Nicolas and wife Teresa inside. Son Gabriel and daughter Mayra managed to crawl out and were only slightly injured. When rescue workers arrived, Teresa was already dead. Nicolas had three broken vertebrae and multiple fractures in his arms. “In one second your life changes,” Nicolas says.

After their injuries were tended to, the Virgens started picking up the pieces. Thankfully Teresa had life insurance to help them do it. Initially the couple wasn’t convinced that Teresa needed a policy of her own since she did not work outside the home. As a building contractor, Nicolas saw the rationale for his own life insurance. But their insurance professional Irene Henry made the case that there would be expenses if something were to happen to Teresa. “Think of all the things that Teresa does,” Irene recalls explaining to them.

The life insurance allowed them to pay bills while Nicolas was out of work for nearly two years recovering from his injuries, including an amputated finger. It also helped with college expenses for Mayra and her older sister, Susana. If not for the insurance, Nicolas is certain that his family would have lost their home. “It’s like Teresa is still watching over us and taking care of us,” he says.

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Eran casi las 11 p.m. de una noche en diciembre cuando el boxeador Oscar de la Hoya perdió su pelea contra Manny Pacquiao. La familia Virgen se despedía de sus familiares después de mirar juntos la pelea. Deleitándose aún en el buen ambiente de haber estado en familia y disfrutado de una buena comida, se dirigieron a su casa en Port Hueneme, California. En
el trayecto, su camioneta chocó con
un conductor que se dio a la fuga. El vehículo se dio vuelta dejando a Nicolas y a su esposa Teresa inmóviles en el interior. Sus hijos Gabriel y Mayra lograron arrastrarse hasta salir del auto y apenas sufrieron heridas. Cuando el equipo de rescate llegó, Teresa ya estaba muerta. Nicolas tenía tres vértebras rotas y múltiples fracturas en los brazos. “Tu vida cambia en un segundo”, dice Nicolas.

Tras haber sido atendidas sus heridas, la familia Virgen intentó reorganizarse. Afortunadamente, Teresa tenía un seguro de vida que los ayudaría en ese proceso. Al comienzo, la pareja no estaba convencida de que Teresa necesitara una póliza propia dado que no trabajaba fuera del hogar. Como contratista de construcción, Nicolas entendía la lógica de contar con un seguro de vida para él. Sin embargo, su agente de seguros Marina Nuño les explicó que si algo le ocurría a Teresa, esto generaría gastos. “Piensen en todas las cosas que hace Teresa”, recuerda Marina que les dijo.

El seguro de vida les permitió pagar sus cuentas mientras Nicolas estuvo sin trabajar durante casi dos años recuperándose de sus lesiones, incluida la amputación de un dedo. También ayudó con los gastos de la universidad de Mayra y de su hermana mayor, Susana. Si no hubiera sido por el seguro, Nicolas está convencido de que su familia habría perdido su casa. “Teresa sigue cuidando y velando por nosotros”, señala.

Army Major William F. Hecker’s long-range plan was to become a college English professor, but first he was committed to following in the footsteps of his family and serving his country. A West Point graduate, he was an officer in the 3-16th Field Artillery Battalion, and in late 2005 he was deployed to Iraq. Just six weeks into his tour of duty there, he was killed by a roadside bomb. Bill was just 37, and left behind his wife, Richelle, and four young children.

Nothing could have prepared Richelle emotionally for her loss, but she knew Bill had taken steps to ensure the family would be okay financially. The Army provides soldiers with a $100,000 death benefit, and Bill had bought additional life insurance offered by the military. But he knew even that wouldn’t be enough to cover his family’s needs. So he purchased additional coverage on his own. His individual policy even included an option to increase his coverage every three years regardless of his health status, a valuable feature for someone with a hazardous occupation. “He did all the right things,” says Samantha Hilliard, Hecker’s insurance professional.

Richelle and her children, now ages 3 to 11, recently resettled in Colorado Springs, Colo. With the insurance benefits safely invested, Richelle’s living expenses should be covered long after her Army survivor benefits have run out. That leaves her free to remain a stayat-home mom as long as she wishes.

Though Bill’s service to his country put him in harm’s way, that wasn’t the only reason the Heckers bought life insurance. “Obviously, he had a dangerous job, but there’s always a chance that any of us won’t make it,” says Richelle. “It’s just the right thing to do.”

Stephen Mayhle always wanted to become a police officer. When he was offered a job as a police officer, Stephen jumped at the chance. But moving with his wife, Shandra, and their two daughters from their home meant belt tightening.

One way to cut expenses, the couple thought, was to terminate a $50,000 universal life insurance policy that Stephen bought shortly after he and Shandra married. After all, they reasoned, Stephen’s group life insurance benefit through his employer more than doubled his existing coverage. However, their insurance professional Chad Gregorini explained that with a young family to provide for, Stephen needed more coverage, not less. For the same price, Stephen could buy a $250,000 20-year term policy. Stephen took his agent’s advice.

Eventually money wasn’t as tight. The couple was even able to purchase a home. Then the unthinkable happened. In the early hours of an April morning in 2009, several officers, including Stephen, responded to a domestic disturbance between a mother and son. When they arrived, the son opened fire. Stephen, 29, and two other officers were killed.

The killings left a young widow wondering how she would manage. As friends and family gathered at the Mayhle home, Chad stopped by, too. Shandra felt a huge sense of relief when Chad said, “Mrs. Mayhle, you’re going to be OK.”

The insurance money helped Shandra put financial worries aside. She paid off a car loan, started college funds for the girls, created a retirement fund for herself and continued paying her mortgage. Most importantly, Shandra can spend time with her daughters, now 7 and 5. “They need me right now,” she says. “They don’t need a babysitter.”

Jim Winand was not yet married when he met Michael Tokushige, a financial professional, but he was already thinking ahead, asking about life insurance for himself and his fiancée, Remle. Just 28, he was fit and muscular, and spent as much time as he could in the Pacific Ocean off Honolulu, where he was a parasailing and scuba diving instructor, as well as a boat captain.

Many young people barely give life insurance a thought, but Jim “was already on the right path,” Tokushige recalls. “He was really concerned about taking care of his wife-to-be.” Jim knew that if he bought life insurance while he was young and healthy he could lock in low premiums on a policy that would grow over time. In the years that followed, Jim took a position as a firefighter at the Honolulu Fire Department. He kept in touch with Michael and bought additional life insurance coverage for himself and Remle as their family grew to include two children. Then in late 2006, Jim called to share some crushing news. He had been diagnosed with colorectal cancer.

As Jim fought the cancer in the months that followed, he never stopped preparing for his family’s future. At Tokushige’s suggestion, he invoked a provision in his original policy that allowed him to apply some of its dividends toward increasing the death benefit. He passed away in July 2007, just 15 days shy of his 39th birthday.  Today, proceeds from Jim’s individual policies, as well as additional coverage through the fire department, allow Remle the time and financial security to home school their two children, Mia, 6, and Levi, 4. “He was an amazing man who always thought about things and prepared,” says Remle. “He made it possible for us to continue living the way we always wanted to.”