At 22 years old, Summer was juggling what many young adults do—school and a job. When she found out she was going to be a mom for the first time, she bought life insurance, even though her budget was tight and her mom, Coleen, originally advised against it. That ended up being the most responsible decision she could have made for her son, Nathan, and his future.
Tim Meredith took a career leap changing from being a pastor to opening up an IT business. Not long after starting his new business, Tim had an iliac aneurysm, which caused him to suffer two strokes. He credits disability and long-term care insurance with helping save his family and his business.
Children of Cuban immigrants, Lissete and Felipe Montes de Oca made sure to increase their insurance needs as their family and incomes grew. Felipe was diagnosed with leukemia, but it was because of his long-term care insurance they didn’t need to use their retirement savings to pay for his care. After a three-year battle with the disease it was his life insurance that helped Lissete maintain the standard of living and will enable their two boys to attend college.
Lissete y Felipe Montes de Oca, hijos de inmigrantes cubanos, se aseguraron de aumentar la cobertura de su seguro de vida conforme sus familias e ingresos crecieron. Felipe fue diagnosticado con leucemia, pero fue gracias a su seguro de atención de largo plazo que no necesitaron usar sus ahorros para el retiro para pagar por sus cuidados. Después de una batalla de tres años contra la enfermedad, fue su seguro de vida lo que ayudó a Lissete a mantener su estilo de vida y lo que permitirá a sus dos hijos ir a la universidad.
Melina Ahmadpour had to put college on hold to care for her mother, Romina, who had terminal cancer. As bills mounted, they lost their house to foreclosure. Then, after her mother died and left no life insurance, Melina struggled to support herself and go to college.
Paul Krzewina, a third-generation dairy farmer, wanted to keep his farm in the family. With assistance from his agent, he purchased life insurance to protect his family and growing business. When Paul was diagnosed with a brain tumor, he was able borrow against his policy’s cash values to pay his health insurance deductible and hospital expenses. After he died, the death benefit proceeds allowed his wife, Michele, and the couple’s four adult children to continue operating the farm.
After learning of his inoperable brain tumor, the accelerated death benefit option of Don Wachtel's policy gave his family the gift of being able to spend more quality time together. After his passing, the remaining money helped his wife, Tonia, with final expenses, while grieving at home with her daughters.
John Ogonowski was an airplane pilot and a hay farmer. It was because of his life insurance that enabled his wife, Peg, to pay off her mortgage and farm debt, and set aside money for her daughters’ college tuition after her husband, John, was killed in the Sept. 11 attacks.
Theresa Mollicone was skeptical of long-term care insurance but after her husband suffered a massive stroke that left him paralyzed and unable to speak, she became a believer. “If we didn’t have this insurance, caring for Joe would have depleted all the savings we had,” Theresa says. “Now I’m not afraid of running of out money.”
Attorney Peter Zatir was 45 when he was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. Fortunately, Peter had protected his business and family with disability insurance. That allowed Peter to focus on his recovery, without having to worry about how his family’s living expenses would be met.
Life insurance helped the Hunter family while Anthony was alive by using the accelerated death benefit in his policy to buy a new home. And it kept his family business afloat after his untimely death at age 34.
With her mom’s death, and no money or life insurance, Brittney LaCombe, just 20, became provider and stand-in mom for her two younger sisters. “If my mom had had life insurance, my life would be completely different. We would have been able to stay in our house and pay the bills," says Brittney.
