I thought everyone had it.
At least everyone who was married.
Certainly everyone who had kids.
But boy was I wrong.
Not everyone does have it.
I'm talking about life insurance.
I was driving the other day with a colleague of mine. And somehow we got talking about life insurance. I was certain he, with small children, would have invested in it.
But he hadn't.
He is an intelligent man who's very involved in the raising of his kids. I just couldn't believe it.
He said he planned to get it but procrastination got the better of him. He said he just keeps delaying it.
We've run several stories in Interactive Dad Magazine on the life insurance including Don't Get Caught Dead Without Life Insurance, How to Figure Out How Much Life Insurance You Need and Life Insurance Quote Proves Critical to a Family's Survival.
In the last article we tell the story of Del Bloomer.
Hardworking, community-minded and successful in the Birmingham, Ala. business world, friends and colleagues assumed the husband and father of two would one day become mayor. But Bloomer believed life had something different in store for him, so he went beyond getting just a life insurance quote, he actually bought the policy.
"He had (bad) dreams at night," says his wife Linda. "He thought he would not have a long life."
He turned out to be right. He suddenly died at the age of 40. He left behind a grieving wife and 8-year-old twins Maya and Matthew .
It was a shocking enough to lose the love of her life. But because Del had bought life insurance, money was one thing Linda Bloomer did not need to worry about. She couldn't be more thankful.
Surveys show up to 85-percent believe they need life insurance. But four of every 10 American adults have none whatsoever. And never bother getting a life insurance quote. "If someone depends on you, you need life insurance," says Jon Dressner, Vice President of the Life and Health Insurance Foundation for Education (LIFE) in Washington, DC. "It's not enough that people think it's important they need to do something about it."
Calling the insurance agent and getting the process going was one of the hardest things I had to do. To face your own mortality and to plan for your own possible death is by no means easy.
My insurance agent will tell you how I procrastinated. Yes me. The Interactive Dad!
She hounded me for months until I took care of the whole thing.
And thank goodness she did.
Now that I'm done with it let me tell you how responsible I feel. How much better I feel. And how much easier I rest at night knowing that my family will be taken of in the event something happens to me.
I also realize how lucky I am that nothing happened to me before I picked up that phone.
Find My Insurance Policy
Glenn Lawrence is editor of Interactive Dad Magazine, an online magazine offering news dads can use on a daily basis. From household finance to relationship advice, find out why Interactive Dad is the #1 Parenting Magazine for Fathers!
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