by: Mark D. Milbrod, CLU, CLTC-June Blog

Sales Vice President

I would like to start off with a piece that was written back in 1929 by Jack J. Leterman, who established the first John Hancock Agency in the state of Virginia.   As a veteran with over 30 years in this industry, I had come across this years ago and ever since, I refer back to it over and over again because it catches the true essence of what life insurance is…

A life insurance policy is just a time-yellowed piece of paper, with columns of figures and legal phrases, until it is baptized with a widow’s tears. Then it becomes a modern miracle, a sort of Aladdin’s Lamp.

It is food, clothing, shelter, education, piece of mind.

It is the sincerest love letter ever written.

It quiets the crying of a hungry baby at night. It eases the heart of a bereaved widow. It is the comforting whisper in the dark silent hours of the night. It is a new hope, fresh courage and strength for the widow to pick up the broken threads of life and carry on.

It is an education for the sons and daughters (a chance for a career, instead of the need for a job). It is a father’s parental blessing to his children on their wedding day. It is the function of a father’s hopes and dreams for his family’s future.

Through life insurance he lives on. There is no death. Life insurance exalts life and defeats death.

It is the premium we pay for the privilege of living after death.

Here’s why I was compelled to share the above piece.  A few days ago, I (like many of us do), received a heart wrenching Facebook post of another family tragedy.  A 50 year old father of 5, with a sixth child along the way, dies unexpectantly.  He was the sole bread winner of the household and a GO FUND ME page had been established because the family was left in financial ruin and you guessed it, there was NO life insurance. 

So as not to come off as insensitive, it is possible that this person was uninsurable and unable to purchase life insurance.   There are far too many stories like this one though.  I find it hard to believe that with all of them, the people involved were not insurable. 

As life insurance/planning professionals, stories like this have to get under our skin and anger us.   We should never lose sight of the tremendous power we have when that pen is used to sign that application.  Stories like this should be shared with prospective clients.

Ask them if they want their families to endure financial pain to go along with the emotional toll of losing a loved one?

Do they want to be the next topic of a GO FUND ME Page?

The life insurance industry has been around for a while.  In fact, they kind of invented the Go Fund Me page.  Those words from Jack Leterman put it all in perspective. 

I know this is a little heavy handed, but just think of the impact that a life insurance policy would have made for the widow of that 50 year old and her five (soon to be six) kids…

Remember, Life Insurance is The Original Go Fund Me Page – It changes lives.   

Find more of Mark’s Bark’s Blogs on our website: http://www.asglife.com/insurance-view/marks-barks-blog/