Did I scare the bejeezus out of you?  There are a lot of scary things that happen in life, however most of us understand that with preparation, we are able to navigate the scary times.  And, the more information we have, the more likely we are to be able to plan in ways that help us to limit outcomes that we might find to be scary. What are some of the scary times?

• Major Life Changes
• Major Illness
• Loss of a Loved One
• Financial Hardship

I remember Mrs. Stamp’s private pre-school, where I learned about cocoons and how to spell “cat.” I remember walking, my hand in my sister’s, on the way to our grandparents’ house for a delicious Southern dinner of chicken and dumplings. I also remember my mother tapping numbers into her desk calculator, and the “chit chit chit” of it printing the results on ticker tape. She never looked at the numbers on the tape with panic or worry.

The quote above doesn’t sound like a scary time, not at all.  Yet, it is after the loss of the author’s father when the author was just 3 years old.  It is quite a story and worth a read for the love story.  Check it out. In this post, I want to talk about one of  life’s major changes as a scary time, and how to limit fears. What are some major life changes?  Going to college, getting married, purchasing a home, having children,  and children leaving the nest.  Those are all great changes, right?  (Not really.  Empty nest is a mixed bag…don’t let anyone fool you into being surprised.)  If these life changes are great, what makes them scary?  You know, don’t you?  It is the vulnerability.  Emotional and financial vulnerability.  Loving until you think your heart will explode, loving so much that you want to do anything to protect your new spouse, your new children, your new life. Yes.  Emotional vulnerability is scary.  And it makes life worthwhile.  And it sure doesn’t seem fitting to be talked about on an insurance blog.  Insurance is BORING!  And still, here we are.  Talking about insurance in the same paragraph as emotional vulnerability. Once upon a time,  almost 30 years ago, Jamie was at the beginning of his insurance career.  He had a client who was building a new home.  A man and his wife, and their young children.  At the beginning of their beautiful journey.  The young family was in almost the same phase of life that Jamie was in.  All of their “stuff” was properly insured, and Jamie spoke to them briefly about life insurance.  They were interested, but just not quite ready.  They would get back on it soon.  After all, they were young and healthy. Quite frankly, Jamie is not a pusher.  He certainly didn’t want to push life insurance.  It is such an uncomfortable and scary topic. Then he got the call.

The husband had literally fallen into the foundation of the home and broke his neck.  The wife needed to know if there was a life insurance policy.  It was needed.

As I type this, it made me tear up.  I remember.   Life Insurance is boring and uncomfortable to talk about.  Thinking about raising children without your spouse is an emotional topic. Talk about it anyway.  How does it help to take away the scary parts of life?  Just like any monster in the closet, when you look in there and see what is actually there, when you have “monster spray” available to take care of the problem, you don’t have to be so scared.  Because you planned.  That is what we do for the people we love.   We would love to talk to you about how you can protect your family, just in case.