How Much Do You Value Your Life?

By Christ Church Communications Team
Andrew Blackwell (Contributor)

Many of us take life insurance too lightly. The Insurance Information Institute reports that 30% of Americans carry no life insurance. Think about it: If you were to pass away unexpectedly, how would your spouse pay for monthly expenses without your income? In the dark moments of grief, the last thing your spouse should worry about is surviving financially in your absence. With a term life insurance policy for 10–12 times your yearly income, your family won’t have to worry about making ends meet, losing their home, or changing their college plans if you’re not there to provide for them.

Andrew Blackwell, a licensed insurance representative, told a story of how he approached a young couple about purchasing life insurance. Since they were in their mid-30s, the idea of purchasing insurance at the cost of $37 per month seemed like a waste of money. They had three small children, with a fourth on the way, and life insurance just wasn’t high enough on their priority list. Andrew mentioned how much he tried to convince them that having insurance was a good investment, but it was to no avail.

Tragically, one month later, the husband suddenly passed away. This was extremely devastating as the wife first had to borrow money for the husband’s burial costs, and then had to move back into her parents’ home. After giving birth to their fourth child, it took years before she could get back on her feet. Due to the financial toll on her life, she could not properly grieve for her husband.

Andrew admits that most people simply don’t place much value on their lives. People make more of a priority in placing insurance on their smartphones. Andrew believes that having life insurance is part of being a good steward of what God has given you. Andrew indicated that different cultures view insurance very differently. For instance, Jewish culture will often gather families together and take out policies with large payouts on each other. They will collectively pool their money so that they can ensure that there is a financial legacy left behind for their children and grandchildren, who are then able to start businesses, purchase real estate, and accumulate wealth.

Within the African-American community, the older generation tends to understand the importance of having life insurance generally, but the younger generation is still lagging. In fact, according to Andrew, his insurance firm started the African-American Empowerment initiative to aggressively educate this community of its importance.

Andrew remembers that his father passed away while he was in the third grade, and his mother wanted to ensure that each of her children had life insurance. So, she worked extra hours and cut back on expenses to make sure that each of her children had his or her own life insurance policy. Each child took over the obligation of paying for their own policy premium after they started working. Three of Andrew’s siblings have passed away, and they each had the finances to take care of any unexpected expenses.

Andrew is grateful that she taught them this valuable financial principle. He firmly believes that a wise man leaves an inheritance for his children’s children.