Wills, Insurance & Biases
Dear Reader,
Yesterday, the topic for consideration in my Mom's group was Life Insurance and Wills. Our morning started with a Mom sharing her brush with death a few years ago. She had an unforeseen brain hemorrhage. Her outlook on life dramatically changed, for the better. She miraculously recovered from the ordeal. Since then, she has embraced living with grace and thankfulness. Life is a gift to her. Her story was amazing.
Following the presentation, two professionals, an Insurance Broker and a Lawyer, offered information sessions on being proactive in providing for your children in the event of a death. Their talks got me thinking.
I tend to be a planned sort of person. As parents, our lives are insured to provide something for those we leave behind. Our mortgage has insurance so that our estate would not have to cover that expense. We have a Will that appoints executors, guardians, trusts, etc. Seems good, right?
But here is the problem. How much insurance is enough? $150,000? $500,000? $1,000,000? How many types of insurance should you have? Just Life and Accident? Or should you carry the whole gamete of Life, Accident, Critical Illness, Disability, and Income Continuance? Is your husband's Group plan enough or should you top it up? Should you insure your children? As for the Will, is it absolutely necessary you visit a Lawyer to get it done or can a person use an exemplar Will to compose your own?
We all have biases. Let's be honest. We all do. The Insurance Broker essentially communicated that a wise parent would take care of all the contingencies. After all, why take the risk, just in case the unthinkable happened to you? The Lawyer believed the best Wills are written by Lawyers. Our personally composed Will is second-rate. We should rethink and redo. The $350 price tag would be worth it.
Biases. I can understand where these two professionals are coming from. They truly believe in what they do. This is their job and passion. I find myself feeling the same way when I hear about parents trying to teach their kids senior Math and Science in a home school format. "What?" I find myself exclaiming, "You are going to learn Physics through completing textbook questions only? What a shame!" (Though, some teachers do this as well, which IS a shame.) At this moment, my bias comes out. I favor a teacher's expertise and training over my stereotypical image of a "Humanities Loving" parent who is trying to get through Calculus 30 with their sweet kid at home. See? I'm biased.
And I assume stuff I should not. For all I know, there are many home schooling parents who are doing a tremendous job of teaching their kids about the complexities and simplicities of Math and Science. And for all a Lawyer knows, my husband and I have the ability to create a Will that clearly communicates our wishes in the event of our passing.
As for insurance, I must admit confusion. I repeat the question, "How much is enough?" After all, insurance agencies work with probabilities. The probability is low that a person my age and in my health will die any time soon. Thus, the more people in my age bracket (or younger) contribute premiums, the more the money grows. The Insurance company makes it fortune, if they are wise, even though the unfortunate incidents get payed out. So, is it a bit of a conspiracy, to get us to over contribute?
But then fear nibbles at my peace. Should I be uber prepared just in case?
This is where I need to pause and gain perspective. Who is in control? God Almighty. Who holds my life in His hand? God Almighty. Who will provide for my needs and the needs of my family? God Almighty. Who loves me more than anyone on this earth? God Almighty. Who has my best interests at heart? God Almighty.
So why do I worry?
I do believe God doesn't want us to be stupid and irresponsible. Insurance is good. Wills are great. But I can't let myself get consumed by it. Truth is, we do not have the extra money at the moment to get more insurance or to cough up lawyer fees for a professional Will. We just don't. So we need to trust that God will take care of us in spite of our less than perfect plan.
On a side note, the Insurance Broker said something that underscored a decision my husband and I have implicitly made. She said that she placed critical illness insurance on her children so that in the case that they get sick, she can quit her job to be with them full time. Her household needs her income to manage expenses. For her, the insurance provides a means to cover her lost income. Now, I still don't know what I think about critical illness insurance on a child. Nonetheless, it really accentuated the fact that I want to manage our household expenses as if only one income exists (which is the case now), even when I return to work someday. The second income would be used for things such as savings, emergency fund, etc. I know this is not possible for everyone. But I'd like it for my family.
Anyway, I could go on, but I must stop. Reader, if you have graced my post this far, thank you. Also, if you have any resources that answer some of these issues from a Christian perspective, contact me, if you know me personally.
Sincerely,
A Mom who hopes and prayers that she can see her kids grow up.
Yesterday, the topic for consideration in my Mom's group was Life Insurance and Wills. Our morning started with a Mom sharing her brush with death a few years ago. She had an unforeseen brain hemorrhage. Her outlook on life dramatically changed, for the better. She miraculously recovered from the ordeal. Since then, she has embraced living with grace and thankfulness. Life is a gift to her. Her story was amazing.
Following the presentation, two professionals, an Insurance Broker and a Lawyer, offered information sessions on being proactive in providing for your children in the event of a death. Their talks got me thinking.
I tend to be a planned sort of person. As parents, our lives are insured to provide something for those we leave behind. Our mortgage has insurance so that our estate would not have to cover that expense. We have a Will that appoints executors, guardians, trusts, etc. Seems good, right?
But here is the problem. How much insurance is enough? $150,000? $500,000? $1,000,000? How many types of insurance should you have? Just Life and Accident? Or should you carry the whole gamete of Life, Accident, Critical Illness, Disability, and Income Continuance? Is your husband's Group plan enough or should you top it up? Should you insure your children? As for the Will, is it absolutely necessary you visit a Lawyer to get it done or can a person use an exemplar Will to compose your own?
We all have biases. Let's be honest. We all do. The Insurance Broker essentially communicated that a wise parent would take care of all the contingencies. After all, why take the risk, just in case the unthinkable happened to you? The Lawyer believed the best Wills are written by Lawyers. Our personally composed Will is second-rate. We should rethink and redo. The $350 price tag would be worth it.
Biases. I can understand where these two professionals are coming from. They truly believe in what they do. This is their job and passion. I find myself feeling the same way when I hear about parents trying to teach their kids senior Math and Science in a home school format. "What?" I find myself exclaiming, "You are going to learn Physics through completing textbook questions only? What a shame!" (Though, some teachers do this as well, which IS a shame.) At this moment, my bias comes out. I favor a teacher's expertise and training over my stereotypical image of a "Humanities Loving" parent who is trying to get through Calculus 30 with their sweet kid at home. See? I'm biased.
And I assume stuff I should not. For all I know, there are many home schooling parents who are doing a tremendous job of teaching their kids about the complexities and simplicities of Math and Science. And for all a Lawyer knows, my husband and I have the ability to create a Will that clearly communicates our wishes in the event of our passing.
As for insurance, I must admit confusion. I repeat the question, "How much is enough?" After all, insurance agencies work with probabilities. The probability is low that a person my age and in my health will die any time soon. Thus, the more people in my age bracket (or younger) contribute premiums, the more the money grows. The Insurance company makes it fortune, if they are wise, even though the unfortunate incidents get payed out. So, is it a bit of a conspiracy, to get us to over contribute?
But then fear nibbles at my peace. Should I be uber prepared just in case?
This is where I need to pause and gain perspective. Who is in control? God Almighty. Who holds my life in His hand? God Almighty. Who will provide for my needs and the needs of my family? God Almighty. Who loves me more than anyone on this earth? God Almighty. Who has my best interests at heart? God Almighty.
So why do I worry?
I do believe God doesn't want us to be stupid and irresponsible. Insurance is good. Wills are great. But I can't let myself get consumed by it. Truth is, we do not have the extra money at the moment to get more insurance or to cough up lawyer fees for a professional Will. We just don't. So we need to trust that God will take care of us in spite of our less than perfect plan.
On a side note, the Insurance Broker said something that underscored a decision my husband and I have implicitly made. She said that she placed critical illness insurance on her children so that in the case that they get sick, she can quit her job to be with them full time. Her household needs her income to manage expenses. For her, the insurance provides a means to cover her lost income. Now, I still don't know what I think about critical illness insurance on a child. Nonetheless, it really accentuated the fact that I want to manage our household expenses as if only one income exists (which is the case now), even when I return to work someday. The second income would be used for things such as savings, emergency fund, etc. I know this is not possible for everyone. But I'd like it for my family.
Anyway, I could go on, but I must stop. Reader, if you have graced my post this far, thank you. Also, if you have any resources that answer some of these issues from a Christian perspective, contact me, if you know me personally.
Sincerely,
A Mom who hopes and prayers that she can see her kids grow up.