Should You Get Life Insurance for Your Baby?

We love to showcase local businesses of interest to families, and today we'd like to introduce you to Abigail Turner, a Wichita life insurance representative of Mutual of Omaha. You may have met her as a vendor at the Wichita Baby Gala! She specializes in taking care of life insurance for families. As pregnancy and parenting are often times when couples start to think seriously about protecting their children's futures, we thought you would like to get to know Abigail a little better and learn about what she does.

 

How Abigail became interested in this career

I’ve always had a passion to help people. For many years, I was in the non-profit sector as a project manager. However, a couple of out-of-state moves and changes with my company made a change in career inevitable.

I really hesitated to take the leap with Mutual of Omaha as I am not at all a “sales person.” I wasn’t sure this type of job was right for me. My husband really encouraged me to consider it, however, and helped me realize just how much I can help people by doing what I do. I came to realize that it’s true, I’m really not a sales person; I am an idea person. Families, individuals, and business owners all have unique wants and desires when it comes to their families and businesses. I have the incredible opportunity to sit with them, find out more about their families and specific goals, and design a unique plan that I believe will be a good fit. From there, they decide what the best option for them is.

I am passionate about what I do and love seeing the “aha” moments when it really begins to make sense and my clients leave with a peace of mind they didn’t have before. It’s very rewarding!

We sometimes tend to think of life insurance as something for older folks, or primary breadwinners. Who should really be thinking about having a life insurance policy in place? Do you need life insurance for babies?

Everyone! The amount, and type, of life insurance is dependent on many factors and a big part of my job is helping clients define that for themselves. But the need is universal.

I have yet to meet with anyone, especially someone who is 50 and older, who didn’t wish they had more life insurance and had bought it much sooner. The truth is, we’re never as young or as healthy as we are today. Life insurance doesn’t have to be expensive and I work really hard to get anyone I can approved for it. But the longer we wait, the more it will cost and the possibility of not qualifying due to health concerns grows.

A lot has changed in life insurance in the last few years. It no longer has to be seen simply as a bill that gets paid but instead can become another asset in someone’s portfolio. It’s an incredible way to create and pass on a family legacy. You worked really hard for your retirement savings so SPEND IT! Let life insurance be the legacy you pass on to your kids, grandkids, local charity, etc. There are truly so many ways life insurance can serve families and business owners today!

We never want to consider the possibility of something happening to our child, but the reality is that if something happened, we would have many costs associated with a tragedy and may not be able to work for a while. What can you tell us about life insurance for infants and children?

You’re absolutely right; it’s not something we want to think about. What breaks my heart even more, is when tragedy strikes and I begin seeing “Go Fund Me” pages set up to help the family. The last thing I want anyone to have to worry about is bearing the financial burden that comes with losing a child. The grief is monumental enough already!

What most people don’t know is that policies for children can be taken out when they are as young as 15 days old. And with the many options available, they can cost as little as $5-$10 per month.

Something I encourage parents with: using the policy due to losing a child is obviously the worst case scenario and is statistically, very unlikely. On the other hand, they are giving their child protection that will grow with them as they get older and they’ve locked them in with life insurance protection so if they ever had serious health issues, they don’t have to worry about not being qualified for coverage. There are even options that allow a child’s policy to gain cash value to the point where they have a tax-free retirement account in the millions, plus permanent life insurance, due to compound interest over the course of 50+ years. That can completely change the course of that family and their legacy for generations to come!

 

When is the ideal time to look into life insurance?

You could probably guess my answer: today! :) Going back to my earlier statement, we are never as young or as healthy as we are today. The cost of insurance is dependent on your age and health so the younger and healthier you are, the less it will cost.

That said, there are definitely key life moments when the need for life insurance becomes even more important. Having a child is certainly at the top of that list, along with buying a home, getting married, starting a business (or taking over one), etc. All of these life events increase our need for protection, especially for ourselves as parents.

What if something happens to us and our partner/children are left with large debts to pay (mortgages, student loans, car loans, credit cards, etc.) and years without our income to provide for the family? What changes will they have to make? Will the kids have to change schools and/or drop out of activities they’re a part of? Will they have to move in with family, will my partner have to get a job, will there be extra daycare costs due to them going to work (or back to work)?

The last thing I want anyone to do is buy something out of fear but these are real situations I’ve seen families have to deal with. When you think about any insurance coverage, it’s there for the “what ifs” in life. We’re not always sick but we have health insurance. We’re not in car accidents every day but we still have car insurance. Our house doesn’t burn down regularly but we have home insurance. While these all might be required, life insurance is optional and yet the potential devastation that can be felt by our families if we don’t have it is huge.

 

I want to get a policy for both myself and my baby. What are the next steps?

First, give me a call and let’s schedule a time where I can buy you a cup of coffee and we’ll talk. This first meeting doesn’t have to be long…30 minutes or so. It’s important for me to get to know you and learn more about your family, your dreams and goals, and what your priorities are. It’s also important you learn a little about me so you know who I am and what to expect from working with me.

From there, I take the information you’ve given me and start working on a customized plan to fit your needs, based on your priorities. We will set a follow up appointment and I’ll present to you a couple of ideas that you can review and discuss. We’ll go over the details, I’ll answer any questions, and make sure you know what each option is and why it’s a good fit based on our earlier conversation.

You then decide which option is best for you and your family. Once you’ve made that decision, we’ll go through the application process and I’ll submit it for review. Depending on the type of policy, the review process will take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks with no up-front payment required. I’ll keep you updated on the progress and let you know once the policy is issued. I receive the policy paperwork within about a week of it being issued and I’ll set up a time to deliver it to you. I’ll go over the paperwork with you and answer any final questions.

We’ll then meet at least annually to go over everything and make sure there haven’t been any major changes in your life. Have you bought a new home, paid off your home, had a baby, changed jobs, etc.? If there haven’t been any changes, we’ll leave everything as is. If there have been, we’ll reevaluate and see if any changes are required. The annual reviews are very important to me so we make sure things are on track and still meeting your goals and needs for your family.

What else do we need to know?

I would like people to know I’m not an arm twister. :) I’m not going to pressure someone into something that doesn’t make sense for them. There’s also no obligation. Just because we have an initial meeting doesn’t mean they are obligated to buy something.

We often do reviews with people who aren’t clients. They want to have another set of eyes looking at their current coverage, whether through work or personally owned. I don’t charge for that service. The most important thing at the end of the day is for a family to know they have good protection in place and it’s going to be there for their family. If they have that coverage through someone else, that’s ok. I’ll tell them not to change anything!

I would also like people to consider their work place coverage. Most people don’t realize they are really only “renting” policies they have through work. Generally, those policies will go away when they retire (if they stay with that company until retirement) and then getting coverage will be really expensive and could be hard to qualify for if there are any major health issues. They also don’t control those policies: what if their company decides to cancel those benefits, or change benefit companies, or gets bought out? They lose what they have.

Anything that is purchased independently is “owned”. It can’t be taken away from you, it’s good no matter where you live or work. You also have the control over those policies and can make the changes you want to when you want to. One of the biggest advantages to independent coverage is cost. We see clients save literally hundreds, and sometimes more, every year in premium payments by going with protection outside of what their employer offers.

How can we contact you if we have any questions or would like to consult with you about our insurance needs?

The best way is to call me: 316.361.6880. That’s my cell phone and is definitely the best number to call. You can also reach my office at 316.264.1113 ext 232 or email me at Abigail.turner@mutualofomaha.com. I look forward to meeting you and learning more about you and your family. I want to be a resource you can turn to in order to accomplish your goals for them!

Visit Abigail Turner, representative with Mutual of Omaha, on her Facebook page