Luis was married, in his early 40s, and had two young boys. He and his wife were in perfect health (as far as they knew). One day while volunteering at the boys’ school, she suffered a fatal brain aneurysm. Luis immediately became a widower. His sons immediately became motherless. The couple had consulted with their financial advisor who recommended life insurance for both of them, even though she was a stay-at-home mom (to provide for the economic value the family would lose if they lost her). His was a much larger policy (since he was the sole breadwinner). But the proceeds from her $400,000 death benefit allowed Luis to provide many of the things his wife did for their sons when she was alive: a tutor, a nanny (who cooked, cleaned, and cared for his sons while he was at work; getting them to the bus stop, taking them to appointments and soccer practice, doing laundry, coordinating and organizing the family’s activities), and counseling.

Life insurance can also be a gift.

Life insurance policies are often used as gifting strategies for individuals. There are generally three types: gift of policy, gift of premiums, gift of insurance proceeds.

Here are three more reasons for your clients to consider giving the gift of life insurance:

1. Guaranteed insurability. The gift recipient may be young and healthy now, but that can change at any time and even make them uninsurable. The gift of a life insurance policy secures their insurability.
2. Guaranteed purchase. Some policies offer a guaranteed purchase rider, which guarantees the policyholder the right to purchase additional insurance, regardless of medical condition; a valuable option as their life changes and family grows.
3. Lifelong use. Your gift can be used by the recipient for:
   • College tuition payment
   • Mortgage payment
   • Charitable giving (paying it forward, leaving a larger gift than they would have been able to without the policy)
   • Retirement (some policies build cash value over time that can be used as income)

Crazy For Love

‘Til death do us part. It’s part of almost every wedding ceremony. And sometimes love can make people do crazy things. We don’t recommend, though, that they take the ‘til death do us part as seriously as these folks*:

• In 2012, Alexey Bykov wanted to be sure his future bride took that line seriously. He hired a team of filmmakers to fake his death. Right in front of her! Paramedics told her he was dead, and he sprang up and asked her to marry him. Surprisingly, she said yes.
• Radiologist Carl Tanzer took ‘til death do us part wwwwaaaayyyy too seriously (especially since there’s no evidence she even liked him). He became obsessed with a woman in 1930 when she was a patient in a Key West, Florida hospital. She died in 1931. In 1933, he exhumed her body and took her home to live with him. Their living arrangement lasted for seven years; the police arrested him for wantonly and maliciously destroying a grave and removing a body without authorization.

^* Mental Floss, February 13, 2019