Courageous Conversations About Life Insurance

 September is Life Insurance Awareness month and yes, you could stop reading this right now, but I hope you will not and that you will read on. I am on a mission to help people to get the ‘courageous conversations’ started to get their personal and financial lives in order while they can.

What if I told you that we usually reach adulthood without a realistic sense of our family’s finances and are not having the necessary conversations about money because information-based money discussions are ‘off limits’. At this point you might be thinking, why are these important conversations to have and why should I care?

I became a widow in sixty seconds when my 39-year-old husband was killed in a tragic accident. My second husband became a widower when his wife died of cancer only nine months after being diagnosed. My daughter lost her father at the age of 12 and has now spent the better part of her life without him.

Today my goal in life is to dispel the myth, “it won’t happen to me, it might happen to you but it won’t happen to me”. I am on a journey to share our real-life experiences and my extensive financial services knowledge with the world.

With the focus this month being on life insurance awareness I offer up these six tips to help you today, to put yourself in control of your life both personally and financially.

• Meet with a financial advisor and review your situation to determine the appropriate plan(s) you need to put in place for you and your family (if you do not already have one ask family and friends for a recommendation to one)
• Make sure you have the appropriate types and amount(s) of insurance. Think about things such as (but not limited to): a. If you have a stay at home spouse/partner make sure you have sufficient coverage on their life b. Make sure you have coverage in the event of a critical illness or disability so the household/monthly/business bills will continue to be covered c. Look into long term care insurance to cover you in the event you are not able to take care of your own daily living habits 
• If you already have a financial plan when was the last time you met with your advisor for a full review to make sure everything is relevant to your situation today
• Make sure all of your beneficiary designations are current and up-to-date on all of your insurance policies, retirement plans, group insurance plans, etc.
• Meet with a lawyer to get your wills drawn up. This is not the place or time for a Do It Yourself fix
• If you already have a will in place, is it up to date? Things have a way of changing over time so you need to review to make sure your wishes are still covered and current

This life is all we have and there is only one for each of us. I encourage you to take the time this month to sit down and have the courageous conversations with those you love and put the necessary safety net in place to take care of yourself and your loved one’s futures before anything happens.

To learn more tips, strategies and tools to help you take control of your family’s personal and financial future please visit Jane Blaufus to order my best-selling book and companion planning binder. Many people have said that the 33-page Master Checklist at the back of the book contains a goldmine of thought-provoking questions regarding establishing a financial safety net, understanding legal and tax matters, choosing an executor and legal guardians, and so much more. They have also found the companion planning binder (CDN & US versions) to be an easy to follow roadmap to help get all of their affairs organized and in one central location for easy family discussions and reference. I am forever thankful we had done our planning and I had this type of tool in place when my life was turned upside down. Today, I want to make sure everyone has the opportunity to get their lives in order while they can. Therefore, during the month of September, I am happy to offer free shipping on the book and binder for all individual and/or multiple purchases.

Excerpt from Jane’s book WITH THE [STROKE] OF A PEN: Claim Your Life

Chapter 3, Proper Planning Saved Our Lives - page 41

 “To this day, I know that if I’d had to try to pick myself up financially as well as emotionally, physically, mentally, and spiritually, I would not be standing here today upright and as whole of a person as I am. The fact that my husband loved us enough to leave me in control and able to take the time to somewhat heal, gave me a much needed safety net and time to get back on my feet and to be able to start functioning again. Don’t get me wrong, folks; you never forget, but it’s a lot easier to deal with things when you’re not trying to keep the wolves at bay because you don’t have the money to pay the bills. It made my head spin a few times when I saw how quickly some places wanted payment when they were informed of my husband’s death. One thing I quickly realized was that the first people with their hands out giving me money and not with their hands out asking me for money were the people in the life insurance industry.”

About Jane Blaufus

Jane Blaufus, CLU is the bestselling author of WITH THE [STROKE] OF A PEN: Claim Your Life now in its third edition. Her book and comprehensive planning binder have become acclaimed as two of the most actionable, personal and financial planning resources available today for families, individuals and business owners alike. Professionals love sharing her tools with their clients to aid in the financial and estate planning process.

Jane brings to the table 25+ years of financial services expertise in marketing, sales and leadership development. She is an international keynote speaker and a frequent guest expert on national TV/Radio/Podcasts.

Her reputation and expertise make her an influential coach to many sales professionals and business owners who want to build their business so they make more money, sleep soundly at night and have fun along the way.

Jane can be reached at [email protected]