I Doubt That They could Even Spell Irresponsible!

Men are a never ending source of amazement to me. Men who are husbands, fathers or businessmen, the kind of men that you would think would wake up each day understanding who and what depends on them, seem to think that life insurance is a waste of money. What ever happened to the idea that responsibility comes with marriage, parenthood and business ownership?

When you’ve been in life insurance as long as I have you hear, in the words or Art Linkletter, “the darndest things”. The following are some of the real life excuses that leave me wondering……just really wondering.

1. A man who smokes who decides to blow off purchasing life insurance because, as a smoker, it costs too much. Never mind that by smoking he has an even higher mortality risk than average and that he is far more likely to leave his family earlier than expected.

2. A man who thinks it is extravagant to have $250,000 worth of life insurance when he is married with 5 dependent children. I had one guy tell me he really wasn’t worried about carrying more life insurance, “that’s what welfare is for”.

3. A man who doesn’t see the logic of carrying life insurance after the children are grown because his wife can always remarry. (Yes, I really hear these things) In fact one guy even argued with me that if a woman can’t make it raising a family without life insurance, they should just plan on remarrying!

4. A man who wants to purchase $100,000 of life insurance to make sure his wife is taken care of, when his annual income is $175,000. So, after she buries his sorry rear end, she should have enough to continue her lifestyle for what, 4 months?

5. The unfortunately not rare situation where a man simply says it doesn’t matter because he’ll be dead. This is the ultimate denial of responsibility. I think it was Mark Twain that said that a man who dies without life insurance should have to come back and see the mess they created!

6. The man who buys a 10 year term for $17 a month instead of a 20 year term for $24 a month when he has a 3 year old child. Saving a few bucks a month is going to seem foolish when 10 years down the road you want a new policy and your health has changed dramatically. Get what you need while you’re healthy.

7. The man who decides not to buy anything because he doesn’t qualify for the best rates. That’s all ego. Wake up guys. Life insurance isn’t about you. It’s about those you leave behind and making sure they will have all of the opportunities you that were available when you were alive.

I don’t know much about left brain and right brain, but there are so many men out there that appear to be trying to get by with no brains.

Bottom line. If you are responsible for the health and welfare of someone else, buy life insurance and act like it.