Zoe M.

Life Insurance is Critical

Imagine you hop into the backseat and catch your mother’s teary eyes in the rearview mirror. Your mind goes into a stupor as you hear: “Dad passed away.” This was the situation I found myself in when I learned of my father’s death.

Up until that point, my family had been dealing with the turmoil caused by my father’s bipolar manic. My mother would receive credit card bills in the mail reporting thousands of dollars in debt. During the night, I heard her crying, worrying about whether or not we would lose our home. My brother and I would try to console her while dealing with our own mixed emotions. My father’s mental illness had become an emotional and financial challenge for our family. After he passed away, it worsened. He had cleaned out all his bank accounts — including RESP accounts meant for his children’s futures— and accumulated six digits worth of debt. Throughout my childhood, I had never seen my mother anxious until then. The burden of debt hung over her head. I noticed she developed insomnia and was crushed by overwhelming grief. Having to deal with the death of a loved one while being threatened by extreme debt is no walk in the park.

Despite my mother’s struggle, she remained stoic and emphasized the importance of our studies. Focusing on schoolwork and graduating with honours became my aspirations. Post-secondary had always been my goal, and my mother impelled my pursuit. I knew I had to work to pay my way through university, which meant I had to take a year off to save money for tuition. As luck would have it, I got accepted at MacEwan University, earned enough savings, and applied for government grants to fund my post-secondary journey.

Even though my family was fortunate enough to get back on their feet again, our situation could have been easier with life insurance. If my father’s debt had been offset, we would have been relieved in our time of grieving. Life insurance would have allowed my post-secondary journey to start sooner and removed my mother’s tension. Experiencing the death of a family member, plus the financial challenges that come along with it, has made me realize how essential life insurance plans are. In comparison to people with life insurance, I have seen their families recover financially and emotionally from the death of a loved one at a much faster rate than ours did. Those who gain life insurance benefits are less stressed, have assets to put them through school, and can prioritize overcoming the emotional unrest caused by demise.

Overall, life insurance determines how quickly one can recover from a family member’s death. By removing the financial stress individuals face afterward, families can grieve together and receive treatment for their emotional difficulty. Life insurance is critical for people to heal in a time of need, which is why I strongly advise others to purchase plans for the sake of their loved ones.