Financial Solutions
Juvenile Life Insurance
Thrivent Financial for Lutherans representative David Brown had been encouraging his clients, Dennis and Linda Fritz of Hendersonville, Tennessee, to take out life insurance contracts on their two minor children for years.
Brown, whose office is in Goodlettsville, Tennessee, believed so strongly in the importance of juvenile life insurance for the Fritz family that he was insistent that Dennis and Linda look into it. “I said it’s time to do it, you need to do it,” says Brown. “I’m so glad they listened.”
The Fritz family acted on the recommendation and purchased contracts for their two minor children, Eric and Carolyn. At 20 years old, Eric was still considered a dependent of his parents, so Dennis and Linda were able to take out a juvenile contract for him. The contract was taken out in Eric’s name, but his parents would help with premiums until he turned 21.
The Unthinkable. Tragically, Eric was killed in a car accident just months after his parents purchased the insurance. The contract ended up helping Dennis and Linda as they dealt with mounting funeral expenses in the midst of their grief. The $50,000 settlement also allowed them to take time off work and provided a small nest egg for their two living children, Carolyn, who was 17, and Christopher, who was 23.
Choosing Insurance for Life. For the Fritz family, Eric’s life insurance contract meant they did not need to use their savings or go into debt to pay for his funeral costs. But, according to Brown, juvenile life insurance isn’t only important to ease the financial burden for parents in the event that a child dies prematurely. It is also to protect a child’s insurability into adulthood. By opting for life insurance with a guaranteed purchase option (GPO), Brown says, “you can buy additional life insurance up to seven times with no proof of insurability. What you’ve actually done is you’ve guaranteed life insurance for that child.”
—Sarah Asp Olson
Find out more about the life insurance options available to you at www.thrivent.com/insurance. Click on Insurance by Life Event.
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