When
Rick Matthews was a young man in Southern California he never
though about the need for life or disability insurance protection.
"For a while, I didn't have a stitch of insurance on me," he said.
But the sudden death of a close friend got his attention. "It
takes something like that for a hardhead like me," he said.
That
was some 30 years ago. In the meantime, Rick married, started
a concrete contracting business and raised two sons. Early on,
he met insurance agent Ron Forney and decided to buy some coverage.
"When
you work for yourself, you're not under anybody's wing but your
own," said Rick. Ron started him with a $100,000 life insurance
policy and sold him some disability coverage. By the late 1980s,
Rick has increased his disability coverage to reflect the growing
financial needs of his family and business.
But
when an economic downturn hit Rick's business in the early 1990s,
he almost decided to drop his disability coverage. "It came pretty
close," Rick recalled. "Ron called me on the last day of the grace
period, pretty much at the last hour. I thought, hell, we'll try
another year." Rick has never regretted the decision.
About
a year ago, Rick had double bypass surgery and had both legs amputated
below the knee due to circulatory complications brought on by
his heart condition. When Ron visited him at the hospital, Rick
grabbed his hand and said, "Thanks for making me keep that disability
policy. You said I might need it someday." Both men broke down
in tears.
At
55, Rick is learning to walk again, and says he's doing well.
He and his family were paid a lump-sum benefit from The Principal
Financial Group and will continue to receive monthly disability
payments of $4,700 until Rick turns 65. The disability provision
in his life insurance policy waived any future premiums. Rick
and his family have been able to maintain their lifestyle, and
his boys, 31 and 29, now run the business. As Rick put it, "I
answer a few questions and lead them through the trees."
His
philosophy has come full circle. "You realize that life is just
a whisper, and then you're gone," he said. "I'm not one to give
advice, but insurance sure worked well for me. Without it, I would've
been in a pickle."
