Ernest
“Peanut” Folks took great pride in the fact that his son, Ernesto,
chose to follow in his footsteps. Peanut owned P&A Collision,
an auto body repair shop in Montgomery, Ala., and his plan was
to one day pass along the business to his son. Life insurance
never factored into Peanut’s plan until an agent called on him
in 2003. Peanut became convinced he should protect the business
and its 10 employees with a $100,000 life insurance policy.
Downturns in the business sometimes would make it hard for Peanut
to make the $84 monthly premium payment. He occasionally considered
dropping the coverage. Fortunately, his agent, Jon Shoemaker,
CLU, ChFC, LUTCF, understood how much he needed the insurance.
When a payment was late, Jon would drive out to Peanut's shop
to pick up the check. On a visit in 2005, Jon noticed Peanut didn't
look well and had lost weight. Soon afterward, Peanut got the
worst possible news. He had an advanced stage of lung cancer.
Doctors gave him just six months to live.
The
treatments that followed kept him away from work, and medical
costs mounted. Fortunately, Jon knew a way to ease Peanut's burdens.
Invoking a provision that allowed for an early payout to a terminally
ill policyholder, he delivered a check to Peanut for the face
value of his policy minus a small fee. In the months before his
death at age 49 in October 2006, Peanut was able to pay off his
debts and turn the body shop over to Ernesto. “The early payment
allowed him to transition the business without having to borrow
money or pass the hat,” says Jon. “It allowed him to go out with
dignity.”
