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The following is based on the details of a real life insurance claim from MSV Life plc and should only be used as an illustration of how life insurance could benefit you. The names have been changed for reasons of confidentiality.
My name is Charles.
Elizabeth and I were friends from school and after some time began dating. At age 20 we married and decided to go travelling for 12 months. I had inherited a property in shell form so when we returned from travelling we lived with Elizabeth’s parents while I completed the property. We moved in after a couple of years.
In 1990 we were blessed with the first of our two beautiful children, Anne. In 1995, Mark was born and we sold our property in order tobuy a plot of land to develop a larger home, which we moved into 18 months later. Our family wascomplete.
Life couldn’t have been better. We owned our own property and I had established my own business which was going from strength to strength. Elizabeth was happily running the family home and bringing up our children.
In 2003, we began to realise that something was wrong. Elizabeth was suffering from severe stomach pains and was unable to even sleep at night. After extensive tests our worst fears were realised. Elizabeth had cancer and was given less than 12 months to live. Through tremendous strength, courage and the wonderful work of specialists in Malta and overseas Elizabeth was able to maintain her dignity throughout the treatment but sadly lost her fightin 2007.
Those four years of our family life were dedicated to supporting, loving and caring for Elizabeth.
In 1995, when our son was born, a friend had recommended that we speak to an insurance intermediary who had given them some insurance-related advice when they had their first child. We found the intermediary very knowledgeable and extremely helpful. As well as advising on the best way to save for our children’s future he made us think what life would be like if either one of us died. We realised that our family wouldn’t have sufficient money to live on and our standard of living would change dramatically. Obviously, neither of us wanted that to be the case and so we took out a savings plan which included life insurance should either one of us die. We took out a policy which would pay a lump sum equivalent to five years of my income at the time.
The days after Elizabeth’s death were a blur. While we had time to talk and plan about life, once she was gone the reality was tough.
We realised that our family wouldn’t have sufficient money to live on and our standard of living would change dramatically
The life insurance policy for me was a life saver. The money it provided enabled me to pay off the remaining house loan, repay debts we had built up in travelling for Elizabeth’s treatment (sometimes more than 10 times a year) but most importantly it meant I didn’t have to work for six months. That bought me invaluable time to concentrate on trying to put everything back in place. I had to learn practical matters such as cooking and helping our teenage children shop for clothes!
The financial support provided by a life insurance policy allows one to plough through the difficult times that always follow the loss of a spouse.
In my case, being able to spend quality time with my children and having the ability to treat them to small things now and again helps to ease the pain and means we can be strong for each other.
I would definitely advise everyone to take out life insurance. You don’t want to ever have to claim but if you do it will help you more than you could ever imagine.
The above is for general guidance on matters of interest only, and does not constitute professional advice. MSV Life p.l.c. (C-15722) is authorised by the Malta Financial Services Authority to carry on Long Term Business under the InsuranceBusiness Act, 1998.