Entrepreneur’s cancer diagnosis highlights need for disability insurance
MILWAUKEE, Sept. 5, 2014 /PRNewswire/ — At 37 years old, with a thriving concrete business, a wife and three young children, dying was the last thing on Travis Roberts’ mind. But after a doctor’s visit for a kidney stone, Roberts learned he had cholangiocarcinoma, a cancer of the bile duct. His survival rate was zero.
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“How do you explain finality to a 6-year-old or a 2-year-old? They have no idea the train that’s about to just steamroll them,” Roberts said. “It’s awful.”
Roberts shared his story as part of Northwestern Mutual’s ongoing Client Stories series, which highlights the importance of financial security in the face of life’s most difficult circumstances.
According to the Annual Insurance Barometer 2013 by Life Insurance and Market Research Association (LIMRA) and LIFE HAPPENS, 95 million Americans live without life insurance. In the same study, 4 in 10 life insurance shoppers say they are prompted to shop for life insurance by life events, such as getting married or divorced, having or adopting a child, buying a home or experiencing the death of a relative.
Out of sheer guilt, Roberts said, he met with Matt Goodwin, wealth management advisor for Northwestern Mutual-Atlanta, in 2005. “Matt called me over and over again, and I was always…’busy’,” Roberts said. He finally lined up life insurance, though it took more than two years before he gave Goodwin the green light for disability insurance. “He always just told me the truth, so I decided to stop,” Roberts said, referring to Goodwin. “Make time. Get it done and get that checked off the list.”
When the diagnosis of terminal cancer came, Roberts called Goodwin. “He must have said thank you nearly a dozen times,” Goodwin said. “What that really did was it gave me such a profound affirmation of how much our work at Northwestern Mutual matters.”
Having a strong financial plan in place was a comfort to Roberts, who was able to face his cancer without worrying about his family’s financial future. For Roberts’ complete story, view the Northwestern Mutual video:
About Northwestern Mutual
Northwestern Mutual has been helping families and businesses achieve financial security for nearly 160 years. Our financial representatives build relationships with clients through a distinctive planning approach that integrates risk management with wealth accumulation, preservation and distribution. With more than $217 billion in assets, $26 billion in revenues and more than $1.5 trillion worth of life insurance protection in force, Northwestern Mutual delivers financial security to more than 4.2 million people who rely on us for insurance and investment solutions, including life, disability insurance and long-term care insurance; annuities; trust services; mutual funds; and investment advisory products and services
