For Scott Rider, it wouldn’t be a stretch to say that running was his life. In college he was a three-time Big Ten Champion, two-time All American, and later competed in the Olympic trials. His running sustained him as he charted out his career in financial services. It was also a constant as he and his high-school sweetheart, Kelly, married and raised their three children.

Running is also how he found out his life was changed forever.

It began subtly, when Scott’s toes didn’t “work as they should.” It eventually interfered with his running, and after several years of being misdiagnosed, he learned he had Parkinson’s disease.

“I remember the day I found out. As I stood outside the doctor’s office, on the sidewalk on a warm fall day, I knew my life—and my family’s—was changed forever,” says Scott.

His day-to-day routines have changed drastically since being diagnosed at 47. Cognitive and physical limitations mean he had to give up the profession he loved. And he now relies on Kelly to help him with tasks most people take for granted, like tying his shoes.

One thing in his life has not changed, however. He and his family have been able to maintain their lifestyle, thanks to the disability insurance he purchased. He got it when he was just starting out in his career and added to it as his salary grew.

His disability insurance now replaces a significant portion of the income he once earned. It has allowed Kelly to remain a stay-at-home mom and now be a caregiver. Plus it helps them meet Scott’s growing medical needs.

In addition, the couple has been able to put their three children through college and give their daughter the wedding of her dreams. They’ve even reached a retirement goal of moving to a warmer climate. All of this was made possible by Scott’s disability insurance.

“Without it, I don’t know where we’d be,” says Scott. “I feel fortunate that I understood early on that my income was my most valuable asset, and that I needed to insure it.”

Keep your lifestyle as close to normal as possible with disability insurance. Get a quote today!

Disability Insurance: A Life Changed, a Lifestyle Remains – Video Transcription

Scott Rider: There was something inside me that always loved the feeling and the sensation of running. I’d be out on the road for a run and my toes would start restricting. It didn’t take the doctor very long at all to say, ‘Scott, you have Parkinson’s disease.’

And I remember I stepped outside on the sidewalk with Kelly and I cried. And I knew right then that my life was going to changed forever. What I loved so much was taken away from me.

One of the biggest ways was the loss of my career. Before Parkinson’s disease I worked for 30 years as a financial advisor to individuals and small business owners. Ultimately it became very clear that I couldn’t continue to work.

I understood early on that my income was my most valuable asset, and I wanted to protect it through disability insurance. It’s expensive to live and those bills just keep coming and without disability insurance I don’t think I could have afforded for my daughter’s wedding and I wouldn’t have money saved for retirement.

My disability insurance was a combination of insurance provided through my employer, but I realized that that alone wasn’t going to be enough so I acquired individual disability insurance.

Having Parkinson’s disease changes life enough, but disability insurance makes it as close to normal as possible. I’m so incredibly grateful that my income continues and makes life possible for my family. It would look so different without disability insurance.

The post Disability Insurance: A Life Changed, a Lifestyle Remains appeared first on Quality Quote Insurance Solutions.

At 45, attorney Peter Zatir attributed the fatigue he was feeling to middle age. Add to that a busy law practice and five active kids—the youngest just a year old—and it’s easy to see how he could have written off the early signs of a serious illness. When he finally visited his doctor, the diagnosis was grim. He had an aggressive form of thyroid cancer and was given less than a year to live.

As Peter lay awake at night, his financial situation was one thing he didn’t lose sleep over. When Peter and his partner opened their law practice, they knew they needed insurance advice and turned to Brent Kimball, CFP, CLU, ChFC, who convinced them to protect their incomes and the business with disability insurance.

Shortly after Peter stopped working to focus on fighting his disease, the individual disability insurance policy he purchased began paying a monthly benefit. A year later, Peter had outlived his prognosis, but knew with a damaged larynx that he could never return to the courtroom to litigate cases. Because the partners had set up a buy-sell agreement and funded it with a disability buy-out policy, Peter was compensated for his half of the business, and his partner became the sole owner.

An experimental drug reduced Peter’s tumor, which surgeons were then able to operate on. Now, almost six years after his diagnosis, Peter is doing better, and has been able to maintain his family’s standard of living. He continues to receive benefits from his individual disability policy, and his retirement is being funded thanks to an additional disability policy he had in place for that purpose. “I dread where we would be today if I hadn’t taken Brent’s advice,” he says.

As a business owner, you’re responsible for two families: the one you have at home and the one you have through work. That’s why it’s important to have disability insurance coverage to protect both. Learn more about disability insurance and contact QQIS today to get a quote.

Disability Insurance Gives a Way of Life – Video Transcription

Evamarie Zatir Fernandes (Sister): Pete is loyal, dedicated.

Melody Zatir (Wife): Very responsible, very strong, smart.

Peter Zatir: I was born in 1961, grew up in New Bedford, Mass. Working class family. Somewhere along the way decided that I was going to go to law school. Went into personal injury law. My wife and I, Melody, have 5 children so I knew that, you know, at some point I have to start thinking about life insurance and disability insurance personally as well as the fact that my partner and I doing pretty well in our practice making a good deal of money and we need to protect the value of the practice.

Brent Kimball (Insurance Agent): We went the a conference room and we shut the door and except for a small lunch break – maybe a half hour – we had an 8 hour meeting. We had put in individual disability, we had put in a disability buyout, we had put in a retirement plan, we put a life insurance buyout, and we also put life insurance in the retirement plan.

Melody: You have to plan for the unexpected. It doesn’t matter what you think you feel today.

Peter: In the spring of 2006, I noticed that I was feeling a bit tired over the course of the day.

Melody: And one morning out of the blue he hadn’t been feeling – well little things had been going on – and he asked me if I felt a lump on his throat.

Peter: The original diagnosis was what they called an anaplastic thyroid cancer which is a very aggressive thyroid cancer.

Evamarie: The doctor’s told him to go home and get his affairs in order. That he probably had less than 6 months to live.

Brent: What the doctors didn’t realize is he already had his affairs in order. All we really did was pull together some of the family members to actually sit down and make sure that we had it exactly the way we wanted it.

Evamarie: He underwent chemotherapy and radiation simultaneously which was very very devastating to his body.

Melody: They were fighting just to get us time. Just to get us time.

Peter: So ultimately it was decided that surgery was an option which was an extreme feeling of hope for me. I woke up, I saw my wife there.

Melody: He was blowing on his fingers and he said “I don’t have a tube?” I said, “No. I saw the news and it’s so good, it’s so good.”

Peter: My surgeon ultimately that the cancer was like a vine around my esophagus and my trachea and around my lymph nodes. They were able to peel it away without having to do the structural repairs that they anticipated. Unfortunately, however, I’ve been left with a completely paralyzed vocal chord on the left side so it’s very difficult for me to talk.

I’m at the prime of my life at 49, but I’m not able to exercise my profession. I’m not able to get out there and put on the suit and tie and go into courtroom and fight the battle. That being said, I’m doing much better. I’m spending a lot of time with my children. I’m focusing on my well-being.

Brent: After a year, the disability buyout called for him to be bought out from the firm. So he got his initial lump sum from that and he’s getting installments so we have about another year left on the installments and he’ll be fully bought out. And from the day he got the lump sum the practice went to his partner.

Peter: It’s important to do this kind of planning because life is full on uncertainties and life is full of risks. It enabled me to sleep better at night knowing that protection was in place. Without that protection I couldn’t fathom where me and my family would be right now.

The post Disability Insurance Gives a Way of Life appeared first on Quality Quote Insurance Solutions.

They are a match made in country music heaven—Nashville, where they met working in the industry and then bonded over their love of making music. Their love has grown over the past 23 years, and life insurance has been an important part of their life together. As Kelley grew her new career in real estate and Doak focused on raising their daughter, Emma, they knew they needed the financial safety net that life insurance offered.

Tragedy struck, however, when Kelley—the family’s main breadwinner—found out she had a drug-resistant type of Parkinson’s disease. It has slowly robbed her of her ability to work, and now even to care for herself. Fortunately, their insurance professional Wallene Leek had made sure that Kelley not only increased her life insurance over time, but that it had living benefits as well.

Kelley’s term life insurance policies have a disability waiver of premium, which means she never has to pay another premium. And because her diagnosis is terminal, the family is able to access a percentage of the death benefit now. That has meant the world to the Sneads.

The family has been able to stay in their home, instead of selling it, and Emma has been able to complete school. What’s more, Kelley and Doak are able to spend what time they have left without the crushing burden of financial worry. “Kelley’s disease may have taken away her livelihood, but life insurance has saved our lives at this point,” says Doak.

There are a lot of factors that come into play when choosing the right life insurance policy beyond price. Contact QQIS today to learn more about these options.

Life Insurance for… Life – Video Transcription

Doak Snead (Husband): Kelley and I met at the Country Music Hall of Fame. Before Kelley got into real estate she’d worked in the music business and she’s also a great writer. Kelley’s voice is beautiful, it’s like an angel.

It was in 2009, she started having some pain in her shoulder and, all of a sudden, her handwriting diminished.

Wallace Leek (Insurance Professional): She was diagnosed with a very aggressive form of Parkinson’s Disease that was drug-resistant.

Doak: It progressed pretty quickly. In the last 3 years she’s lost her mobility. It’s terminal and she and I don’t think about it. We try and be positive.

Wallace: Kelley Snead was the bread-winner for her family. Doak, her husband, was more of a stay-at-home dad. Kelley made the decisions for life insurance.

Doak: She really wanted to protect Emma and I and she actually took out two policies.

Wallace: Both of the policies not only had the waiver of premium rider, but they also had an accelerated benefits rider. The waiver of premium kept Kelley from losing that life insurance when she was no longer working.

Doak: Because of the living benefits rider we were able to take an advance from Kelly’s policy, up to half of it. We used that money to pay off some debt and we put Emma through a trade school and we also cut Kelley’s CD with it. Cutting the record was probably the most important thing to her because one morning she realized, she said, ‘I’m not gonna be able to ever sing again.’

Wallace: Kelley’s story is a shining example of what life insurance should be able.

Doak: No one knows how much time Kelley has left. We’re just gonna pray that the good Lord has got a long time for this girl to live. Purchasing this life insurance policy was, I think, one of the most important things Kelley ever did in her entire life. And it was all for the love of her family.

The post Life Insurance for… Life appeared first on Quality Quote Insurance Solutions.

Valerie King was not a believer. When she transitioned from her medical residency to practicing as an emergency room physician, she didn’t think she needed disability insurance. “I could never envision a life without working,” she says. Her insurance professional convinced the young doctor otherwise.

It was wise advice. Although Valerie never thought she would need it, a condition called ulcerative colitis made the decision for her. The disease and a series of surgeries made it impossible for her to carry out her duties, and she found herself unable to practice the profession she loved. It was her disability insurance coverage that allowed her to survive financially and care for her three young daughters who she was raising as a single mother.

Life also had a second chapter for Valerie. She met and married Tim, also a divorced parent. They looked forward to raising their blended family together and sought the advice of insurance professional Larry Ricke, CLU, ChFC.

In addition to the life insurance he had recommended, Larry made sure Tim understood the importance of disability insurance. Tim didn’t believe he’d ever need it, but with Valerie’s urging he finally agreed to get coverage.

“No one thinks lightening will strike twice,” says Larry, “but in this case it did.” Tim, who had a high-profile position in the printing business, came close to dying from an undiagnosed aneurism and valve issue with his heart. A risky operation saved his life but ultimately left him unable to return to work. Again, disability insurance made it possible for the family to go on financially.

“Most people think, ‘It will never happen to me,'” says Valerie. “But the truth is it can—and does. Everything else goes away if you don’t have disability insurance coverage and you can’t work.”

Contact QQIS today and learn how you can protect your family with our comprehensive Disability Insurance products.

The Importance of Disability Insurance – Video Transcription

Valire King: Oh I became a doctor because I was born to be a doctor. I loved practicing medicine.

Larry Ricke (Insurance Advisor): Valerie was an emergency medicine physician and very good at what she was doing. Unfortunately when I met Valerie she had a conditioned called ulcerative colitis.

Valerie: Ulcerative colitis is bowel disease and I had multiple surgeries hopefully to cure it, but it just didn’t work. I had a group disability policy in my training program that was converted to a private policy as I graduated and started my private practice.

Larry: Valerie and her team came together and decided that it would be best for Valerie to stop her medical practice and to try and go on disability.

Valerie: Suddenly find yourself single mom unable to practice medicine with three children under 5. I was able to pay the morgage and put food on the table and give them a great education because of that disability policy.

Tim and I met through our insurance agent Larry Ricke.

Tim (Husband): Larry and I became acquainted through one of the printing companies that I’d owned. He thought that it would be a good idea for us to be acquainted with each other.

Valerie: About six months after we started talking, we decided we would meet in person.

Larry: And history follows. They ended up getting married and now we merged two families together.

Tim: Larry had suggested that I have disability insurance and after meeting Valerie I soon realized that it was the right thing to do.

Valerie: Tim woke up in the middle of night and said, “Valerie, I’ve got this funny feeling in my chest.” And he ended up in the emergency room and the next day at the cardiologist office we found that he had an aortic aneurism.

Tim: We ended up having open heart surgery fixing the aneurism. I came out of that surgery really a different person mentally.

Valerie: During the surgery he had some inter-operative events that led to him being unable to work. Hard to believe that this would happen twice.

Larry: Valerie and Tim have their struggles today with their health, but what they don’t have to worry about is their financial income.

Valerie: The most important insurance you’ll ever buy is disability insurance. Because without your income nothing else works. All the kids have a bright future because we had a disability policy.

The post The Importance of Disability Insurance appeared first on Quality Quote Insurance Solutions.

New Year’s Eve for the Reids is a family affair. So when Bill Reid didn’t show up at his sister Michelle’s home, everyone was worried. Around 9 p.m., a call to an area hospital confirmed the family’s fears. Bill had been in a horrific car accident. Another motorist hit Bill’s car head on, driving it through a brick wall and trapping him in his car for 90 minutes.

Bill, then 32, sustained multiple bone fractures, lacerations to his liver and colon, and a brain injury that put him in a coma for five weeks. He underwent 13 surgeries and spent seven months in the hospital and rehab center. It took almost two years for him to walk unassisted.

The brain trauma, however, left Bill with chronic, shortterm memory loss, which made it impossible for him to return to work. Fortunately, he had planned ahead with the help of his brother-in-law, James Hasley, CFP, CLU, ChFC, an insurance professional.

James had sold Bill an individual disability insurance policy when Bill was just 26, and later helped him add more coverage as his earnings increased. When Bill changed to a job that offered an employer-paid disability insurance benefit, he kept his individual coverage for the added protection.

Because of Bill’s wise decision, his income is roughly the same as it was before the accident and will continue until age 65, allowing him to stay in his home and lead an active life.

Before the accident, Bill had also purchased two life insurance policies. Because they included disability waiver of premium riders, the insurance company now pays all of Bill’s premiums. The whole life policies are accumulating cash values that will provide Bill with financial security later in life.

Would you be OK financially if an accident or illness prevented you from working for a month … a year … permanently? An insurance professional can help you protect your paycheck with disability insurance. Start your smart planning with insurance and consult with an expert today.

Smart Planning With Insurance Saves the Day – Video Transcription

Pat Reid (Bill’s Mother): Bill is my only son. He is a good person, he has a good heart. Everybody loves him.

Michelle Hasley (Bill’s Sister): Bill is a caring person. He’s a fun person. He’s a lively person, happy to be alive kind of person.

James Hasley (Insurance Agent): Met Bill around 1996. He came in, he was introduced to me by Michelle, and we sat down to assist him with some IRA rollover and some investment planning. Michelle and I happened to marry after I met Bill. Bill is Michelle’s brother.

Bill was interested in planning for his future. When Bill and I sat down we realized that he did not have any disability insurance so he purchased some. Later, as he earned more money, he purchased more disability insurance. Later, he then was offered group benefits including health insurance, disability insurance, and some group life insurance. We discussed how keeping his individual insurance would fill in the unprotected income that his group insurance didn’t cover. He thought it was a good idea to keep it and he did. Turns out to be the wisest recommendation that we ever discussed.

Michelle: Bill was on our way to our house and he had called at 4:30 to say, “I’m on my way and I’ll be there in a little bit.”

Pat: We had the television on and I saw a news break come in about a terrible accident.

James: Bill was coming home from a grocery store in the afternoon and a car crossed the median and hit the car that he was driving head on.

Michelle: The car flipped, I think more than once, and hit a brick wall and he was upside down. A trauma ‘chopter came to get him and took him to the hospital. There was a time when there was no way that we thought that he would make it through the night.

James: He remained unconscious for several weeks. When he woke up he lost the ability to speak, he had a lost the ability to uh.. a lot of motor skills. He lost the ability to move his arms and legs. So he had to relearn all of those things. He has difficulty standing in one place, sitting for a long time, doing things like addition or anything that requires short-term memory are skills that he just doesn’t possess anymore. Although we knew we had rough times ahead that I wasn’t ever worried and was able to assure his family that they need not be worried where money was going to come from. He really just had to focus on getting healthy.

Bill’s group insurance covered 60% of his salary. The individual insurance that he receives is on top of the group disability and he receives that income tax free. The combination of the group insurance plus the individual insurance and then the additional benefits that he gets from social security has provided him with a household income that meets what he was earning prior to his disability.

In the life insurance planning we added a rider called “Waiver of Premium.” Waiver of Premium in the event of a disability waives the premium for the insured. In this case, the premiums on Bill’s whole life insurance is being waived. The dollars that are going into his life insurance policy are building substantial cash values so that when his disability insurance runs out, he’ll have some sizeable dividends to help supplement him through his later years.

Michelle: Bill’s future is bright. He will have his disability income for a long time. He’ll be able to do all the things he wants to do in life. There’s nothing that’s gonna slow him down.

Bill: I have good people around me. I had a family, I had friends, and the most important thing for me was keeping a positive attitude. Having a long-term disability insurance have helped me to be able to go on and afford the things that I have.

Michelle: He’s our miracle man. He’s the hospital’s miracle man. There’s no way he that should’ve lived, we don’t know how he lived. But he did.

The post Smart Planning With Insurance Saves the Day appeared first on Quality Quote Insurance Solutions.

At 27, life was falling into place for Dore Bakouris. She was newly married, had a 1-year-old son and had just returned to work. Then she started suffering from severe headaches. Given that she had no previous health issues, she went to the emergency room and got a CT scan. Doctors gave her the devastating news that she had a brain tumor.

Within a week, Dore had surgery to remove what was thought to be an egg-sized tumor, but it turned out to be a cavernous angioma—a malformation of blood vessels that had started to bleed, putting pressure on her brain. Doctors said if they had waited another day, they would have lost her. Thankfully Dore survived, but she did lose her right peripheral vision and had cognitive impairments. They discovered later she had also suffered a stroke.

Thankfully Dore had done insurance planning at a young age, given her husband, Steven, was their insurance professional. Dore had disability insurance, which replaced a portion of her income. That meant there wasn’t the financial strain of going from a two-income household to one. She also had critical illness insurance, which paid out a lump sum, due to her having suffered a stroke. This money allowed them to move closer to family. That gave Dore the support she needed, since she could no longer drive and had an active toddler. “This insurance has been a miracle for us,” she says. “It’s helped us in ways I didn’t think were possible.”

Steven adds that people expect something like this to happen when you’re old or to “other” people. “I want to express how important it is to have this kind of planning in place,” he says. “Your ability to generate income is your largest asset, if you can’t work, where does that leave everything else?”

Get a disability insurance quote today and learn how you can protect your family’s future with our comprehensive Disability Insurance products.

Bakouris Family Disability Insurance Case Study – Video Transcription

Steven (Father and Insurance Professional): Dore and I have two sons. Our oldest is Burk and our youngest is Talon. And they are spirited kids.

Dore is fantastic. She is the most wonderful person that I know.

So when we first got married, as part of me being in the industry, we had life insurance, critical illness insurance, and disability insurance in place. Ironically enough, the first claim I paid out to a client for critical illness or disability insurance was my wife.

Not long after my son Burk turned one, Dore started experiencing headaches and they got quite severe. And she was diagnosed with a brain tumor and the only option we had was to do surgery.

It was a four hour surgery. The neurosurgeon, he says, “Well it wasn’t what we thought it was. It wasn’t a brain tumor, it was a cavernous angioma – the malformation of blood vessels.” And in Dore’s situation they started to bleed.

So once Dore was released she was part of a rehabilitation program. And that’s when we discovered that she had suffered a stroke and lost her right peripheral vision in both eyes. Now she couldn’t drive anymore. So being 27 years old and giving up your independence was also very crushing and, you know, emotionally difficult.

I’m grateful every day that she’s here. She had some cognitive issues that came up through the process. I now have to help Dore with certain things that she needs with something simple as going for groceries.

Dore (Wife): You asked me how was the insurance important? It was a miracle for us.

Steven: So having the disability insurance helped to replace a portion of her income. And also the critical illness paid a lump sum that helped us to ease any other financial stress. Helped us to move closer to family so that we could have the support we needed.

Dore: It gave us peace of mind to have the insurance in place when we needed it the most. And for that, I’ll be forever grateful.

The post Disability Insurance Case Study – Bakouris Family appeared first on Quality Quote Insurance Solutions.

Life can change in an instant, and that life-changing moment may be as simple as sending a text message. That’s what happened to Travis Guthman.

Travis and his wife, Wendy, moved back to where he had grown up when they had the opportunity to buy his grandparents’ farmhouse. They felt it was an ideal place to raise their six kids. They also decided to put their prior experience to work and open up a pizzeria.

It was on a busy day—typical of one so many parents have— that Travis juggled driving and arranging a meet-up for his son. While he had pulled over to read the text, he decided to answer it while driving back home. That’s when, distracted by his phone, he hit a concrete footing on a narrow bridge—a route he had taken hundreds of times before.

The accident landed him in the hospital with a shattered pelvis and other injuries so severe that it has taken him almost two years and countless surgeries just to be able to walk with the help of a leg brace. During this time, he hasn’t been able to work, and admits the family would have lost the pizzeria if it hadn’t been for the disability insurance that his insurance professional Tom Bader helped him put in place.

The monthly payment from his disability insurance has allowed the Guthmans to pay their ongoing bills and expenses and keep food on the table. “I didn’t have to pull money out of the restaurant to live on; instead I could continue paying the employees and keep things running,” he says. “Without disability insurance we would have been in a world of hurt. You think it will never happen to you, until it does. Disability insurance has been a huge blessing for our family.”

Did you know that Social Security disability benefits average $1,166 a month, and are typically paid only if you can’t work for a year or more.¹ Make sure to get disability insurance and ensure you have adequate coverage. Contact QQIS today and learn how you can protect your future with our comprehensive Disability Insurance products.

(1) U.S. Social Security Administration, January 2016

Travis Guthman Disability Insurance Case Study – Video Transcription

Travis: Lacon is a quaint little town right on the river. We wanted the kids to grow up on a farm. Just the openness to be able to go out and run, that was the appeal of moving back here.

Tom (Insurance Professional): Travis opened a pizzeria. Very popular restaurant. The first meeting I had with Travis, he came in and mentioned he was starting a business and needed to get just the basics in place.

Travis: As we were going through that process he brought up disability insurance. Us being small business owners and being outside of the business if we were to be injured, we wouldn’t have any income.

Tom: I recommended that coverage for Travis because I knew, the family man that he was, I knew how devastating it would be to him personally if he was not able to provide for his family.

Travis: That just needs Parmesan. That’s ready to go in. I love this right here. I love the dough process, I love slapping and making pizza. I didn’t come down here for a year and a half. That’s hard.

Tom: I think most people believe “It’s not going to happen to me.” This could happen to any family in America. It’s that powerful.

Wendy (Wife): I got a phone call. Told me that he’d been in a car accident.

Travis: The day of the accident I received a text. But the problem was I turned around to head back home and I picked up my phone up and I responded to the text that I was driving. And within, I don’t know, 300 yards I hit a bridge. I couldn’t feel from my waist down. I thought maybe I had a spinal injury or something ‘cus I couldn’t really move much. And they had to cut my passenger door off and pull me out and it was incredibly painful. I was grateful that I didn’t hit anybody else and that I didn’t have any of my children in the car.

Wendy: For me it was very hard. I felt like I was neglecting the kids because I couldn’t be in most places. I felt like they kind of lost both of us.

Tom: This accident has changed Travis forever. On the positive side, it has given Travis a new purpose in life.

Travis: So I get in front of high school kids. I show them my accident and all my trauma that I went through and then give them some tools to help them stay off their phones when they drive. We had so much to worry about physically with the accident that we didn’t have to worry about the financial side ‘cus our disability insurance took the stress and focus away and allowed us to focus on what we needed to focus on.

The post Travis Guthman Disability Insurance Case Study appeared first on Quality Quote Insurance Solutions.

At 26, Michael Sizemore was living two of his dreams. Ever the athlete, he was training to participate in his first marathon. And he was enjoying his new position advocating for the unemployed and disadvantaged in his community through the nonprofit organization where he worked. After years of study and earning his masters degree in public administration, he felt prepared to start his life’s mission of helping others.

Both those dreams came crashing down around him one night while he was out with friends. As they were walking across the street, a drunk driver ran a red light at high speed and hit Michael.

His injuries were so severe, including major head trauma, that doctors were unsure if he would survive. He was placed Did you know that 1 in 4 of today’s 20 year-olds will become disabled at some point in their career?1 That’s why it’s so important to understand what disability insurance is and ensure you have adequate coverage. Learn more at www.lifehappens.org/DI. ttit 1 U.S. Social Security Administration. Fact Sheet Feb. 7, 2013 in an induced coma and his parents rushed to his side. There were countless surgeries to treat his head injuries, repair his shattered legs and address the multitude of other injuries he suffered.

Through strength, determination and a lot of rehabilitation, Michael is improving every day, including being able to walk again. But during the three years it has taken, he has been unable to return to work. Instead, he has relied on the long-term disability insurance he had through work, which replaces a percentage of his salary. With it, he’s been able to pay his rent and utilities, and afford to keep his truck.

While his life will never be as it was before, Michael is hopeful that he’ll be able to work again soon. And he credits his disability insurance with helping him get there. “I’m still rebuilding my life and myself,” he says. “My disability insurance has been key. I wouldn’t be where I am without it.”

Did you know that 1 in 4 of today’s 20 year-olds will become disabled at some point in their career?¹ That’s why it’s so important to understand what disability insurance is and ensure you have adequate coverage. Contact QQIS today and learn how you can protect your family with our comprehensive Disability Insurance products.

(1) U.S. Social Security Administration, Fact Sheet Feb 7, 2013

Michael Sizemore Disability Insurance Case Study – Video Transcription

Michael: At the age of twenty-seven, I was training for my first marathon. I was living my dream and I always wanted to serve those who had the least and I got the opportunity to do that with a trade association. I was policy and implementation associate.

James (Insurance Professional): This was Mike’s first job right out of college and the employer paid for the disability insurance, they paid for the life insurance and they paid for the health insurance and also contributed for him on the retirement and he could add money and contribute as well.

Susan (mother): Michael was in Washington, DC and was crossing the street when he was hit by a drunk driver. He was rushed to a trauma center in DC. When we got to see Michael, he was of course unconscious, they put him in a medically induced coma. They were dealing with multiple fractures in his leg, a separated shoulder, a fractured cheek, a skull fracture, and a traumatic brain injury. Michael’s hospital bills were almost two million dollars. No normal person could have been prepared to handle that on their own.

Michael: I underwent a year and a half of therapy, physical, occupational, speech. It’s been a hard fight but it’s one that I took on. I’m still recovering and I’m yet to go back to work. A big hindrance is the fact that I am prone to seizures and I have one every few months. Disability insurance gives me my freedom, I can pay the bills, I can go about doing my life as I please.

James: Mike’s individual disability policy pays for not only giving him a income, but it also pays quite a bit for rehabilitation expenses, because these policies were individual policies and not group. Knowing Mike is still disabled I worked directly with him and don’t work with the employer.

Michael: No one plans for a tragedy but when you have one, having disability insurance will give you your freedom back.

The post Michael Sizemore Disability Insurance Case Study appeared first on Quality Quote Insurance Solutions.