So there I was, hanging out at the bar having dinner last Tuesday. Next to me was this guy with a flight of wine glasses. Out of curiosity, I had to ask, “What’s your favorite? He gave a long look at the three glasses and then said, “the pinot from Washington State. It’s light, smooth and silky.” We traded names and continued to chat for a while as we passed the night away. A while later, Monica, our server, asked if we were finished and we both said it was time to call it a night. Monica tallied up our bills and presented us our respective bills.
Both of us reached for our wallet. Right then, it dawned on me so I asked, “Hey, Tom, what’s the most important card in your wallet?” Tom looked into his wallet and pulled out a picture of his kids and smiled at me. “Tom, I get that—they’re important in your life! Which card though?”
Tom fingered through several credit cards and landed on his VISA card. He started to pull it out and then saw the one. “John, it’s my medical insurance card.”
“Yeah, that’s what I thought as well until …”
Tom quickly chimed in, “Until what?”
I paused and then said, “… until I learned that my medical insurance card paid everybody but me. You see, when I had my water skiing accident and was confined to a hospital bed, my medical card paid the hospital and doctors to put me back together, but it never, ever paid me my salary. That’s when I learned that the most important card to have in my wallet is my paycheck protection card—the card that shows I have disability insurance. That’s what paid me an income when I was unable to work.”
I’m sharing this story because I think Tom’s answer might be the same for most people, including you. So I want to challenge you to think about what would happen if you became sick or injured and unable to work? How long would you be able to make ends meet without your paycheck? In my case, the accident left me unable to earn an income for an extended period of time. I would have been in dire financial straits without the income that my disability insurance policy provided me. That’s why you need to protect your paycheck with disability insurance. Learn more at www.protectyourpaycheck.org then give us a call.
-John F Nichols – lifehappens.org
