The odds of disability. The high cost of medical bills. The average amount of savings. When talking about disability insurance, we tend to cite a lot of numbers. For good reason, too – these numbers prove how essential disability insurance is.
But sometimes people don’t want more numbers. Sometimes, in order to understand something on a gut level, people need a more emotional connection. They need a story.
You likely feel this way yourself. To see how, just think about recent news stories covering natural disasters. When you hear the statistics – the number of people affected, the number of homes lost, the cost to repair – you probably think that it’s horrible. But when you see an interview of a single family who’s just lost everything? That’s when it becomes heart-wrenching.
Rosemarie Rosetti, Ph.D., gets this. To make the case for disability insurance, she tells the very personal story of how her life was turned upside down when a tree fell on her, damaging her spine and preventing her from earning income through the two businesses she owned. Although many people might struggle to recall such a terrible event, she describes what happened in vivid detail.
Reading Rosemarie’s story, it’s impossible not to empathize with what happened. Readers instinctively put themselves in her position, understanding not just the cold facts of what can go wrong, but also how it must feel to experience a tragedy that comes out of the blue. It’s terrifying, but it’s also inspirational. She shows that horrible things can happen unexpectedly, but we don’t have to be defeated by them. With proper planning, we can create safety nets that will see us through dark times.
You can read her story for yourself, and you absolutely should. Show it to your clients as well.
What’s Your Story?
Rosemarie tells her story remarkably well, but she’s certainly not the only person to have experienced a disruptive disability.
Maybe you’ve experienced a disability yourself – a cancer diagnosis, a difficult pregnancy, a debilitating back problem or any of the other many illnesses and injuries that can prevent us from earning the income we depend on.
Even if you’ve been lucky enough to avoid disability yourself, you surely know someone who has not been as fortunate. Maybe that person had disability insurance. Maybe that person did not have insurance, but looking back, it’s clear that a policy would have made a difficult time easier.
You might be hesitant to share your story. Opening up about such personal issues can make us feel vulnerable and exposed. But if we can be as brave as Rosemarie, our stories can help others truly understand the importance of disability insurance.
Need more great stories to share? Download our Four Stories handout here.