Local Widow Urges Importance Of Life Insurance For Families
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- As we head into this Father's Day weekend, we celebrate the men in our lives.
But what happens if something happens to dad?
A local widow talked with KDKA's Susan Koeppen about the importance of life insurance and how it helped her in her time of need.
In April 2009, Pittsburgh Police Officer Stephen Mayhle was killed in the line of duty. He was just 29 years old. He left behind a young wife, Shandra and two young daughters.
"My husband, the sole bread winner of the family, was gone and I had no idea what I was going to do," recalls Shandra Mayhle-Rhine.
Mayhle-Rhine says she was facing the loss of her husband and thoughts of how she was going to support her family. But just nine months before he was killed, Stephen Mayhle had increased his life insurance policy.
"I was able to just dwell on the fact that I lost my husband, and I didn't have to think about the bills and what was going to happen in the future," she said. "I was able to focus on what was most important at the time."
But Stephen Mayhle had almost canceled his life insurance in an effort to save money, until he talked with his insurance agent, Chad Gregorini. He was able to increase Mayhle's life insurance by $200,000, for about the same amount of money, by changing the terms of his policy. Nine months later officer Mayhle lost his life responding to a domestic call in Stanton Heights.
"Life insurance is much cheaper than people think it is," says Gregorini.
Mayhle-Rhine and Gregorini have now teamed up and they are getting out the word about the importance of life insurnace.
"The most important thing you can do for your family is plan for the unforeseen," says Mayhle-Rhine.
According to a recent survey -- three in 10 American households are uninsured.
And half of American households say they need more life insurance.
So how much life insurance do you need? Gregorini says first look at your income, then consider how much your family would need to get by and for how long?
Even though her husband was a police officer, Mayhle-Rhine never thought he would die at such a young age.
"It's not pretty, it's not something you want to think about," she said. "But it's a fact of life and it can happen. Anything can happen."
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