How Losing His Father Started a Mission to Help Families
Jamie Hale went through the unthinkable at age 11. He unexpectedly lost his father, who was just 48 at time.
“I was sad, so I cried a lot, right? Then you get picked on because you’re crying,” shared Jamie, recalling what a day in the life of his pre-teen self was like. “So then you realize, ‘I’ve got to be tough’ but you don’t really don’t know what tough is… because you don’t have a dad to walk you through it.”
A handful of kids may have picked on Jamie, but in telling his story he focuses much more on the sense of kinship and community that helped his family work through their grief. Seared into his mind is the memory of a neighbor putting cash in his family’s mailbox and seeing his mother moved to tears by the kind gesture.
It wasn’t until adulthood that Jamie fully understood his family was having a cash flow problem in the initial period before his father’s life insurance policy paid out. After it did, things felt a little less hard. It was this same policy that enabled his family to stay in the community where they felt so supported and gave his mom a little time to start a career outside the home. As Jamie put it, the policy “did exactly what it was supposed to do.”
“There’s Got to Be a Better Way.”
Those six words were voiced by Jeff, a friendJamie had been helping figure out life insurance during a transitional time in his life. (Yes, Jamie was that “that guy,” the go-to friend everyone turned to for help with complicated paperwork and financial decisions.) A lightbulb went off and Jamie and Jeff realized that they could overhaul the whole antiquated and complicated process of getting life insurance and help so many families by making life insurance “simpler and more human.” They formed a company called Ladder which has achieved the following:
- Ladder created an online process so simple you can complete it in 5 minutes.
- Their technology lets them say good-bye to agents paid on commission and the pressure-filled phone calls their customers hated.
- They did away with paper statements.
- For all the money Ladder saves with the above, they pass on those savings to customers in the form of stellar rates and no policy fees.
Life Insurance for Families: Online, Easy and Fast
Jamie’s own experience as a dad of four kids has given him a lot of empathy for parents who get their “adulting” done late at night after the kids go to bed. His goal was to make Ladder as easy as possible for moms and dads:
- If you’re expecting, you can apply now, then easily add your child as a beneficiary to your policy once the baby arrives, with the click of a button.
- You can stop and start the process as many times as you want, say if a child cries out for you as you’re filling out the online application.
- Adjustable policies! You can easily apply to increase your coverage, say if you’re factoring in college education costs. You can also decrease your coverage in a matter of clicks by simply adjusting a slider bar down. Do the same at other milestones and life stages.
- You can get a quote, complete your application, and, if qualified, be issued a policy in as little as five minutes—compare that to the traditional process which typically takes six to eight weeks.
Advice for Procrastinators
What’s Jamie’s advice for those well-meaning parents among us who just can’t seem to get it done? First of all, don’t wait, especially when it can all be done quickly now. Term life insurance actually costs less the younger you are. You can tell he’s a total sweet dad when he adds: “Think of it as an act of love. You’re taking an action not for yourself but for your people.”
ATTENTION READERS: We only partner with companies who share our mission of making the world a safer place for all children. Thanks to Ladder, who created a special page for our Baby Box Co. community to see for themselves how easy the process is. Get a no-strings-attached, fully underwritten price in just about five minutes!
