Father thankful for 'just in case' life insurance policy purchase

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Her touch is everywhere you look, but Brent Mastin's wife is gone.

Last year, a sudden brain aneurysm took the life of an otherwise healthy 34-year-old.

"She was awesome very artistic. She was a hairdresser, managed a salon. My whole house is her," says Mastin.

"My wife had posted this saying on Facebook maybe a year before," Mastin says looking at a framed version of the text. "It says, 'If I could give my daughter three things it would be to have the confidence to always know her self worth, the strength to chase her dreams, and the ability how truly, deeply loved she is.'"

The couple had bought life insurance to make sure their daughter would be provided for, "just in case," Mastin said.

Then the worst case scenario unfolded just six months later.

The policy they bought is helping with the bills and will help send their daughter to college one day.

Life and disability broker Jon Howard sold them the policy - and the tragic turn gave him his mission.

"I didn't have that passion for life insurance until I had to deliver the death benefits on a policy I wrote," Howard remembers.

He gave us some tips on picking a policy, just in case the unthinkable happens.

Howard says you should ask yourself - who relies on your income and for many years?

Term life insurance covers a period of time - usually 10-30 years. If you die, your beneficiaries receive the payout. The policy has no other value.

Permanent universal or whole life insurance is lifelong coverage and has an investment option. The policy's cash value can grow, is tax deferred, and you can borrow against it or cash out.

This type of plan costs more.

Howard used himself as an example.

"I'm 31 years old, so a million dollar term policy is going to be about $75 a month," he explained. "A million dollar whole life [policy] is going to be $12,000 a year out of pocket."

But it's an expense Mastin is glad they chose. He says paying into insurance can feel like a gamble.

"We did our physicals and she came back top 5 percent of health. She got the best rate that you could get for her, and yeah they lost - on their gamble but I wish they didn't," Mastin said.