Ebony and Shanna Blanchard: A Mother’s Wish

When Jackie Blanchard’s husband died at a young age, with only enough life insurance to pay for his funeral, Jackie vowed that her young daughters, Ebony and Shanna, would be financially secure if anything ever happened to her. To keep this promise, Jackie immediately scheduled an appointment with insurance agent Virginia Acosta, FICF. “She said she wanted the best insurance she could buy, and I made sure her family would be protected,” says Virginia.

Two years after purchasing her policy, Jackie became ill with a lung infection and was later diagnosed with lung cancer. Because the illness prevented her from working, a provision in her policy covered the payment of her premiums while the policy’s disability benefit helped cover mounting health care costs. Despite her illness, Jackie’s zest for life was unstoppable. She took a cross-country road trip with her mom and daughters and even continued to organize parties and dinners for family and friends.

She even put some money away for college for her daughters.

When she found out that her condition was terminal, the accelerated death benefit provision allowed Jackie to access up to 75 percent of her benefits while still alive. She used those proceeds to finance a home and a car for her daughters and parents, and pre-pay her funeral. She even put some money away for college for her daughters.

Jackie died at age 38. But her dreams for the girls are very much alive. Ebony, who graduated with honors from college this year, and Shanna, a senior in high school, live with their grandparents in the home their mother purchased for them. “Jackie wanted the girls to have the best education and the same lifestyle after she was gone,” Jackie’s mom Veordia says. “That’s why she chose insurance, to help them along the way. That was her greatest wish.”