Life insurance lessons from our founding fathers
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Our Founding Fathers were visionaries who fought bravely to create a new country, but how would they fare when applying for life insurance policy today? Probably not as good as expected. Still there are a few things we can learn from their mishaps. Click or swipe to pick up a few pro tips as we assess the risks of rebelling against the Crown.
beneficiaries: Wife and 7 surviving children
lived to be: 47 or 49 (he lied about his age)
You’d think someone with his face on every $10 bill would have been set for life, but actually, Alexander Hamilton left his family in debt after fatally losing a duel to Aaron Burr in 1804. It may have been tough for someone with a dueling habit to qualify for life insurance, but with 7 children and a wife depending on him, a solid life insurance policy may have been wise.
Would he qualify for life insurance?
Duels are pretty risky, so probably not.
pro tips:
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Don’t lie about your age (at least not on your application)
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Keep dueling to a minimum
beneficiaries: 2 surviving children
lived to be: 84
You wouldn’t know it from the pictures, but Franklin was the picture of health. An avid swimmer, he invented swim fins at the ripe old age of eleven. He didn’t drink and adhered to a healthy, moderate diet throughout his life. His lifelong concern for well-being led him to invent the lightning rod and to cocreate the first hospital1 in the US. Franklin also knew the value of a financial safety net, coining the phrase “A penny saved is a penny earned.” If it had existed at the time, it would have been only natural for him to have purchased life insurance. For all we know, he may have secretly invented it.
Would he qualify for life insurance?
Maybe, he was already proposing other types of insurance in 1752.2
pro tips:
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Take up swimming
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Eat your fruits and veggies, because as Ben said, “An apple a day keeps the doctor away.”
beneficiaries: wife
lived to be: 67
Washington knew better than most how precious and fragile life can be. He suffered from some of the worst illnesses of his day, including diphtheria, smallpox, tuberculosis and dysentery. Despite that laundry list of ailments, he led a very active lifestyle. He was an avid horseback rider, hunter and outdoorsman. He drank, but only in moderation, and he refused to smoke tobacco—a few healthy habits that could have earned him a lower life insurance premium. And a policy to cover his debts might have been a good idea since it was discovered that he racked up over $300,000 in today’s dollars in library fines for two overdue books he neglected to return to the New York Society Library.3
Would he qualify for life insurance?
Not if he never returns his application.
pro tips:
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Return your library books
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Never drink and ride
beneficiaries: 6 surviving children
lived to be: 83
In addition to being a visionary, Jefferson was an underwriter’s dream. He advocated devoting two hours a day to exercise, “for health must not be sacrificed to learning.” He loved to walk and firmly believed that physical exercise ensured not only physical health but mental health as well. Jefferson also maintained a healthy diet and abstained from smoking. Sadly, that wisdom didn’t extend to his finances. He loved good living and he blew a fortune building and furnishing Monticello. When he died July 4, 1826—on the 50th anniversary of US independence, Jefferson was over $100,000 dollars in debt. Without the benefit of a life insurance policy, his family was forced to sell the property to clear his debt.4
Would he qualify for life insurance?
Maybe, but he wouldn’t be able to keep it if he didn’t pay his premiums on time.
pro tips:
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Squeeze in some exercise every day
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Live only as lavishly as your budget allows
beneficiaries: wife
lived to be: 56
He was the first to sign the Declaration of Independence, and he did it with style. His big bold signature would have earned him a death sentence if the British had won the war, but Hancock was no fool. He graduated from Harvard at just 17 and became one of the wealthiest men in New England, after inheriting a shipping business from his uncle. With a fortune to protect and the threat of the British looming large, there’s little doubt that John Hancock would have signed on for a proper life insurance policy.
Would he qualify for life insurance?
Probably, after all there’s an insurance company named after him.
pro tips:
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Make your signature big and bold, so everyone remembers you
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Take educated risks
Life insurance was still a new concept in the US at the time of our Founding Fathers, and their lifestyle was completely different than yours. Today, there are various options that fit your specific lifestyle needs and even reward your healthy choices. Learn more about how an option like John Hancock Vitality might be right for you.
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Citations:
1 Penn Medicine: “History of Pennsylvania Hospital”, 2017 http://www.uphs.upenn.edu/paharc/features/creation.html
2 PBS: “Insurance Ben-Efactor”, 2002 https://www.pbs.org/benfranklin/l3_citizen_insurance.html
3 The Guardian: “Fine owed by George Washington for overdue library books now $300,000” by Ed Pilkington, April 18, 2010 https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/apr/18/george-washington-library-new-york
4 The Jefferson Monticello: “Debt” by Lucia Stanton, 1991 https://www.monticello.org/site/research-and-collections/debt
This material is intended to promote awareness and is for educational purposes only. It is not intended to provide any medical, financial, investment, insurance, legal, accounting, or tax advice.
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