Lamar Odom has life insurance, do you???

Life Insurance Made a Difference for Lamar Odom

Sept. 19, 2011 - Lamar Odom may be living under a high intensity celebrity spotlight as a Los Angeles Lakers forward and star of the hit reality TV show Khloé & Lamar, but he had much simpler beginnings.

His journey began in a single-parent household in Queens, N.Y. Even though his mother, Cathy, earned a modest income working as a corrections officer, she sent him to Catholic school because of concerns about the public schools in their rough-and-tumble neighborhood. Sadly, she didn’t live to see Odom’s success. She died of colon cancer when he was just 12.

In September, Odom is serving as the national spokesperson for Life Insurance Awareness Month. The nonprofit LIFE Foundation coordinates the campaign in response to concern about the growing number of Americans who lack life insurance protection. (Watch Odom’s public service announcement.)

A Solid Foundation

Because Odom’s mother had life insurance, he was able to continue his private school education. He was also fortunate that his grandmother was able to pick up where his mother left off, providing a nurturing environment where his talents could flourish.

“My grandmother was really amazing and kept things very normal for me after my mom died,” Odom says. “But I don’t think she could have kept things as normal as she did without the money from my mom’s life insurance policy.”

At 18, life insurance again made a difference for Odom.

“When I graduated high school, I knew it would be best to not turn pro right away,” says Odom, who was considered one of the best young basketball players in the country. “And because my mom had life insurance, I didn’t need to earn a paycheck right away. I had the option to go to college for a few years, and to mature as a player and as a person.”

Lessons Learned

Odom’s story underlines the importance of addressing the “what ifs” in life. “ Thirty percent (35 million U.S. households) do not have life coverage, according to the industry research group LIMRA.

“Too many Americans haven’t done the kind of planning that my mom did,” says Odom. “They don’t have life insurance because they don’t think they’ll ever need it. I’m sure my mom didn’t think that she’d die at 35, but that didn’t stop her from doing the responsible thing.”

Odom had no way of knowing how important his mother’s planning was, but it’s a lesson that has stayed with him. “Purchasing life insurance was one of the first things I did when I entered the NBA,” he says. “As a husband and father of two beautiful children, I want to make sure the people I love will always be provided for.”

Don’t wait until it’s too late to purchase this important financial protection. The earlier you purchase life insurance, the less it costs and the more it can do for you. Your Erie Insurance Agent can help you evaluate the amount and type of life insurance right for your life — and your budget. Check out ERIE’s life insurance calculator and contact a local Agent today.*


Reprinted article courtesy of the Life and Health Insurance Foundation for Education (LIFE). LIFE is a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping consumers make smart insurance decisions to safeguard their families’ financial futures. Learn more at www.lifehappens.org.© 2011 LIFE. All rights reserved.