THE UKRAINIAN NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FORUM (09/05/04)

THE UKRAINIAN NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FORUM

INSURANCE NEWS: September is declared National Life Insurance Awareness Month

by Christine E. Kozak
UNA National Secretary

The Life and Health Insurance Foundation for Education, known as LIFE, has declared September as National Life Insurance Awareness Month. Throughout the U.S., leading companies and associations are joining in this national public campaign to raise awareness of the necessity for adequate financial protection for families.

The statistics are staggering. In a recent study conducted in August 2003, only 28 percent of widows and widowers believed they had adequate life insurance coverage; 39 percent had no coverage and 33 percent had inadequate coverage.

Imagine: you are young, between the ages of 30 and 55, you have two small children, and your husband or wife dies prematurely. What do you do?

The impact on your family's financial security can be devastating. Studies show that, even years after the death of a spouse, the surviving family members' financial situation can still be reeling from the aftereffects of their loss. Consider the scenario if you have no life insurance whatsoever: You now have only one income. All the same bills are due - the mortgage, the car payment, the children's school tuitions, credit card payments, everyday living costs, plus all the last medical and funeral expenses that have accumulated. Will you sell your house? Will you sell your car? Will you get a second job? Will you borrow money from family or friends?

"But I have life insurance through my job," you say. Your employer may indeed offer life insurance, however, is it portable? Will you be able to take the policy with you should you change employers, lose your job or decide to retire? And, unfortunately, in this day and age, job security is almost non-existent. The older one gets, the higher the premiums. And what about your health? Will you be as healthy 10 years from now as you are today?

No one can ever be completely sure of what life has in store. However, there is a way to provide your family with a measure of economic certainty: life insurance. By owning a life policy, you and your family are protected. In most cases, the death benefit is not taxable for the beneficiaries. Therefore, a $100,000 life insurance policy pays a $100,000 death benefit to the beneficiary.

The lack of adequate life insurance or the absence of life insurance forces families to make some hard choices in order to make ends meet. The UNA, as a fraternal organization established in 1894, has been providing life insurance products to many generations of members. The UNA offers a traditional portfolio of affordable life insurance plans and annuities up to age 90. For example, a $100,000 10-year term policy for a 35-year-old male costs just $11 per month.

Don't leave your family's financial future to chance. Review your life insurance coverage for the benefit of your loved ones, and call your local branch secretary or the UNA Home Office, 1-800-253-9862, for information.

The bottom line is: Can you really afford not to have sufficient life insurance?

An appreciation: Taras Shpikula, 1904-1974

September 4 marks the centennial of the birth of Taras Shpikula, a UNA stalwart who served on the fraternal organization's Supreme Assembly for more than 41 years.

Mr. Shpikula, who was born in Kopychyntsi, Ukraine, on September 4, 1904, died on November 19, 1974, at the age of 70 in Chicago.

He was remembered in an editorial in The Ukrainian Weekly titled "A True UNA'er" published on November 23, 1974.

"The name of Taras Shpikula weaves like a golden thread through the history of the UNA and of the Ukrainian community as a whole," The Weekly wrote. "A modest, unassuming man, he was one of many stalwart leaders who came out of the Windy City. Last May's UNA Convention in Philadelphia marked the 41st year of his uninterrupted service to the UNA in the post of supreme advisor, an honor that was repeatedly bestowed upon him by the delegates in recognition of outstanding work rendered and a responsibility which he carried in an unpretentious yet ever so productive manner."

In 1922 Mr. Shpikula had arrived alone in the United States. He was all of 18 years old. He completed high school and vocational school in this country, studying nights while working during the daytime.

On his second day in the United States Mr. Shpikula joined the UNA. It was an association that spanned six decades. In 1931 he became secretary of UNA Branch 221 in Chicago; his leadership transformed that branch into one of the largest in the UNA system. He was responsible also for organizing UNA Youth Branch 22 and UNA Branch 131, both also based in Chicago.

In addition, he was president of Chicago's branch of the League of Americans of Ukrainian Descent as well as of the UNA Home in that city, and for many years chaired the UNA District in Chicago.

At the age of 29 Mr. Shpikula was elected a UNA supreme advisor at the 18th Convention in 1933. He was re-elected at every subsequent convention, including the 28th Convention in 1974. He was serving his 11th consecutive term as an advisor when he passed away.

He left behind his wife, Mary, two sons, Taras and Myron, and a daughter, Bohdanna-Melody.

The Weekly's editorial noted: "... in the true spirit of fraternalism and in line with the salutary tradition of Soyuz, Mr. Shpikula's activity extended far beyond the confines of the UNA. As a director of the United Ukrainian American Relief Committee, in association with the League of Americans of Ukrainian Descent, Mr. Shpikula will long be remembered by the hundreds of Ukrainian refugee families who found a haven in this country and started a new life with his help."

"Mr. Shpikula's was a rich, active, useful and rewarding life. Let his memory serve as an example for others to follow," The Weekly editorialized.

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