Agent Wallene Leek helps client with Parkinsons.

Kelley Snead was 57-years-old, confined to a wheelchair with a rare form of Parkinson’s disease, and barely able to speak when she released her first album, Roses and Tumbleweeds, a compilation of songs she wrote and recorded over 20 years, pursuing her place in Nashville’s music scene.

That she realized a lifelong ambition as she struggled with a debilitating illness is a measure of her personal grit. That she continued to provide for her family, even as medical expenses mounted, was due in large part to her friend, Wallene Leek, FSCP, LUTCF, LTCP, a New York Life agent in the company’s Nashville office. Leek made sure the family life insurance policies were structured for maximum benefit. Kelley passed away in May 2017, leaving a legacy of music and love.

Kelley was diagnosed with this rare, drug-resistant form of Parkinson’s disease in 2009. Eventually she was unable to continue working, and like many Americans faced with a catastrophic illness, her family’s savings were depleted. A plan she’d put in place with Leek years earlier became a turning point for her and her family. Not only did Leek make sure Kelley had adequate life insurance, she customized the policies with key riders that eased the burden of the illness and continues to support her family today.

Help before Need

Leek and Kelley met at a Bible study group in 2001. “Eventually, I began talking to her about life insurance. She had started a real estate business. As the main income earner for her family, it was always so important to her that her family be protected financially. Even when she was well, she was worried about her ability to work,” Leek says.

Leek placed a $300,000, 20-year term policy with Disability Waiver of Premium and Living Benefits riders. “I’ll always look back on that as a special experience because Kelley was my first client,” Leek recalls.

Kelley and Doak had dreams of country music stardom, but those remained elusive. Kelly became the breadwinner, working in real estate. Doak was a songwriter for various Nashville stars and continued performing. Together they made the decision to purchase life insurance. Working with Leek meant they were doubly protected thanks to two additional riders. Leek’s relationship with Kelley deepened.

“I would ask her how things were going with her business, and if she felt she needed more insurance,” Leek says. During a lunch in 2007, they talked about Kelley’s success and decided with her higher income, she needed another term life insurance policy for $250,000. The riders were also included on Leek’s insistence. “I won’t write a policy without the Disability Waiver of Premium Rider on it,” Leek says. “I never quote a policy to a client without it, because the fact is that people are more likely to become disabled and unable to work before they die young. This rider is protection to keep that policy in force.”

Leek also insists on the Living Benefits Rider (LBR), included at no additional cost. Administrative fees apply when exercised.

Riders, in general, customize life insurance policies and usually add to the overall cost of the policy. The Disability Waiver of Premium Rider, means that life insurance premiums are paid by the company and the policy remains in force even if the insured is unable due to disability to make the premium payments due to disability of the insured. The LBR allows policy owners to accelerate the death benefit, providing access to the death benefit when the insured is terminally ill with certain life expectancies.

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