The misfortune that can happen to anyone

Recently, I watched “Steenrijk Straatarm” — a Dutch reality show where a wealthy couple swaps lives with a struggling family for a week. The participants' stories fascinate me. How did they end up where they are?

This episode featured a single mom with four kids. They scrape by on a few dozen euros a week.

How did it come to this?

She was in a relationship with the father of her youngest. They both worked full-time, lived an ordinary family life. Not wealthy, but enough to get by. Then one day, he called her from the car. Wasn't feeling well. Thought it might be a heart attack. He was right. He died in an accident while they were still on the phone.

It got worse. Turns out nothing had been arranged. They had a mortgage and assumed the death risk was covered. It wasn't.

What came next was predictable: mounting debt, forced home sale, debt restructuring.

Not an exception

This isn't a rare story.

Together with Fred de Jong, I researched how Dutch households handle this risk. What we found: 35 to 40% of households could face serious financial trouble if one partner dies or can't work. No insurance, or not enough. No savings to fall back on. A sharp drop in monthly income.

Every year, 51,000 households in the Netherlands face this.

We live in a wealthy country — one built on the idea that we support each other when things go wrong. And yet, even people who think they're prepared turn out to be vulnerable.

Out of sight

Financial advisors and insurers have the knowledge and the tools to make a difference.

But many households never talk to an advisor. They rent instead of buy. They don't take out a mortgage. They assume they're covered — or they just don't think about it.

Until it happens.

The story of the mom with four kids can happen to anyone.

Which households does your organization reach — and which ones don't you see?