An accident opened the eyes of cyclist to life insurance need

An avid cyclist, Axel Jimenez suffered a serious crash while riding with friends.

If you ride a bicycle, Carrie Jimenez begs you to wear a helmet.

And, whether you wear a helmet or not, Axel Jimenez recommends you have life insurance and review your coverage on a regular basis.

Axel – whose bicycle was clipped by a car as he and two friends rode their weekly 14-mile, Wednesday-morning bike route – was grateful for the second chance to do just that.

A cycling crash forced Axel Jimenez not only to have back surgery, but also to evaluate his life insurance needs.

A State Farm^® agent in Illinois, Axel suffered several injuries and underwent back surgery after being thrown from his bike several years ago. He and his buddies were riding single file, and Axel was in the rear. The first two riders turned onto Airport Road and Axel was close to turning when there was a really loud bang and someone hollered, “Axel got hit!”

They called 911 and the friends checked on Axel, who was thrown from his bicycle, landing partly in grass and partly on a graveled shoulder of the road.

A car bumper had struck the rear tire of his bicycle, which was on the right side of the northbound lane.

Axel Jimenez realized he needed to update his life insurance after a cycling crash caused him to reflect on how his family would survive if tragedy struck. Pictured with Axel are his wife, Carrie, and children Ella, 18, Gabe, 15, Adler, 12 and Vale, 10.

Thankfully, the helmet did what it was designed and supposed to do: it protected his head when he crashed to the ground. But once he came to his senses around what had just happened, Axel began thinking -- what if it hadn’t? What if he’d suffered the unthinkable?

Like a barber who has no time to cut his own hair, Axel’s days were focused on taking care of customers. He had thought about reviewing his life insurance needs many times, but that task was put on hold over and again while other tasks were made a priority.

This bike crash made him realize tomorrow is promised to no one. If he hadn’t survived, his family would have been in dire straits.

“It’s critical that we assume the worst case as we contemplate the reality of an unforeseen tragedy involving death,” Axel said. “Nobody wants to leave their loved ones in financial distress.”

He is committed to helping others recognize the importance of life insurance so they may live their lives confident their loved ones will thrive.