I had a REALLY sad phone call yesterday, it hit me like a ton of bricks and felt like I needed an outlet to release some of the pain, perhaps one might even say guilt.
I received a call from a gentleman in his 20’s. He introduced himself and mentioned that his mother had contacted me for some life insurance – INDEED she did. She inquired on Friday, September 6th, 2019 and the gentleman called me on Wednesday, September 11th, 2019.
He asked a bunch of questions. At first, the questions seemed normal, but he kept asking more questions and more questions and I started to realize this was not a call about life insurance. So finally, this is how the conversation proceeded;
Me: “Is there something wrong?”
Gentleman: “Yes, my mother passed away the day she contacted you. You were the last persons she spoke with, at least in her phone log.”
There were a good 10 seconds of silence after that exchange, I felt completely overwhelmed.
So, now all the questions that did not seem normal made a whole lot of sense.
So I mentioned that nobody has ever called me with this kind of news. It was pretty devastating news to me, but I just kept thinking about this gentleman has just lost his mother, his feelings and why he was calling.
When I finally came back to my senses, I recalled when my father passed away, I felt a need to “investigation” and figure out – WHAT HAPPENED.
Now, I that I understood the purpose of the call I offered my most sincere condolences, without sounding trite. Then, we continued our conversation for another ten minutes or so, he shared with me some of the behaviors he found during his investigation. Much of what he shared I also experienced during my investigation(s).
24 hours into this experience and it’s still an emotional roller coaster for me. I am constantly thinking to myself;
This experience made me take a step back and empowered me with feelings that put what I do as a life insurance/retirement advisor & broker into a completely new perspective.
I am not a doctor, psychologist, psychiatrist, social worker or medical professional – BUT – the perspective is that life insurance is more than just “peace of mind, security, asset protection” – it’s about LIFE.
There is an insurance brand (forget which one) that says;
“LIFE INSURANCE IS NOT CALLED DEATH INSURANCE – IT’S NOT ABOUT WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU DIE, IT’S ABOUT WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU ARE ALIVE.”
On the surface, I thought I understand the meaning, but now with my experience in the last 24 hours, this statement takes on a whole new meaning – at least my interpretation.
There are LOTS of articles on the internet about the physical symptoms of dying, from a medical perspective. The conversation about the emotional and behavioral signs of dying is less prevalent.
Everyone that I speak with who inquires about life insurance, the first question I ALWAYS ask is (VERBATIM);
Why is life insurance important to you RIGHT NOW? (I always emphasize the words right now)
This question for me now takes on a whole new meaning and level of importance.
Additionally, now that I am more aware of the signs, signals and behaviors, I will be much more tuned in to responses to this question. While there is a purpose for asking that question, now there is even a higher sense of purpose and direction.
For you, I would hope that you learned something about the signs, signals, emotions, and behaviors of people when they feel something imminently bad is about to happen. This is not to say we should overreact (react) every time someone exhibits any of these behaviors, at least we are tuned-in to what these behaviors could potentially mean.