No one can predict what, when and how their life will end. We just take on the script and strive to play the roles the best we can before the director shouts, “Cut!” I was grateful I was allowed the chance to play a part in Nicky’s life.
Nicky had an energetic and bubbly personality, with crinkles of merriness ever present at the edges of his eyes. I knew him both as a client and a member of my husband’s extended family.
A year after I met Nicky, he asked for information about an education policy for his son. We met at his home on a Sunday night. Ultimately, the conversation shifted from the education fund to income protection, since his ongoing policy was insufficient for his family. He agreed to apply for a new policy and, after a medical test, the proposal was approved.
A few months later, we met again to consider additional term life protection by alteration, and I presented a table of data to support the proposal. Nicky made the decision to provide appropriate protection for his family.
Our next meeting, unfortunately, was in a hospital where Nicky was being treated for typhoid fever. We arranged the required documents for his medical claim. He was his usual cheerful self, laughing and smiling the whole time. I picked up the documents two weeks later at a café where his company was holding a business event. It was 11 p.m. and he was still working.
Not long after, on a clear, bright day, Nicky’s wife, Elizabeth, notified me he had been in an accident. At first I thought the accident was linked to his previous illness, but what Elizabeth said next was much worse. She was on the way to the city morgue to identify his body. Nicky had crashed his car into roadside trees early that morning. The car — with Nicky inside — was destroyed by fire.
I found Elizabeth standing at the morgue gate. She was arranging the necessary documents to release her husband’s body, which could only be identified by dental records. Police investigation concluded the accident was probably caused by Nicky’s drowsiness due to exhaustion from working long hours. Nicky was 33; they were only married four years.
I assisted Elizabeth with completing the accidental death claim documents. The claim was approved in less than two weeks, and she received the checks gratefully and gracefully.
Two years have passed, and Elizabeth has moved on and found her passion as chief editor with a lifestyle magazine. Her son is in first grade. They continue living well due to receiving meaningful financial support through Nicky’s insurance.
It occurred to me that through assisting Nicky’s family, I also had reaped immense benefits. As their insurance agent, I was given a morale boost beyond commissions and bonuses. Our essential fight in this industry is a humane cause — preparing our clients for life’s adversity before it arrives.
No one can predict what, when and how their life will end. We just take on the script and strive to play the roles the best we can before the director shouts, “Cut!” I was grateful I was allowed the chance to play a part in Nicky’s life.
Nicky was never an artist who left wonderful poems or legendary songs as his legacy. But, in his own simple way, he left a beautiful legacy of his love for his wife and child. The policy and the checks were his love letters.