Fifty Years And Counting

As the man arose, he walked into the kitchen, and as per his usual routine, he glanced at the clock, it was 2:40 AM, earlier than normal by about 3 hours.

He knew he had a long day ahead, drive south down state for 3 hours each way to meet with a prospective client about retirement planning. He had done this three previous times with this same client. First, to meet the client and do a factfinding, the second time to provide information and education, along with showing an illustration on the product, and the third time was to write the application. The application was scanned into the company that evening when he got back to his office, his home. Over the next 3 to 4 weeks, the company didn’t like the “suitability” on the application; the client was a widow age 50, 3 grown children, no debt what-so-ever, home paid in full, no car loans, no credit card debt. In fact, no debt of any kind, she was just finishing a remodel of her home, done by herself, all paid via the magic of life insurance when her husband passed some ten years earlier, income tax-free. She was a teacher and an administrator but wanted to take a couple of months off to reflect on what the past 50 years had looked like before she went back to work, just a few months. But the company didn’t like the fact she had a few dollars less each month than she was currently bringing in by not working. The IRA rollover was to be $123,000 from mutual funds into the FIA, she had another $100,000 + in the bank, with another IRA of $50,000, she had no wants or needs and was frugal. But the company turned her application down, not now, maybe later when she had income. The man, the agent, knew the decision by the company was wrong, really wrong, he had written four letters to the company explaining and re-explaining the case, with numerous phone calls. But it fell on deaf and very young ears, far too young to understand 50 years of a persons’ life. Here he was again getting ready to embark on yet another journey down State to write another application with a good company that would accept the business and that understood the case. You see, it wasn’t just the 50 years of life the client had been reflecting on, it was the 50th year the man, the agent, was starting in the insurance/retirement/planning business, yes, to the day, he had been issued his license to practice on September 18, 1970. And what a 50 years it had been, all the pluses and minuses, ups and downs, laughter and a few frowns, all the awards, all the friends and clients, millions and millions of dollars saved and invested, but most of all, the self satisfaction of knowing he had done the right job, at the right time, for the right people.

50 years and counting.