A couple of years ago, I noticed that one of our client's 20 year term policy was about up. As I usually do, I reached out to him to suggest that it might be a good idea to pre-empt the anticipated rate hike (SOP on plans of this type) by looking at either a new plan with a fresh lock-in period, or perhaps considering a permanent plan of some type, either through the conversion option or a new plan altogether.
Or some combination of these.
We went back and forth for a few days, and he ultimately decided to "let it ride."
It's amazing how quickly 20 years flies by: the term lock-in period ended in April, and he missed sending in the new premium; the policy is in immediate danger of lapsing.
Ordinarily this likely wouldn't be the end of the world, but in this case there's a rather significant twist:
When I got in the office yesterday morning, there was a voicemail from Roy asking for my help. I first called Home Office for some info I knew I'd need, then Roy, and suggested that he pay a quarterly premium to buy us time to figure out where to go from here. He asked me about a new term policy, and so I started asking my usual pre-screen questions. Started, and then immediately stopped:
Roy told me that he'd had a bout with prostate cancer last year. After surgery, he's now fine, but he's also now off the market for an underwritten plan (yes, I checked with our primary and another carrier to confirm). We're still exploring options (again, he still has the conversion privilege available), but they're expensive, and there aren't a lot. I did confirm that he still needed the coverage, so we'll have to figure out what's the best alternative.
Of course, the best alternative would have been to have secured new coverage before the cancer. And of course no one knows when or if it'll strike. But as a good friend is fond of saying, we don't buy insurance with our wallets, we buy it with our health.
Or some combination of these.
We went back and forth for a few days, and he ultimately decided to "let it ride."
It's amazing how quickly 20 years flies by: the term lock-in period ended in April, and he missed sending in the new premium; the policy is in immediate danger of lapsing.
Ordinarily this likely wouldn't be the end of the world, but in this case there's a rather significant twist:
When I got in the office yesterday morning, there was a voicemail from Roy asking for my help. I first called Home Office for some info I knew I'd need, then Roy, and suggested that he pay a quarterly premium to buy us time to figure out where to go from here. He asked me about a new term policy, and so I started asking my usual pre-screen questions. Started, and then immediately stopped:
Roy told me that he'd had a bout with prostate cancer last year. After surgery, he's now fine, but he's also now off the market for an underwritten plan (yes, I checked with our primary and another carrier to confirm). We're still exploring options (again, he still has the conversion privilege available), but they're expensive, and there aren't a lot. I did confirm that he still needed the coverage, so we'll have to figure out what's the best alternative.
Of course, the best alternative would have been to have secured new coverage before the cancer. And of course no one knows when or if it'll strike. But as a good friend is fond of saying, we don't buy insurance with our wallets, we buy it with our health.
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