I had been friends with John and his wife for more than three decades — we met about 15 years before they became clients — so they knew they could turn to me when they received news that he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer. The couple came straight from the doctor’s office, and John told me he would have to undergo an operation in just seven days. It was my responsibility as his advisor to make sure he and his family had the funds they needed, but it was also my duty as a friend to help them, however I could, on a human level.

I brought in my business partner, who had gone through the exact same health scare and operation a few years prior. I knew talking to him would help John and his wife realize that they, like my partner, could make it through this ordeal. I think that conversation was even better than a check because it gave them some comfort about the unknown. In the meantime, I filed a claim with the insurance company, using the doctor’s report John and his wife gave me, and the carrier approved the claim while they were still in my office. So rather than waiting a month or more for processing, I was able to hand them a check for $600,000 after John’s operation a few days later.

We had been handling all of John’s risk insurance for a decade and a half, but this claim allowed us to get involved in the financial planning part of his life as well.

John and his family still had a long road ahead, but they had that check. He underwent the surgery and made a complete recovery. Twelve months later, he did a buyback of the insurance claim and bought an additional portion of death coverage. Today, he holds a permanent disability coverage policy and death coverage worth more than $2 million. This scenario was the best example of trauma insurance in action; it took the weight of their predicament’s possible financial impact off their shoulders. John and his family could not believe the speed of the claim and the payment, and I have since picked up three more of his family members as a result. This not only made me feel good, but our whole team at the office also got a big boost to see life insurance in action in a real and meaningful way.

Kevin Owen is a 36-year MDRT member from Beverly Hills, New South Wales, Australia. Contact him at ksowen@sovfin.com.au.