I made a huge mistake

I’ve been asked what my best mistake was. I hesitate to call this my “best” mistake, because other people’s lives were negatively impacted by my failure. I prefer, instead, to look at it as an important lesson I can share.

I was doing a review with a client who wanted to purchase a split-dollar key-person life insurance policy for an employee in his business. He was leaving for a trip and said, “We’ll get back together when I return.” He never returned. Both he and this key employee were killed on that trip when their plane crashed. The life insurance paperwork was still on his desk.

2002 MDRT President Marvin H. Feldman, CLU, ChFC

I delivered checks worth millions of dollars to the business owners’ family and his company, and zero for his employee. Why did this happen?

I didn’t do a good job and made a huge mistake.

I didn’t insist that my client sign the paperwork and write a check for the first month’s premium. Everyone has failures at work. Mine was a big one, but you can be sure that that has never happened again in my work. I feel a sense of satisfaction that the educational work that I now do with the nonprofit organization Life Happens addresses issues just like this.

If you have a client who is hesitant to get the paperwork done or to bind coverage with a check, then show them one of these short Real Life Stories videos:

Shane Donaca, who was a busy business owner, never seemed to find the time to sign his amended life insurance contract. After much persistence, his agent got his signature. It couldn’t have been more fortunate, as Shane died in an accident the next day: lifehappens.org/donaca.

Steve Young was in the prime of his life when he was killed in a paddle-boarding accident. His policies were paid out — both to his family and business — even though they were still in the underwriting process: lifehappens.org/young.

This mistake happened a long time ago, but it still shapes the way I do business, and I share this in the hope of saving other agents and advisors from the same mistake I did.

I made a huge mistake, and I’m sharing it so you don’t do the same.

Written by 42-year MDRT member, 34-time Top of the Table qualifier and 2002 MDRT President Marvin H. Feldman, CLU, ChFC.

Read more Real Life Stories on MDRT’s Resource Zone.