Once again I had the privilege of being a judge in the Life and Health Insurance Foundation for Education's RealLIFEstories program. (To call it a contest' makes it seem a little too tawdry, although there is a definite competitive element involved.)
There a few things that bring you so close to the noble calling that so many long-time agents give as their reason for getting into-and even more important, continuing in-the life insurance selling business.
Having done this judging before, I was well aware that I needed to prepare myself for an emotional onslaught. Most, if not all, of these stories are tear-jerkers in the best sense of the word. They pack a wallop.
I'm not going to go into particulars here, but you can always count of a number of the stories recounting early and unexpected deaths, with grieving families left behind to grieve, but also in much better condition to bear that grief because life insurance proceeds took care of immediate and long-term financial needs.
One other consistent factor in these stories is how often agents go above and beyond the selling of a policy. Servicing the policy takes on a whole other meaning and dimension when you read about how involved some agents become in taking care of the survivors in the aftermath of a family's tragedy.
