About three years ago, the father of one of my school friends experienced severe chest pain. He had suffered a major heart attack that could have ended his life at that moment — had he not been protected by the insurance policies we offer.

Prior to his heart attack, I insured my friend’s father for critical illness coverage. We also discussed a special product we carry that provides medical benefits on the life insurance policy. It takes care of any major surgery, emergency treatment or hospital diagnostics. My friend was adamantly opposed to this insurance and did his best to dissuade his father from taking out the special policy. Although his father, too, had reservations, in the end he signed up for the additional insurance.

Shortly thereafter he experienced the heart attack that landed him in a nursing home. Thankfully, his accident emergency care coverage paid for a private facility. At that point the surgical part of the policy kicked in, which included hospital diagnostics. He got an angiogram and immediately after that procedure, an angioplasty, both covered by the policy.

If the gentleman had not had our policies in place, he would not have had access to the medical care that kept him alive. Lacking the financial resources for a private nursing home, he would have had to wait indefinitely for a spot in a public hospital, and there was no guarantee it would have received the level of expertise to deal with a massive heart attack.

This case really shows that sometimes we make recommendations to clients, but we don’t really know the impact that it will have. We take it for granted because we meet so many people in our line of work. But this particular case has stayed with me over the years. In my opinion, without that coverage in place I believe he would have been a dead man. It’s not that the premiums were very large, but that it made a huge difference in the family’s lives.

After he recovered, he called me, crying tears of joy as he said, “I was so hesitant to take out this policy but because I did, I’m alive today. I can be with my wife and my kids, and eventually I’ll meet my grandchildren.”

This gentleman still is a very good friend today. His wife manages a home for children from troubled backgrounds. Some have been abused and others have witnessed crimes, and the home is a sanctuary. Over the Christmas vacation period, we did a lot of charitable work with this organization. It’s a nice feeling to stay connected with that family.

Saad Baksh is a 16-year MDRT member from Marabella, Trinidad and Tobago. Contact him at saadanthonybaksh@gmail.com.