Turning point

Ask most anyone in the benefits industry to recall a pivotalcareer moment, and many point to a memorable claim experience. Inmy case, it was a group disability benefit that I sold to “Stuart”in 1993. Making the sale was no big deal — it was my job that I didevery day. But 17 days after Stuart's disability policy went intoeffect, he couldn't show up for work. He was eventually diagnosedwith a brain tumor, and for the next year and a half, his familyreceived benefits from that disability policy. In 1993, thisbenefit cost Stuart about five dollars a week, and that five-dollarsale changed my career.

How amazing is it to sell a product that so profoundly affects aperson's financial well-being? Stuart's lasting mark on me was toindelibly imprint the importance of what we do every day in thebenefits industry. The benefits that we sell provide safety andcomfort when people are most vulnerable — sick, hurt, disabled,grieving. I would never again see my job in the insurance field asa “job.” I knew I had a career that carried with it a bigresponsibility.

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Paul Wilson

Paul Wilson is the editor-in-chief of BenefitsPRO Magazine and BenefitsPRO.com. He has covered the insurance industry for more than a decade, including stints at Retirement Advisor Magazine and ProducersWeb.