By: Mark D. Milbrod, CLU, CLTC, Vice President ASG
As we ring in the new year, it gives us an opportunity to look back and reflect on the prior year and also gives us a chance to peer into the new year with a sense of optimism for what lies ahead and also to put things in perspective.
When it comes to perspective, I look at the tragic event that took place during the Monday Night Football game between The Cincinnati Bengals & Buffalo Bills. It was probably the most surreal thing we have all encountered while watching a sporting event.
As much as we view these players as gladiators and something bigger than life, we witnessed the raw emotion as the layers were peeled away to expose the humanity behind the helmet. The terror that we witnessed on the faces of these players as they watched a friend, teammate and family member clinging on to life, was unsettling to say the least.
As I’m writing this, Damar Hamlin was released from The UC Health Center in Cincinnati. It is great to see that he is doing well and hope that he is on his way to a full recovery.
Looking back at the event as it was unfolding, what struck me was the helplessness seen through the eyes of Hamlin’s teammates (essentially his “family”). It is that feeling of helplessness that begins the journey for so many of the families we serve on a daily basis.
Unfortunately, the story does not always have the outcome that we have seen with Damar Hamlin. That look of helplessness continues on into it’s next stage as families have to deal with either the loss of a loved one or the loss of a major breadwinner’s income.
By doing what we do every day, we have the ability to mitigate loss. Whether we are selling a life insurance, a long term care or a disability Income policy, we have the power to help families through the most difficult times.
As we look towards the year ahead, let’s remember the powerful arrows in our quiver. The insurance carriers that we have access to, have given us some of the most dynamic products to make available to our clients. We have a suite of Term, Whole Life, Universal Life (in many forms), Disability Income, Long Term Care, Chronic Illness Riders and Annuities at our disposal.
Each one of these products can allow us to mitigate a multitude of risks on a daily basis. We should be proud of what we do and know that when that feeling of “helplessness” goes away, our profession allows those families we protect to go on.
It was great to see a nation rally around Damar Hamlin, but we are the ones that can rally for our clients when they need us most.
Never lose sight of that perspective.
Wishing you all a Very Happy, Healthy & Prosperous New Year !!!