Client Story #2: It Never Happens, Until it Does

Insurance is either the best money you ever will spend or the worst. And I really hope it is the latter.

I don’t really like telling this story. I blame myself for this outcome, whether that’s fair or not. It probably isn’t fair, but still. You’ll understand soon.

It wasn’t a traditional situation; I was loosely speaking with a refereeing colleague during the warm-up to a match. Yes, I used to referee football; financial adviser and football referee - non-stop rock n’roll on this end. I wasn’t good enough to keep playing properly, so figured that was one way to stay involved in the game I loved.

Anyway, all well and good so far in the warm-up. On a brief tangent - I enjoy a tangent in these stories - refereeing football was some experience. Not much related to financial services, to be honest, but refereeing might be the best method I am aware of in terms of developing a thick skin, and quickly. Much of the abuse directed at me was probably fair enough - some of the decisions were questionable at best.

A quick story there. I once turned up to a game in Cumbernauld that was going to be, erm, we’ll say ‘spicy’. It was a cup tie, and the previous time these two teams had met it had resulted in a full-blown riot; match abandoned, police called, it was a full house on the Scottish Amateur Football Bingo card.

Anyway, the referee that was allocated to the game clearly had more sense than me, as he called off the week prior to the game. The match coordinator then calls up Muggins here, asking if I will referee the game. I was a naive, daft, 21-year-old student, and of course, I said yes. The lads must have thought Christmas had come early when I rocked up sporting my Justin Bieber hairstyle, without a clue.

Things started to go downhill after the first 30 seconds of the match. It was fine up until that point. There was a knee-high tackle flying in on a midfielder from his opposite number that was a nailed-on booking. Happy days, I thought, a chance to get the cards out early and stamp some authority on the match. Of course, me being hapless, I had left the cards in the changing room.

Now, in that situation, the correct thing to do is simply stop the game, explain the situation, hop back to the dressing room and take the slagging whilst you go. Book the offending player when you return, and crack on with the game. But… no. I tried to play on without booking anyone for the first 45 minutes, refereeing a game that was borderline an organised brawl as if I didn’t have a care in the world. Vinny Jones would have been embarrassed at some of the antics in that match. Inside, I was terrified. Thankfully, no one was hurt during that 45 minutes of chaos.

Queue halfway and you better believe it, within the first 10 seconds of the second half someone was booked for giving another player a slight scowl. Consistency in refereeing eh? And that’s why I say I probably deserved some of the abuse.

Sorry, that was a long tangent. More of a story within a story. Getting back to the main point, my refereeing colleague Gary was a little older than me. In his late 40s. He and I were running the line to a vastly more experienced chap who was in the middle. During the warm-up, we were chatting, and Gary was asking me what I do. I explained I was a financial adviser, and he started telling me a little about his situation. Nothing detailed, but the conversation drifted towards insurance as he mentioned that he no longer had critical illness cover, having recently started a new job. He asked me if I would send him some quotes, just so he could have an idea how much he would be paying to cover his mortgage.

I was impressed with this. Most people don’t appreciate the importance of critical illness cover, and tend to have life cover only in place for mortgages. Critical illness cover isn’t cheap, but believe me, it really is the best money you have spent in the event that something unfortunate happens to you. Whilst the cover level for everyone is different depending on their situation and objectives, when done right, critical illness cover can nullify financial stress at a very otherwise stressful time in our lives. It pays out a tax-free, one-off lump sum. There are various options around the policy, but that’s the headline.

Anyway, on Monday morning - we got through that game of football without any disasters. Shows you the difference of having someone in the middle who knows what they’re doing - I dutifully sent a number of quotes off to Gary with a few different options for him. I didn’t think much more of it. I never like hassling people and always give them space to make a decision. Given it was Gary’s suggestion, I was sure he’d follow up soon with some questions or come into the office for a coffee.

But I never heard from him. Not on the critical illness side of things anyway. And the reason I blame myself is, I didn’t chase him for a response. I became caught up in work and it slipped my mind. I think I sent a text once, but that was it. Normally in this instance, I’d call, I’d look for something back even if the answer was a ‘no’. But for some reason, I didn’t with Gary. I can’t explain why.

Unfortunately - you know where this is going, and you’re right - Gary had a stroke I think two months after that game of football we refereed together. It was a horrible situation. And whilst a payout from critical illness can depend on the severity of the condition, and there are no guarantees in life, I always felt very bad about the outcome. I’m sure Gary and his family could have really used the money that a critical illness policy would have given them at that point in their lives.

I’m not saying that everyone needs critical illness cover. We’re all different, and so are our finances. But it’s worth thinking about, right?

I am saying that critical illness cover could make a major difference to you and your family at a time when you really need some help. My wife and I have cover now, which costs us around £40 a month for £100k of cover. Well worth it in my eyes, and I hope every penny of that £40 p/m is a complete waste. But then, I suppose it isn’t, as that £40 per month has bought us some peace of mind, which is pretty valuable in itself.