How A Missing Signature Killed The Dreams Of The Sharmas

The headline and accompanying article were only 3 sentences long:

"Tragedy Strikes Local Family - Rajesh Sharma was killed yesterday evening in a single car accident when the vehicle he was driving hit a patch of ice and lost control striking a concrete bridge support. He is survived by his wife and three children.”

Can two sentences sum up the life of Rajesh Sharma?

No way. You see I knew Rajesh Sharma and I bet you have friends just like him. A great guy, a loving husband and a caring father. Heck, you might be just like him yourself. Let me take a moment to share with you the story behind the story:

The accident occurred on a Friday evening in early June. I had just talked with Rajesh earlier that afternoon and he was on top of the world. So many things were going right for him, he joked, it just wasn’t fair for anyone else. He and his wife Smita had been married for 24 years and she had given him three terrific kids. The oldest, Aastha, had announced at Thanks giving that she was engaged and was going to be getting married the following fall. Everyone liked her fiancé and they were already making plans for a lovely wedding with lots of friends and family.

Next in line was his son Rahul who was a senior in high school. Rahul was a well-rounded kid who did well in school and was busy applying to a number of colleges. He hoped to get accepted to an top-class university school and his grades were strong enough that he might just get in.

Finally, there was Aryan who was a sophomore in high school. Aryan was a great cricket player, good enough to play varsity, and was excited as the season was just getting under way. Rajesh had not missed one of Aryan’s games since he was in the sixth grade.

For Rajesh, well he was on a roll too. He had gotten a promotion over the summer that gave him a significant pay raise. Enough for he and Smita to buy a larger home in a nicer part of town.

When I talked to him earlier that afternoon, he was making plans to leave work around 7:00 PM, go home and change, then he and Smita were going to their first party of the holiday season. He was telling me he was looking out of his office window at a light snow falling.

Unbelievably, at approximately 7:52 PM Rajesh Sharma was pronounced dead on the scene. Apparently, according to police reports, he was traveling down the road and hit an icy spot which caused him to loose control of his car and hit the bridge support head-on.

While Rajesh’s death was a great loss to those who knew him, it nearly tore apart his family. You must understand , I loved Rajesh like a brother, but there was one thing that he never did that I hope you take away as a lesson from this story.

Rajesh never finished the application for the life insurance policy I had sent him. I had already filled in everything for him. All he had to do was sign it. Every time I asked him about it, he always put me off by telling me he would get around to it when he had time. He was just to busy, he said.

When Rajesh died at the age of 48, his “estate” consisted of a Rs. 40,00,000 house on which he owed Rs. 32,50,000, some small stock and bond investments, three cars, and Rs. 2,00,000 in debt. .There was no life insurance to act as income replacement for the next 20 years. · There was no life insurance to pay off the mortgage debt, credit cards, or auto loans. · There was no life insurance to pay for the kids college. · There was no life insurance to pay for Aastha’s wedding.

Smita ended up having to sell the house and take a job in order to make ends meet.

The really aggravating thing was that Rajesh was in decent health and could have gotten a Rs. 1,00,00,000, 20-year term life policy for around Rs. 1000 per month. That Rs. 1,00,00,000 would have gone to his family tax-free in a lump sum and would have done a lot of good for his family at a time they needed it most.

Why do I share this story with you? I want you to be aware that the decisions you make (or don’t make) can have a major impact on your loved ones. Whether you buy your life insurance from us or get it from someone else, just do it! Before it’s too late.

Rajesh didn’t plan on dying when he did. Few people ever do. Take responsibility and take action.