Policy Issues- Ditch Christmas past with a better present

"Yessir, you are toast. History. No longer needed amongst the insurance living. Bereft of impact. You've let yourself get old, Eb. It's not a calendar thing, it's an attitude. A ghost of Christmas past is redundant for you, since you already live there full-time. And your clients are suffering for it. You need some new blood flowing in your agency."

"Not true! I'm better than I ever was. Experience is critical in this business. And I didn't take the time to earn all those designations for nothing."

"All right, let's test this interesting theory of yours. Touch my robe."

Instantly they were whisked to an agency reception area. A young man arrives with earbuds in, iPhone at the ready, texting rapidly. The spirit turned to Ebenezer. "Tell me what you see."

"Besides the tattoos? And total lack of human contact? These kids think this digital stuff is real life, and they are dead wrong. And if they keep texting while driving, they'll just be dead, period."

"Oh, Ebby, is that all you see? Is it possible the tattoos aren't any more predictive of this young man's potential than your long hair in college?" The spirit sighed, "No doubt. A question: if texting is so important to these kids that they would actually let it override their common sense while walking or driving, is it possible in decrying the behavior you have missed the point?"

"I lost you."

"Naturally. Is it possible that for these kids, texting is a key method of communicating with their peers? Forgive me for reminding you, but effective communication is the foundation of all relationships. And aren't relationships the thing you keep touting as the core of your business?"

"Sure, but you can't have a real relationship using a device. It takes face to face!"

"Oh, Eb, you are too easy. 'Are you going to be on that phone all day? Your father is expecting a call! Will you kids turn down that music? How can you hear yourself think, much less have a conversation? Real dancing is about holding your partner close, with tenderness. The way you kids obscenely contort yourselves all over the floor, I can't even tell who you are dancing with, if anyone!' Sound familiar?"

A smile came to Ebenezer's face. "You know, you do a pretty good imitation of my parents."

"So do you, Ebby, only mine is mimicry and yours is real. OK, you flunk prospect observation and relationship building. Let's try this insurance knowledge of which you are so proud. The young man is holding an iPhone and his house has more electronics than a Best Buy. What homeowner form do you recommend?"

"Easy–an HO-3 with that computer endorsement attached for his electronics."

"Eb, you are not even close. First, who said all of his electronics were computers? Ever heard of home theaters, flat-panel televisions, digital kitchens, or solid-state washers and dryers? They're all electronics, yet not one is technically considered a computer under that endorsement (ISO 0414).

"Plus, does it strike you as logical that an endorsement with an edition date of '1000′ might be slightly out of date when nearly 100 percent of all the digital devices we now take for granted didn't even exist back then?

"There are actually two correct answers to my question. First, if you are focused on the physical damage to the electronics, the HO-5 is the way to go, because it does not have the electronic damage limitation that exists in all the other forms.

"Second," the spirit continued, "and more important, as the devices get steadily cheaper, the real risk of loss isn't the device, but the digital contents. And the best answer to that isn't insurance, but a solid backup routine. Although it drives the intellectual property folks crazy, one of the best things about digital is it's easy to copy. So why insure when you can duplicate?"

"But all of that data storage is cumbersome and expensive. Why, I remember having to change out those tapes and buy those mirroring drives…"

"Eb, you're killing me here. Get yourself down to a Costco, will ya? Next time you are grazing at the senior buffet, drop by the electronics area. You can get a one terabyte–that's a thousand gigabytes for you, Ebby–external plug-in drive for close to a 100 bucks. Pocket and flash drives are dropping just as fast for all the small devices. Just copy everything you have, throw the drive into a safe deposit box, and bingo, client is covered for data loss. The fact you hadn't considered that makes me wonder what else you aren't noticing that might be a great solution to your client's needs.

"Our time grows short," the spirit continued. "Suffice to say your favorite commercial coverages and ideas haven't done a great job keeping up with this fast-changing new world, either. It takes some new vision, Eb, some new eyes and new ideas, not just to survive, but to prosper in the coming years. And sorry to say, my friend, but you have none of the above."

"Oh, this is one of those lectures about how I need to be on Facebook, isn't it?"

"You don't know the half of it. Did it ever occur to you that as these kids come of age in this digital world, what they consider as proof of competency may leave you in the dust? In the near future, it may be far less important to younger prospects that you have those great letters after your name than the size of your spread in Farmville. Can you really be a great relationship builder and networker if you only have 22 people in your Mafia Wars gang? I can hear it now: 'How can this agent be that smart if he's still in New York while I've been in Moscow for weeks?'"

"What in the world are you talking about?"

"I rest my case."

"Oh, spirit, speak some comfort to me. Say there is a way to sponge away the writing on this stone!"

"What stone? We are standing in an insurance agency."

"Oh, cut me some poetic license. What do you want me to do?"

"Your agency needs to hire some of these 'kids' now, not tomorrow. You don't have to move into their world, they already live there. What you can't see or grasp, they take for granted. You need their energy and creative approach to ever-evolving issues. Give them what you can, then get out of their way. The future does not lie in your past, Ebenezer. As long as you insist on staying there, as your old buddies Steppenwolf sang, it's time to move over."

Ebenezer was silent for a time. "That was a great song. When I first heard it, I totally understood the frustration of feeling fresh and alive, with great new thoughts and possibilities, and thinking I was surrounded by a bunch of old fogies who only seemed to like things as they had always been, trapped by their old ways and ideas.

"OK, spirit, you got me. I see I've been atrophying, not evolving. Hard to believe now I'm that old guy getting in the way."

The spirit smiled. "Ebenezer, you may be getting old, but inside you still have that spark. And that, my friend, is what I came to find."

"You mean I get to live?"

"Hey, who talked about dying? I just wanted you to quit holding up the parade. It's a great future out there. It still belongs to those younger, but that doesn't mean you can't enjoy the ride for a while longer."

"Spirit, for a man who was stuck in his past, what greater Christmas gift could you give than a present?"

And Ebenezer kept his word. He became as good a mentor and encourager of younger insurance folks as the old city ever knew.

May the same be said of us all. Merry Christmas!