Case Study
2. Unexpected Situation
She is a Hongkonger, a wife, and also an investment banker storming through the market in the financial industry. With a monthly income of 200k HKD, she is not the normal housewife that you may think she is. Earning yourself a position in the investment banking department is easier said than done. Bankers have a clear mind which supports the problem solving skills they need in the unpredictable money games. She is such a tough and reliable woman that it could hardly be imagined that any obstacle can beat her.
Her story became totally different when illness knocked on the door. It was a brain tumor. Her husband got it, and it was devastating to the couple. All of a sudden, the peaceful middle-class life has come to an abrupt halt. Her mind was full of questions like how can she help her husband to fight the battle? What about the medical expenses? What about the ongoing projects back in the office? The only good news back then was that they both purchased the AIA CEO medical plan and the medical expenses could be covered. Once Wendy heard of the situation, she made a quick call to her customer and asked if she could do anything to help. She was worried. The only thing that Wendy could do was to check on the claiming procedures and make sure that the couple could know what is happening in the course of claiming the medical expenses. When it comes to critical illnesses, it is not only the patient who suffers. Caregivers are often put under tremendous pressure as they have to take good care of their loved ones and at the same time keep everything else in normal order.
Investment bankers are the invincibles, at least this has been what people are saying among the financial industry. The fact is, people do not seem to realize how vulnerable they are until disaster strikes. The wife had a mental breakdown when her husband was sent to the hospital. The things that she had to worry about were just too much. She was completely overstretched by the medical procedures, projects back in the office and giving care to her husband. At one point, she did not seem like an investment banker, but simply a wife who was so panicked and relentlessly called Wendy to ask for insurance claims. In fact, when it comes to claiming medical expenses at hospital, insurance companies usually need a certain period of time to pass all required documents to the underwriting department before the claim can be granted.
With years of experience working in this industry, Wendy understood what the wife was going through and she was sympathetic to her situation. The wife was not the first client, nor she would be the last client who went out of her mind in case of critical circumstances. Wendy knew that all they needed was more care and professional service. She didn’t argue with the wife regarding the claiming procedures because it would not be very helpful considering the circumstances back then. A few weeks later, a one million HKD cheque was handed to the couple, the case was settled.