15. In Harzardous Occupations.

“Every man has problems that only life insurance can solve.  In the young man’s case, the problem is to create cash; for the older man, to conserve it.” - Ben Feldman

By virtue of their occupation, some people face greater risks than the average man in the street. Pilots, firefighters, divers, construction workers, jockeys, oil riggers and policemen may be just a few of such. Are they conscious of this? You bet. In their daily work, they are constantly reminded of this. While they do not allow the increased risks to paralyse them into inaction, they do the prudent thing and pay a slightly higher premium to enjoy a peace of mind.

Taking precautions costs a small amount extra; but it's always worth it.

Recently even schoolteachers face greater perils than often thought to be associated with that fine profession. A teacher in the UK was stabbed to death by an enraged student - something unthinkable as little as a decade ago. With the recent SARS epidemic in this part of the world, people in the noble healthcare profession are faced with the sudden-ness and unpredictbility of similar ttacks. No one is apparently immune, not even office workers.

14. For Funeral Expenses.

"Life insurance is time. The time a man might not have. If he needs time, he needs life insurance." - Ben Feldman

Some people buy a $20,000 or $30,000 policy just to take care of funeral expenses. They recognise that when it comes to the crunch, ready cash specifically for this purpose is most handy for those who survive them.

Sometimes this is referred to as a ''Clean Up'' Fund or 'Last Expenses'' Monies. Whatever the name is given, it is a thoughtful act to leave no small item unattended or unprovided for.

Is this too much to think about? Some people feel that the collection from those who came to pay their last respects may be sufficient. In actual reports on the amount collected, seldom does the amount exceed $10,000. On very few occasions have I heard that the amount totaled beyond $20,000.

Your final moments on earth would not be a good time for your survivors to discover that your thoughtfulness did not include this event. With so much grief and sadness around, it would be a good gesture to take care of the costs ahead.

13. Of Prestige And Status.

"Life Insurance is the only tool that takes pennies and guarantees dollars."  - Ben Feldman

Some pople regard life insurance like ''branded'' goods. Not everyone can afford to buy life insurance. Apparently, in 1993, in Malaysia, only the top 10% of the population had life coverage. In Singapore, it was closer to 50%, which i presume must have been the top 50% of society.

While the motive to buy may be driven wrongly, the end result is mercifully correct.

So, we get people to buy because this comp[any ''A'' is listed on the Stock Exchange. Another chooses a company because it is internationally well known. A third person fancies a company, which has its headquarters in some exotic part of the world. Be as it may, they feel that buying life insurance sets them apart from the common people. A little snooty perhaps but there are right on one score - most people who posess life insurance have recognised the value of life insurance and followed through with purposeful action.

One agent had reasonable success with his prospects because he offered them life insurance as if it is a form of membership. He said: ''You become a member of an exclusive club. If anything happens to you, all the other members share in ensuring that your family gets a certain agreed amount of money. By the way, all these members belong to the better class of society. Would you like to join?'' Life insurance, like certain women's handbags, should be bought on their own merits. But people being what they are see ''branded'' goods as being worth the additional value.

12. For Peace Of Mind.

 

"You haven’t done anything wrong. You just haven’t done anything, and that’s what’s wrong."  - Ben Feldman

Death comes everyday to everyday to someone and someday to everyone.

It is the only certainty in life (of course, modern wags have added ''tax'' and bills as the other certainties). When a responsible person knows that he has made adequate preparation for a foreseeable event in the future, he has a sense of peace within himself and peace within himself.

Yet there are people who prefer to worry. Or worse still, take a risk. To be uninsured is the greatest gamble you can take. And it is a particularly tragic one, for if you lose, it is not you but your loved ones who lose.

Why worry when you can insure? In fact, why worry when for a small regular sum you can let the insurance company do the worrying for you?

11. A Security Against Creditors.

"The basic purpose of life insurance is to create cash…nothing more or nothing less. Everything else confuses and complicates." - Ben Feldman

''Mr Prospect, this bag of money can only be opened by your wife and children. Nobody else can touch this.'' Thanks to the provision of Section 75 (Singapore) and Section 23 (Malaysia) the proceeds of the life insurance policy is protected from any creditor.

Many people think that they do not have any creditors at the moment. But one may never know when a creditor may turn up. And when he comes, usually this will be at the worst possible time when the family can afford it. How sad to see houses and all types of assets being taken away because creditors have a legal right to them.

No business venture is guaranteed of success. Businessmen know the value of setting aside a guaranteed amount for their family, just in case things do not work out for the best. And if things do work out well, what a bonus is in store for the whole family. It becomes additional savings!

No widow should suffer the additional indignity of having her assets possessed because provision was not made for some money to be creditor free! Surely it is the honourable intention of every sensible provider to ensure the family continues to maintain the standard of living they have been used to.

10. Building A Retirement Fund.

“The biggest asset you have is your earning capacity, and that depends entirely on your attitude.”
  - Ben Feldman


How important is it to make more than adequate provision for retirement? How often do we see senior citizens still scrounging around to eke a survival-level existence? One elderly person summarised bitterly his situation: ''If there is no money to retire, you may as well expire''.

The average man-in-the-street may feel that between some savings, CPF and the family, retirement is not a serious problem. He may even say: ''I have enough for retirement''. The unsetting question is: ''For how long do you plan to retire?''

This is a question that is not easily answered. Nobody knows for how long one will retire! Its correct to work hard all your life. Its prudent to work smart and let life insurance help you answer this question in the affirmative: ''Why not arrange your affairs so that working after age 62 or 67 is optional?''

One commonly quoted guide is to consider that you should have 70% of our last drawn income to live on in your retirement. Even though most of the large ticket items would have been paid for, provision for escalating cost of living must be uppermost in mind.

Today, if a person is alive at 60, he has a very good chance of living till 80 or 83 (if a woman). Before you retire, you think it will be 90% about money and 10% of what you do. When you've become an ''active retiree'', its actually 10% about the money and 90% about what to do! If retirement is adequately planned for, you can adopt Richard Bolles'colourful prose and instead call it ''the fourth movement in the symphony of our lives''.

Recall: People who retire with money have decisions. People who retire without money have problems.

9. An Expression Of Love And Care For Family.

"No one ever died with too much money." - Ben Feldman


This is life insurance at its best. On Valentine's Day, a stalk of red rose may be an appropriate declaration of undying love. But a thoughtful policy bought for the sole benefit of the spouse and family puts it in a class of its own.

The average person may feel that buying various household items is a good expression of love and concern for the family. So, he buys a set of encyclopedia for the children... on installment. He buys a car so that they will have a more convenient form of transportation... on installment. He orders a piano for the musical benefit of the children... on installment. All well and good provided he lives long enough to see the end of the payments. But should something untoward happen to him, then every item on hire purchase will be taken away, leaving broken dreams and unfulfilled wishes.

It is true that those items mentioned earlier are tangible and may be of immediate use and enjoyment. But the wise parent-provider makes provision beyond immediate gratification. In itself it is a lesson to the family that:

''Its a mistaken kindness or misappropriated affection, to provide so well today that inadequate provision is made for tomorrow.''

Children are told today to study hard, not just for today, but to be ready for tomorrow. By buying life insurance, the parents have demonstrated a ''live case study'' for the children: that by taking care of tomorrow today, the future will take care of itself.

The Best Insurance Salesman Who Ever Lived.

Ben Feldman

Is anybody pestering you with life insur-
ance propositions? If so, give him a hearing.
You have no business so important as the
solvency of your estate and the safety of your
family. Take or make time and room for the
Life Insurance Agent.   - Benjamin David King

We are taking a break from Smart Solutions and are gonna talk about one special man. I want to tell you about him who learned the meaning of providing value for his clients so well that he went on to become the greatest life insurance salesman ever.


His name was Ben Feldman (1912 - 1993) and over his 50 year career selling insurance for one company, his sales volume exceeded $1.8 billion, with over a third of it coming after he turned 65. And, he did it by selling out of his office in East Liverpool and not some major financial capital city like New York.


Ben Feldman came from the sleepy little town of Salineville, Ohio, where he started his business career selling chicken and eggs for $ 5 a week. As an aspiring businessperson, he wanted to enter the insurance field but was unable to pass the basic Equitable Life Insurance Company's aptitude test.
In typical Feldman fashion, he sold himself to Equitable, and began collecting premiums on meager nickel and dime policies. In 1942, he joined New York Life, and opened a small office in the Little Building, on the Diamond, in downtown East Liverpool. It was from this location that he began a relentless quest to achieve membership in the prestigious Million Dollar Round Table. He made it in 1946.


Little did anyone suspect that he would far surpass the million dollar mark, however, in 1955, he sold $10 million in coverage. He then began selling one million a month, then a million a week, and in 1971 wrote contracts for over $65 million. He then gunned for $10 million a month and in 1983, with the help of his two sons, Marvin and Richard, he sold $148 million of insurance.


Feldman was an innovator, who made it easy for his clients to understand the complexities of the Federal Estate tax law, which desecrated the fortunes of a large number of wealthy individuals in the period that followed World War II. Long before computer graphics, he created clever hand-drawn charts, illustrating the need for life insurance to protect an individual's assets from the government. He would book himself on airplane flights, next to a potential client, where upon he would open his brief case, stuffed with $100, $500 and $1,000 bills, along with his charts and graphs. The idea was to entice his neighbor to notice the money and remark, "Is that real money?" "Yes," Ben would reply, "but I'm not afraid to carry it, because it's insured." With such an opening, a sales presentation was a lay-up.


A lover of luxurious automobiles, Feldman would often be seen racing up and down the highways that link Pittsburgh and Youngstown in his Cadillac Eldorado. It was within this 50-mile corridor that he sold the majority of his policies. Often equipped with a CB radio and a car telephone - long before anyone had heard of such a device - he handled rejection like none other.


A favorite Feldman method was to approach the office of a busy executive and ask for an appointment. The response from a frazzled secretary would usually be, "I'm sorry, his time is too valuable." Ben would ask, "Is it worth $100 a minute?" "At least!" would be the answer, to which the response (accompanied by five brand new one hundred dollar bills,) would be, "Well I'd like to buy five minutes."


Even when Ben Feldman would go deep sea fishing, he would spend his time developing new sales techniques, memorizing the entire New York Life Insurance rate book. And, he would arm himself with pithy little phrases, designed to overcome the most difficult challenge. To the potential client who said, "I believe in term insurance." Ben would respond, "Term insurance is temporary, but your problem is permanent." "I can't afford the premium," would invoke, "You are already broke and don't even know it."


Following in the footsteps of such a legend was not easy for Marv and Rich Feldman, but they handled the challenge well as Marv became president of the Million Dollar Table in 2001, and Rich excelled in a number of endeavors, including "drag racing," of all things.


Now you might be thinking to yourself that Ben must have been some kind of superstar, good looking, fast talking, kind of man - but you'd be wrong. Ben was a short, stout, balding and spoke slowly with a distinct lisp. He never finished high school. He was so shy that years later when he was asked to speak at insurance industry meetings, he would only agree to if a screen was erected between him and the audience.


But, he was a legend when it came to making a point to know every business owner in his region. He did his homework first and learned all he could about his potential customers so that by the time he met with them (often on a "cold call") he was ready with the right Value Development Questions. He didn't always sell right away but he never gave up. I once heard him say that for years he didn't stop working for the day until he made at least one sale - no matter how late it got.


One of favorite stories about Ben is about a prominent real estate developer. Ben tried for weeks to get in to see the busy man but was always unsuccessful. One day, Ben stopped in cold and handed the developer's assistant the envelope with five $100 bills and asked her to give it to her boss. He told her "If I don't have a good idea for him, he can keep the money." He got in and sold a $14 million policy. Years later when Ben realized the man need additional insurance due to the unprecedented growth of his company; he was once again stymied by the man's insistence that he was too busy to take a physical. Undaunted, Ben rented a fully equipped mobile hospital van, hired a doctor and sent them to the industrialist. Rumor is that the man ended up with over $50 million in coverage.


In 1992, New York Life marked Ben's 50th year with the company by proclaiming "Feldman's February", a national sales competition. Ben took this as a personal challenge. The winner of the contest (at 80 years old) was Ben Feldman. Did i mention that he did this in a hospital recovering from a cerebral hemorrhage during that month of February?
That February, he sold $15,150,000 worth of insurance from his hospital bed.
Ben had an incredible selling attitude.
He never gave up.
He never, never, never, never gave up.


Ben was famous for his sayings that he used to inspire both clients and himself. My favorite is:
"Doing something costs something.
Doing nothing costs something.
And quite often, doing nothing costs a lot more."


Ben Feldman died in 1993 at 81.


 A few years before his death he was asked about the largest policy that he had ever written. "I can't say. I haven't written it yet."

8. A Worthwhile Investment.

The Correct Idea about life insurance is
safety by average : Cost, in the sense of a
guarantee of savings for a future result ; Profit,
because of thrift and compound interest.   - Benjamin David King



How would one define a good investment? Too often, only one criterion is mentioned - rate of return - usually measured in terms of interest. Lately, any investment that gives a 5% return is reviewed favourably because banks savings rates have dropped to less than 1%.

Probably the most meaningful definition of investment should be: ''It pays best when needed the most''.

An investment vehicle may promise a 20% return. But at the very moment of need i.e. required in cash, it may not be very liquid or fetch a comparable price. It behaves like a Fixed Deposit interrupted in mid-term.

Let me quote from an advertisement by an insurer:

''XYZ's bond policy has a proven average annual return of 11.8% over the last 10 years (1999-2008). A one-time investment of $10,000 would have grown to $30,520 over this period. The actual return in each year fluctuated according to the market value of the investment in the Bond Fund and ranges from a high of +38.1% in 2007 to a low of -13.7% in 2001.''

Wait for the punch line: ''The policy also provides life insurance at no additional cost.''

Again, whenever we talk about investment, we are talking big numbers here.
Yet the average life insurance premums is only a few thousand dollars not large enough to warrant the term ''investment''.
Most investment advisors would not ''touch'' (handle) such sums. So, life insurance provides a guaranteed investment.. at the moment when needed most.

7. A Measure Of Self-Worth.

What is Thanksgiving ? A delightful medi-
tation on what the Lord has done for us.
What is life insurance ? A delightful medita-
tion on what we have done for others. - Benjamin David King


How much are you really worth?

For a person to buy $ 1 million worth of cover, he probably has to satisfy the underwriters that he is worth at least two times that amount. Taking as a real example, one of the largest single policies ever placed was $ 25 million on one life. Trying to demonstrate that the intended insured was worth $ 50 million proved to be some hassle. Fortunately, it could be done. As a rule, most companies prefer having 25 persons being insured for $ 1 million each other than 1 person being insured for $ 25 million. (The name of the game.. spreading risks.)

Life insurance allows a person to put a reasonable price on his or her worth. Many housewives go through a process of self-doubt because they no longer have a ''market price'' on their economic worth. Before quitting work, to become full-time housewives, they knew, as secretaries or executives, they had a certain price tag. Now as they do the unending housework, change diapers, wash up and tuck little ones into bed, they may wonder if they can command the same market price. Or have the same value.

Life insurance can assist them in getting a fairly accurate value of their economic worth. If they previously earned $30,000, they could be insured for $300,000 easily (that is, ten times their worth.)

Another group who are gratified by what life insurance can do for them are those in the ''High Worth - Low Pay'' group. These may be highly qualified graduates just starting out to work e.g. a Master's degree holder who is paid only $3,000 per month. Some other people because of the nature of their work e.g. social workers and religious workers may be worth very much but cannot be remunerated an amount commensurate with their worth or contribution.

6. A Provision Against Disability.

One little realizes how much clothing
have to do with our appearance in society.
The same with life insurance ; it is an extra
brace to keep the family together.  - Benjamin David King

One common misconception about life insurance is that you have to die to benefit. This is untrue. Sometimes death is more merciful and quick. But what if you linger on.. disabled?

Would your cost of living increase? YES!
Would your income continue? NO!

What a terrible combination - to be alive and yet not having an income - coupled with the increased costs of living!

Of course, your family can take care of you. Lucky you! But don't you wish to make it easier for your family to care for you by providing the means to take care of you? Sometimes, people say that if anything happens to them their brother or sister will take care of them.

Supposing we reverse the situation. Its not you but your brother who is disabled. Now, how are you going to help look after him? Wouldn't it be that much easier if he handed to you $10,000 a year to defray some of the expenses? It would definitely be a sensible thing to do and brotherly as well.

An agent who previously worked in the construction industry reported that when he returned to the worksites to sell life insurance, he met with very positive response. Why? Because people in that industry are fully aware that mishaps can happen and especially when one leasts expects it!

5. For Medical And Hospitalisation Benefits.

Insurance is
the mathematical value of your time if you
get it, and the measure of your loss, if you
lose it.  - Benjamin David King


A person may look the very picture of health. Yet it is no longer common to hear that some debilitating disease has struck him. In every office, one hears some story like that. Lately, we are shocked by the stories of apparently healthy people keeling over after a morning run.

Health cannot be guaranteed. Even the most health-conscious of persons realises that every year, we deteriorate that little bit more. The irony of it is that people can die of diseases that they can't pronounce!

Insurance companies offer a comprehensive range of products that cater to different needs and budgets. Usually offered as additions to existing policies (i.e. called ''riders''), they alleviate the financial drain of an inevitable illness.

The Hospital And Surgical Benefit (popularly referred to as ''H&S'') provides the reinbursement of hospital expenses in accordance with the purchase schedule. In many cases, this may mean 100% of all expenses. If an insured chooses a higher class of treatment, then he would have to pay the difference of what was already provided in the policy and the actual costs. The obvious benefit is that the largest component is already borne under the Schedule.

The Hospital Benefit (''HB'') provides for an income for every day that the insured remains hospitalised. This is particularly attractive for the self-employed or those without Medisave or Medishield cover. The amount may range from $80 to as much as $200 a day.

Various companies also offer against listed Major Critical Illnesses. If an insured is unfortunate enough to contract one of the listed 30 or so illnesses, payment of the sum assured is immediately effected, on the presentation of proper documents. This benefit may be purchased as a ''rider'' or as a ''stand alone'' policy.

A popular joke today is that the biggest killer in hospitals is not a disease but the hospital bill!

4. A Provision For Your Child's Education.

A Dead Lift is what insurance is. It takes
hold where others leave off. It is the strength
of years of plenty applied to the weakness of
years of want.  - Benjamin David King


If your child is smart enough to qualify for university, will you be smart enough to provide for it?

Obviously, your child got his/her genes from you. It will be far too late for you to wait till the day he/she gets her results for you to make provisions. Five to ten years before they are due for university is a good time to start savings plan to accumulate the funds.

The situation may also arise where your child prefers to pursue a certain course of study not available at home and must go overseas. Getting into university is one thing, getting into one's preferred course of study may be another. Being able to provide for what your child chooses to study (for they usually study best what they like the most) is foresight par excellence.

A friend in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia told me that he spent close to MYR$300,000 for his daughter's education in the USA. If the daughter were to repay the father at the rate of MYR$1,000 per month, how long would it take her? If she were 25 years old now, she would be at least 50 before she has paid off that debt!

But what if after you have provided, your children do not get a place in any university? In that unlikely event, you can cash the policy and go for a long holiday. You deserve it if they don't.

3. The Creation Of An Immediate Estate

The beauty of life insurance is that it
reaches its maximum value when everything
else is made uncertain by death. This is ex-
actly what it is for, and there is nothing that
can take its place, or misdirect it either.  - Benjamin David King


One day, we shall have lots of money. And that's possible. That's the same ''one day'' as in ''One day, my ship will come sailing in''. ''One day, my business will boom''. One day.

But life insurance is the only financial instrument that allows for the creation of an immediate estate. Right now, if you buy an Endowment-type policy, say of $100,000, maturing in 20 years time, you are immediately guaranteed that goal. If nothing happens to you, in 20 years time, you will achieve that goal with additional bonuses attached  to that policy. But should something untoward happen during this 20 year period, the goal of $100,000 is guaranteed, because life insurance has created an immediate estate of $100,000.

Banks operate on a different principle, ie. ''Save and Create''. At any time, the amount of money you have in the bank equals (a) the deposits to date and (b) the interest accumulated or compounded. Life insurance operates on the ''Create and Save'' principle.

By the stroke of pen on paper, one chief uncertainty of life has been eliminated. What would otherwise be a Question Mark (?) is replaced with an Exclaimation Mark (!).

Life insurance is the only self-completing savings plan. Other plans pay only when you have sufficient time to save. The Life Insurance plan pays what you intend to save!

2. A Form Of Savings.

Don't groan when you pay a life-insurance
premium. It is not expense and you are not
paying something for nothing. You are sav-
ing money and insurance is taking care of it  - Benjamin David King


In the distant past, the obvious way to save money was to secure it in a biscuit tin under one's bed. Today, it is more sensible to place it in the bank. But there is another equally safe and attractive alternative - life insurance.

By setting aside the same amount of money in life insurance, a prudent saver is guaranteed of reaching his savings goal! How does that happen? Let's take an example, a man who is able to save $10,000 every year.
How long does it take him to accumulate $1,000,000 (a million)? Right - 100 years - which is practically an impossibility. But through life insurance savings, should death or disability occur, he could be assured of $1,000,000.

Many people consider life insurance a more superior form of savings for these reasons:

(a) It is regular - occasional savings or saving just when you feel like it does not guarantee accumulation;

(b) It is enforced - you are committed to save a fixed amount every year, at the same time each year;

(c) It is yours yet not easily accessible - this removes any temptation to withdraw and use it, thus defeating your original purpose of savings!

Sometimes, people are confused in their use of the word ''saving''. For example, I frequently hear people say ''Í am saving to go for a holiday in December''. That's a misnomer. They are truly not saving but involved in a deferred expenditure! Instead of spending the money now, they will spend it all in December. A more accurate description is ''cash in transit''. There's nothing left in the kitty come January 1st.

Saving is a must. Without setting something aside from one's regular income, there is nothing to show for the passage of time. ''Pay yourself first'' makes sense.

As the expression goes: ''Either save to buy life insurance; or buy life insurance to save.

1. A Protection Against Premature Loss Of Income.



An acorn is a seed, a promise of shade and
shelter. Insurance, like an oak, is oftentimes
larger than the man who planted it. - Benjamin David King


''The greater your income, the more you stand to lose. The lesser your income, the less your family can afford to lose.''

In simple, colloquial language, people buy because they may ''Die Too Soon''. Nobody knows how long one's lease on life will run before it expires. Life insurance provides the means to ensure that an early, untimely death will not at the same time wipe out the potential income that can accrue to the family.

There's really no protection against loss of income, just the premature loss that is, losing the income too soon, too early.

Insurance is particularly useful for a married man with a wife and small children. All his hopes and dreams of making a decent provision for his family would be dashed by one unfortunate event - death.

A young graduate is especially vulnerable to this. He has great possibilities of income, provided he lives long enough. Life insurance allows the parents to take one further step by insuring against his future income.. just in case.. something untoward occurs. The projected stream of income does not dry up too soon.

For just three cents, the dollar can be protected. No other financial instrument can do this so well.

Reasons to Buy..

A Lease of Life, if advertised for sale,
would command a fabulous price, provided its
surety could be made apparent. The nearest
approach to such a lease is an insurance of
the money value, the productive value of a
life.  - Benjamin David King

In these more evolved times, there are still some people in Singapore (a developed country) who actually still do not recognise the importance nor the value that life insurance can play in their lives.

Today, even with a better educated population and the advent of the Information Era, there are some people  who may not believe the concept that life insurance operates under. Rather they believe myths. Most likely told to them by their barber, personal trainer or son who has a diploma in mechanical engineering.

Here are the some of the more popular Myths:


Myth: I'm single and don't have any dependents, therefore I don't need any coverage.

Even single persons need at least enough life insurance to cover the costs of personal debts, medical and funeral bills. If you are uninsured, you may leave a legacy of unpaid expenses for your family or executor to deal with. Plus, this can be a good way for low-income singles to leave a legacy to a favorite charity or other cause.

Myth: I only need an amount of life insurance coverage equal to twice the amount of my annual salary.

You need an amount of life insurance equal to the amount that is actually required. In addition to medical and funeral bills, you may need to pay off debts such as your mortgage and provide for your family for several years. A cash flow analysis is usually necessary in order to determine the true amount of insurance that must be purchased - the days of computing life coverage based only on one's income-earning ability are long gone.

Myth: My term life insurance coverage at work is sufficient.

Maybe, maybe not. For a single person of modest means, employer-paid or provided term coverage may well be enough. But if you have a spouse or other dependents, or know that you will need coverage upon your death to pay estate taxes or create an estate for charity, then additional coverage may be necessary if the term policy does not meet the needs of the policyholder.

Myth: Only breadwinners need life insurance coverage.

Nonsense. The cost of replacing the services formerly provided by a deceased homemaker can be higher than you think, especially when it comes to cleaning and daycare.

Myth: I'm better off investing my money than buying life insurance of any kind.

Hogwash. Until you reach the breakeven point of asset accumulation, you need life coverage of some sort. Once you amass $1 million of liquid assets, you can consider whether to discontinue (or at least reduce) your million-dollar policy. But you take a big chance when you depend solely on your investments in the early years of your life, especially if you have dependents. If you die without coverage for them, there may be no other means of provision after the depletion of your current assets.

In the next upcoming posts, I give you the many, many reasons you should buy life insurance.

People Do Buy..

Life Insurance is the philanthropy and
beneficence of the man who insures. It is the
organized love of men for their families, the
capitalisation of affection, the prudence of
years, secured now, the riches of the poor, the
security of the rich.   - Benjamin David King



People do buy.

They buy life insurance like they have never bought before.
Insurance is selling like the proverbial ''hot cakes''.

The records speak for themselves. For the year 1992, in Singapore, the Monetary Authority of Singapore's Life insurance Commissioner's report reveals that 303,786 new policies were bought. That's almost 1,000 policies sold per day!

In Malaysia, the Bank Negara's Director-General of Insurance's report indicated that 633,016 new policies were sold.

And people buy for a whole host of reasons possibly different from what you may buy or think. But the important thing is that they bought.

Into the 21st century, people continue to buy life insurance and related financial solutions to life's problems and opportunities. In Singapore, in the year 2002, over 75% of the population was said to enjoy insurance protection in some form or other! In many countries, the percentage of people enjoying insurance cover continues to increase as their respective economies improve.

The mental reservations of the mid-1900s have given way to confidence. The typical person in a developed economy will buy anything from 3 to 7 policies in his/her lifetime. As one's personal worth and value increases, one recognises the need and joy of accepting one's own responsibilty to provide against life's vagaries and uncertainties and ensure a happier financial future for ones self and one's dependents.

May you find your best reasons to buy. Say ''hello'' to ''good buys''.


(To Professionals who are interested in joining the industry, the link below is for you. Click on it. Find out how much business moves in a quarter in the Life Insurance Business in Singapore. Report dated 5th August 2010)

http://www.lia.org.sg/node/2429

Why Do People Buy Life Insurance?

Life Insurance shall find favor in your eyes
and shine with a brighter light than ever,
the protection of labor, the guardian of the
destitute, the riches of the poor, the anchor of
the anxious, and the luxury of the rich.  - Benjamin David King

Once it was said, ''Life insurance is sold, not bought''. People had to be persuaded for their own best interests.

Today, as the population becomes better educated, more discerning and willing to make their own provisions for their own future, life insurance and related financial products/services have become basic and fundamental components of any sensible financial planning process.

Life insurance is the magic of pen and paper, translating dreams, wishes and aspirations into practical realities. This blog aims to present some of the best reasons for making wise decisions about taking care of the future in the present.