Some [Financial] Safety & Security, Please (3)

One day someone came up to me and asked, "What is the right insurance plan for me?"

My answer to that would be "What is your plan?"


Life insurance serves different purposes, for different plans, for different hopes in the future.


In the end, it's all about "why you need it", and "how soon you should get one".


Remember the last time you saw something which looks valuable to your eyes? And after careful evaluation, whether you really need to buy it, its benefits to you, the affordability and warranty, you decided to purchase it?


Life insurance is indeed a need, just like that valuable item you saw in the supermarket. Some people just don't realize its value until their time is done here on earth, or when they really need it the most. Like I said on the previous post, the building blocks of wealth cannot stand without its foundation, which is insurance. And without it, you can see your wealth diminish and leave your family in financial rubble, which would end up in a scrambling of money and other financial instruments to keep up with the family's standard of living once you are gone.


So what are the different purposes / uses of life insurance? Let me count to you the ways.

1. Protection

In one's financial aspect, life insurance is expected to address any, or both, of these issues:

• Dying too Soon
• Living too Long

Dying too Soon

How soon are people today dying today? Check out the news and read or listen to the latest crime reports that indicate death of young 20 or 30-somethings by gunshot or stab wounds. Visit your nearest hospital and, if they permit, ask about the frequency of deaths of people your age or those younger than you and what their causes of death are. You might be able to get reports of communicable diseases, terminal illnesses like stroke and other cardiovascular conditions suffered by young adults.

A life is taken from this planet in a much faster rate than it was a long, long time ago.

The impact of the loss of a loved one can be devastating, especially for most people like us. Imagine if one of those people who die too soon was the breadwinner of the family. The provider of the members' basic needs. The one whose income is mostly dependent on.


What if, in a snap of a finger, they are gone from us? Do you seriously think getting back up financially will be an easy one? Is your family financially protected from such inevitable death?


So what really happens financially when you die too soon and you leave everything, but life insurance, to your surviving family members?

• Regardless of age, occupation, status in life, your family will scramble to pay for the funeral expenses that may be incurred
• A large chunk of their savings accounts will be used up to pay for the remaining hospital bills
• Debts that you have accumulated may be passed to your loved ones, leaving them with a burden that they were not entitled to have in the first place.
• If you have kids, and you leave them without any fund to continue and pursue their education, they could be forced to stop school and go out make a living, especially if the other partner cannot provide sufficiently
• Upon your death, an estate tax will be computed by the government based on the assets that you have left behind to your family (This includes your savings, investments, properties, etc. Yes, all of us have assets!). If the surviving family members cannot pay up the estate tax on or before the specified period, sorry to say they will be taken away, which can spell disaster for them

Life insurance is so vital even as early as you have started working and earning a decent income that you can provide for yourself and your family. Once that income is cut short due to unforeseen events, and you have no life insurance to safeguard and protect your finances, expect for the worst.

Living too Long

When do you expect to die?

Oftentimes, when asked with this question, people would answer with numbers that signify age.

Let's start with 75. For an average life expectancy age of a Filipino, that may already be old enough.

Question: Will you be able to survive on your own financially by 75? Do you think you still have enough social security and savings to keep it up at that age?

According to a report, 80% of the entire workforce plan to retire by 50, but none can even afford to retire at 65.

What's my point? Sometimes life gives us with unexpected events that can mean a lot to us. When you outlive our retirement funds, how do you expect to keep up with the cost of living, especially with an old age? You have the increasing costs of health care, the basic needs like food and other expenses that you could encounter during your "retirement". On the period where people are expected to enjoy the rest of their lives after work and business, and prepare to pass their wisdom on to their children and grandchildren, most of them end up looking for more ways to keep it up in terms of money because of the insufficient savings that they have prepared all their lives.

You wouldn't want to play the role of beggar when you presumably retire. Ask help or money from your children, your grandchildren or friends. They also have financial planning of their own, and you can't just insert and be part of their plan.

Remember, retirement is not about AGE; it is about HOW MUCH money you must have that you can finally be free from work and other income streams. When you live too long and you do not have the privilege of enough funds, you could be in so much financial trouble.

You have a choice: to die too soon or to live too long.

We will always end up either one of them. The challenge now is to prepare yourself for both situations.

Life insurance might just hold the key to your financial protection.

P.S. If you want to know more about the plans and services which I can provide for you to secure your family and provide a bright future by making your money grow and work harder, visit the Investment Plans tab above or just click HERE. It is never too late to make that next step in building a solid financial foundation on the road to wealth.