A lawyer friend always tells me that one of the most lucrative business is insurance. Specifically, he states that non-life insurance is shortchanging us from the premium that we pay them for well, insurance. He simply doesn’t believe in the system and if not for the requirement by the government for compulsary third-party liability for cars, he wouldn’t get one. Actually, CTPL is one of the cash cows of insurance companies all over the world and most especially here in the Philippines. Just look at the number of fly-by-night insurance companies and you’ll understand. Though I agree with some points raised by my friend, I do not completely agree. For high-risk- high-value items, I would still choose to insure them so that in times of disaster, I can get something in return that I may be able to use to start over.
But pre-need and life insurance plans are different. It offers return of your investment after an agreed time not like the usual non-life insurance wherein after your policy period, premium paid is all gone. I’m not sure about Health Insurance, though. A friend terminated his policy after paying large amount of money for several years without receiving nothing in return. He realized that he’s paying for something that he doesn’t need. Honestly, I feel the same but at the same time, the benefit of my mother’s Health Insurance is more than worth everything she paid. So it’s really a case to case basis.
Mind sets shared by my lawyer-friend to ordinary people does not really help in educating Filipinos regarding insurance. Unlike in the western countries where a majority of citizens have various insurance, Filipinos lack the knowledge on its importance. You may find it odd for a person who works in an insurance company like me but I admit that I don’t have my own life insurance yet. The only insurance that I have is the coverage provided for by my employer. Of course, I have plans to buy one. For now, it’s not yet my priority. Maybe I have to take Insurance 102 module as the 101 did not convince me enough.
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