by Jet Villamor
A typical Filipino family has a breadwinner. Be it the father or the mother, the breadwinner works to earn an income to be used to procure the basic needs of the family. We know all too well those basic needs, food, shelter, clothing, education, health and other needs which you might want to add in the list.
This has always been, and always will be, a typical cycle for a family. Breadwinner works, earns income, family spends income – life goes on, no problem… and so that’s what we actually think.
For as long as the breadwinner is doing well, income will always be there, the needs of the family will always be met. What we forget to consider is the fact that the breadwinner is just a human being and when we talk about human beings – being vulnerable and mortal should always be factored in. We have to consider the inevitable things in life.
There are three inevitable things in anyone’s life; we often call it the three income robbers. We consider them as income robbers because as certain as the sun rises in the east every morning, one of these three events will really happen in any man’s life. They are death, disability and old age.
Death is dying too soon. When one still has so many obligations to the family but all of a sudden is called by his creator. Old age is living too long. When one outlives his or her productive years, ordinarily income declines. In between Death and Old age is Disability. I am not a gambler, but I’d like to bet my lunch that one of these three things will really happen in any one man’s life, but the only problem is, we never really know when.
When the breadwinner is taken out of the picture by anyone of these three reasons mentioned, the common denominator is loss of income.
How many times have we been really stunned when we knew that somebody just died? Especially, when that somebody just had a talk with you or you may have just seen him a day or two before? How many times have we read in the news helpless families weeping, lamenting and cursing – crying for justice because the only person whom they’ve depended on got killed?
When the breadwinner dies, automatically income dies with him, but the needs of the family will always be there. And that is exactly the reason why life insurance is called life insurance because somebody has to live because someone died.”
All families need another new source of income. Every family needs a standby cash for any eventuality that may occur within the lifetime of the breadwinner. That is why life insurance is necessary for all families. Life Insurance should never be considered an expense because life insurance is truly the best savings you will ever have.
What is the biggest single difference between saving in life insurance and saving in the bank? When you save in the bank the bank will simply tell you, give your capital and I will give you the interest (minimal interest at that) – but when you save in life insurance, the life insurance company will simply tell you – “give me the interest and I will give you the capital.” – This line spells the biggest single difference between saving in the bank and saving in life insurance.
(for questions, comments, suggestions and reactions email @ jvvillamor@insular.com.ph)
