“Life Insurance is the greatest proof of love that we can leave our loved ones.” – Tiago Melo
Jay Ledesma
February is love month. Last week, we celebrated Valentine’s Day by expressing our affection to our loved ones. This came in various forms, shapes and sizes. Some exchanged “I love you’s”, some gave each other warm hugs and kisses, some lavished each other with material things, while others either dated in fancy restaurants or cooked special meals for their loved ones. These gestures are what we now call “love languages”, coined and introduced by author Dr. Gary Chapman. According to him, there are 5 unique ways of expressing and experiencing love: words of affection, physical touch, gifts, quality time and acts of service.
We have done most, if not all of these love languages, for our loved ones. But how many of us have demonstrated our love by giving them the financial security through life insurance? How many of us got ourselves adequately insured to show our loved ones how we care for them, now and in the future? It’s definitely not the most common love language we can give but it’s the most practical, selfless and lasting expression of love we can give to the people we care about, even when we are no longer around. Yes, life insurance (insurance, in general) can be our forever love language!
Love in the form of income continuation. We work so hard to provide for our family because we love them and want the best for them. We want them to continue living the life that they have been used to even despite our absence. We want to continue providing them with food on the table, roof on their head, quality education, etc. That’s the main purpose of life insurance… to help our loved ones continue to have a financially comfortable life, as if we are still around providing for them. Life insurance will also help cover those urgent final expenses, debts payments, estate tax and other money obligations which we may leave behind and may cause more headaches and heartaches for our loved ones. As often said, we get life insurance not because we have to die, but because our loved ones should continue to live… comfortably. The greatest love language of all!
Love in the form of health and medical protection. No matter how careful we are, sickness and accidents do happen. We heard stories of breadwinners in their 30’s or 40’s suffered from heart attack or involved in freak accidents with serious after effects. We can just imagine the hospitalization and medical expenses such incidents had to cost the family and the potential income loss while recuperating. It’s either our life savings will be wiped out or we get into deep financial debts. We definitely do not want that for ourselves and our families. Having medical and health insurance (either HMO or life insurance with medical riders) will help ease the burden of the expensive hospitalization and treatments. Other coverages can even provide some form of an income in case we’re no longer able to go back to work as a result of the accident or illness. With health and medical protection, we show our love by removing from our loved ones the financial stress and anxiety and enabling them to focus on our recovery instead.
Love in the form of a secured education. We all want the best for our children. To the best of our ability, we want to give them a chance to a good life. But not all parents have the wealth and fortune to pass on to their children. For most parents, education is the best inheritance they can give to their children. Unfortunately, without proper preparation, life tragedies can derail our plans for our children’s education. When the covid pandemic happened, thousands of children had to either transfer school or stop schooling, because their parents can no longer afford their tuition fees and related expenses. Having an education insurance program is very important so parents like us, can ensure that no matter what happens, our children’s education will not be compromised. Providing them the tool for a good head start for the future is a lasting proof of our love.
Love in the form of property protection. Death and injury are not the only reasons for our financial woes. Losing a property to catastrophic events such as typhoon, earthquake, fire, and even theft, can be financially burdensome. Imagine losing in just few minutes, or even in few seconds, all the things that we’ve worked hard for in our lifetime. It’s emotionally painful to lose what you’ve built, psychologically stressful to be displaced and financially disastrous to rebuild. You may be alive but it’s as if you’re dead. But with a property insurance, you will be provided with funds that will enable you to recover and rebuild sooner. We may not be able to prevent or avoid them, but we can prepare and ensure the immediate rebuild of our family’s lifestyle, if and when such damaging occurrences strike.
Love in the form of a burden-free retirement. It’s the parents’ responsibility to support their children, but it’s not the responsibility of the children to support their parents. We may not like or agree with it, but that’s the way it is. Good if they can provide for us, but we cannot take it against them if they can’t… and won’t. Soon, our children will have their own families. They are their responsibilities. So if we love our children, then we should free them from the responsibility of taking care of us in our retirement. Having an adequate retirement plan will empower us to be financially independent and self-sufficient retirees, who can provide for our own needs and wants. And can even allow us to be doting grandparents. A well thought of and planned retirement is not only our gift for ourself but also an expression of our love for our family.
We have witnessed, if not experienced, the benefits and beauty of insurance, may it be life, medical or property. It is a basic and essential part of planning our lives and those of our loved ones. Though it’s still not a popular and recognized love language, getting an insurance is a thoughtful and meaningful way to show our loved ones how much we care.
Belated heart’s day to all! (Jay Ledesma)