An awakening from a face-off with death

(This piece is written by Bianca, one of the readers of MoneySmarts who has been chosen for the one-year Money Makeover challenge by INQUIRER.net. Bianca’s real identity is confidential, so that MoneySmarts can share her family’s financials and the lessons she has learned with the rest of the world. Read more about Money Makeover here.)

I am faced with the possibility of death.

I never felt I needed life insurance, always resisted it, reasoned that under the mass law’s hierarchy of needs of Filipinos, it was way below –- after all, I had other more important bills to pay, I had properties under my name that I can pass on, and I never really cared much for the pestering of insurance agents who only saw me as their next paycheck. Okay, I did have it at one point, a P750,000 investment, which I lost because I did not give a damn. I was young and immortal.

Now, ten years after, I began to see it in a new light. I had undergone psychological-financial overhaul courtesy of Joe and Salve, and realized that, yes, I might actually need it. The tipping point, however, was a seminar on estate and trust that I attended. I learned that insurance is a great tool to transfer wealth –- there was no income or estate tax payable (provided the beneficiary is irrevocable), it was better than a transfer via a donation or a sale, or setting up a corporation to hold property, better than other very complex methods to hide and transfer wealth which would entail the assistance of lawyers and accountants, and yes, paying their fees. I realized too that I was not getting any younger and should consider these things seriously.

So I did.

I talked to Joe’s wife, Nannette, who advised me regarding premiums and how much I can afford annually and other particulars. We did the math, filed my application, and I underwent the whole battery of medical examinations – fasted for blood sugar testing, got tested for HIV, gave blood sample, urine sample, had my chest x-rayed and poked, answered a whole series of questions about my health, my habits, my lifestyle.

Turned out, somewhere along the way, I did something to my body, and it betrayed me.

Okay, it is not so serious, or at least the optimist in me would like to think so. My liver gave an unusual reading and I am what they call in insurance parlance as “high risk”. The good thing is that I am insurable – but there is a big however – I needed to pay a higher premium (or opt to have a lower coverage).

Unbelieving, I had myself tested again (it is allowed). Same results.

So I paid the higher premium, quaking in my boots because of what I have (which is undetermined as of this time) or could have if I would continue speeding toward the highway of no exercise, social drinking and chocolates. I re-enrolled in a gym, ate my fruits and my vegetables, did my research, saw the doctor, and assured myself that it is not yet too late and that my fate is still in my hands and God’s who is merciful and kind.

Lessons? Get insurance as early as you can, take care of your health, prepare. Because no matter how we shove our mortality aside, forgetting it, disbelieving it, thinking it unimportant, it will one day catch up with us. You, me, us – we are all on our way there. I think, though, that this “getting there” is actually a good thing.

“No matter how we shove our mortality aside, forgetting it, disbelieving it, thinking it unimportant, it will one day catch up with us,” — Bianca, for MoneySmarts Money Makeover. (Photo courtesy of Fe Herradura)

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