Life Insurance

What made us decide to get one is that insurance covers cancer.

 

Try to source other provider so you can compare. Manulife in PH is strong... check others life Sunlife, AXA and PhilAm

 

Almost all insurance companies halos pareparehas ng products. My advice is if you have someone that is really financially dependent sayo then it’s almost always a must to get one. But don’t be fooled with the trend now of combining life insurance with an investment (generally called variable life insurance), you’ll be charged with ridiculously large amount of fees during the first few years of it. The best way is that if you need a life insurance talaga get a term insurance then invest the rest of your money yourself in stocks, uitf or mf.

 

They must be offering you variable universal life insurance which is pretty big in the PH... Variable universal life (VUL) is permanent life policy with a built-in savings component (Investopedia)... So napakamahal ng bayad mo for your insurance kasi may investment vehicle siya...

Insurance is there to keep you covered if something you don't want to happen happens (accidental death, dismemberment, terminal illness, etc). Basically yung mapupunta ka sa situation na hindi mo na mababayaran yung dapat bayaran. Insurance can be used to pay off debts (mortgage, car loan), get a cash lump sum that would cover your children's future education etc.

Do you think your GSIS insurance coverage is enough? If not then you might need to look for insurance na mas malaki ang coverage... pero 'wag na yung may investment vehicle kung gusto mong mag-invest on your own. Term insurance might be what you need...

 

I suggest getting life insurance in dollars. You'll thank me 20 years later.

 

Life insurance really isn't for you but for the ones that you will inevitably leave behind. In that sense, yes, there is value to it because it gives the family/relatives that you might leave behind something to work with financially to replace the loss of the income you might be generating for them.

Having said that, I have chosen to stay away from the "traditional/old-school" whole-life insurance policies. I choose VULs (Variable Unit Life) because your money gets more mileage because of the investment component. But either way, I have a wife and 2 toddlers who depend on me and the income that I generate so getting life insurance is an absolute must for me.

Sure, your money might grow faster elsewhere in theory assuming you live a full, healthy life. But "insurance" in it's literal definition protects you from any sudden or unforeseen events like critical illnesses or death. As morbid as that sounds, that's just plain reality.

 

What company do you recommend for getting it in USD? Is it advisable to get life insurance outside the Philippines?

 

VUL is very big in the Philippines. Unfortunately its also very vague. Your premium is divided into insurance and investment but they are never transparent with how much of that premium is allocated to each one. In effect you cannot tell if it was a good investment or not because they cannot never tell how much of the premium was invested.

The sad thing is that a lot of brokers will steer you towards getting VUL even though its not for you. I dont know the reason but I suspect they get more incentives here than any of their other products.

Its not to say VUL is not for you. Its just that sometimes you cant trust the broker to offer what is really suited for you

 

The one I got was Eagle Star Insurance. But that was in the 80's and was taken over by Zurich. I opted to cash in in the 90's after completing the payments.

 

This thread made me revisit the VUL I am paying for the past 5years (started paying May 2013). It's a 40k/year premium for 10years contribution. As of yesterday, the fund values is just around 125k only. I know that some of the components I am paying goes for insurance, that explains the difference.

Anyone here who also have VUL?

 

I have VUL and I’ve tried asking my broker how cash value is computed and they just say its done by some complex software. When I tried asking further, I was accused by a broker that im the only one asking these questions

Try to ask your broker how much of your p40k goes to paying insurance, put in an investment fund and lastly paying miscellaneous fees (like commissions). From my experience, they will never reveal this to you.

Its just a big ball of yarn and you just get the final amount (cash value) without knowing how it was computed.

 

I have a VUL with Sunlife. The breakdown of my payments are detailed when I view the plan online.

 

I also have a sunlife VUL. Where can I find this? I have registered online and maybe I have missed it but i cannot find the details and particularly how they come up with the cash value

 

If you view your VUL policy on the website, there's a tab called Transaction History:

It shows you the deposit, administration charges, and transfer charges.
The transaction history only appears for VUL accounts.

 

VUL's advantage over term is that you are pre-approved for renewal and fixed amortizations until you are 99 or until you die. term insurance you have to renew; but when you are 60+ and experiencing some illnesses, its doubtful if you can pay an increasing premium when you are retired or basically too sick to be insureable.

i'm a former life insurance agent. but i quit since i didnt have much time. VUL can be quite confusing, best thing to do is become an agent and learn/understand. its moot to explain something when some people have made up their minds on buying term and investing the difference.
the worst topic to talk to people about are their money and investing beliefs.

 

I've seen this report before and it has some detail but it does not answer the following questions:
a) how much am I paying for insurance?
b) how much of my premium goes to investment and is it a good investment?
Like denzzurcaled's P40K premium per year, how did it end up at P125K after 5 years?

anyway, my views on VULs tend to ruffle some feathers. I realize there are a lot of people who make a living out of selling VULs. I'd expect no less that you defend this product that earns you a living. I just hope you keep your clients interest first and foremost rather than simply attaining your quota.

 

I also have a sunlife VUL and I have been monitoring it since two months ago and the fund value is slowly declining, my investment allocation is 80% equity and 20% bond.
My premium is 30k annually, 50% goes to the insurance and the other 50% goes to the investment part.
Been paying for 4 years already (5th year, this year), and if I remember correctly I was the one who indicated the amount that goes to the investment part which is 15k, I had the option to opt for a bigger or smaller amount then. If i will only consider my payment for the investment part of my insurance, the current fund value of my account is pretty good but considering I also pay for the insurance part the current fund value is not so impressive.