What is protection? Why is it important? How high up on the priority list should you place it? Should you be proactive, and take preventive measures when it comes to it? Or, should you be reactive, and only act after an experience shows you the importance of having it? Of course, it would depend on how precious the item is that needs protecting, but these are questions one should ask themselves if they’re serious about mitigating risk, whether it be financial or in general.
When it comes to protection, there are some things that we protect on a daily basis without a second thought. Take your mobile device, for example. If you’re fortunate enough to have one, you understand how fragile these items are. All it takes is for you to drop it one time and you could end up with a cracked screen or no phone at all. To help prevent this, most people will purchase a case to go with their phone. I’m one of these people – the risks associated with dropping my mobile device are far too high not to be proactive by purchasing a case and a screen protector. By doing so, not only have I minimized the chances of damaging it, I’ve also minimized the possible future cost to repair or replace it in case of accidental droppage.
Tangible products like phone cases are just one of the ways we can protect items of value. If you are fortunate enough to own a car or a bike, you’re also familiar with another form of protection: insurance. Insurance is an agreement between two parties whereby one party pays to transfer the ownership of financial risks to the other party in a worst-case scenario. When it comes to your car or your bike, it is mandatory for you to have insurance before you can license it. At the very least you need to have enough protection to pay for damage you may cause to others (i.e., third party insurance). There’s also the option to purchase additional non-mandatory coverage designed to protect your own vehicle from yourself (i.e., comprehensive insurance). Even though it isn’t mandatory, comprehensive insurance makes up the majority of all motor insurance policies; most people would prefer to transfer the responsibility of the costs to repair or replace the vehicle to the insurance company after an accident than to come out of their own pocket instead.
A phone case and a motor insurance policy are two examples of ways we can protect valuable commodities. Protection can also be put in place for something far more valuable than anything you own: your life. Now, a life insurance policy isn’t going to protect your life like a phone case does your phone – short of living in a bubble, nothing can! – but, it can offer financial protection for the loved ones you leave behind.
Here is a question for you: how long would it take for your family to be in a monetary crisis if you were to die suddenly and your financial contributions stopped? Unless you have millions saved, the answer is probably sooner than you would like. And, if you’re fortunate enough to have acquired a mortgage and any significant liabilities that take time to become assets, the millions might not be enough either.
Imagine working hard all your life to be able to get a mortgage for your home, paying into it all these years with the hope of leaving it to your family. Then something tragic happens. Without your income, who is now responsible for paying off your mortgage? As much as the bank may feel sorry and offer condolences, unfortunately, they will still need their money or the house itself if the repayments can’t be met. You wouldn’t want your kids or spouse to have to sell the family home because of your untimely death, right? Well, if you have life insurance in place, it will help protect them from such an ugly turn of events – and this is just one example of the benefits of a life insurance policy!
Now, looking at these three items:
- Most people will protect their phones without persuasion; it’s a smart thing to do.
- Most people may complain about the fact that car insurance is mandatory but will still opt for the non-mandatory comprehensive cover; this is also a smart thing to do – no-one wants to pay for their own car damages in a worst-case scenario.
- By contrast, only a small number of people will take out a life insurance policy – also a smart thing to do – with the remaining majority somehow struggling to see the importance, even though protecting their loved ones from financial catastrophe after their death would far outweigh the value of any smartphone or vehicle.
So, why is it that when it comes to the protection of one’s life, we tend to fall short? Why is it that over 90% of people would love to benefit from someone else’s life insurance policy, but less than half of those same people would establish one for their own loved ones? I mean, if death is inevitable, why would you not want to protect your loved ones and proactively create a positive result from something destined to occur?
At the end of the day, protection in life is essential. It’s hardwired in the very nature of who we are. Whether it be material possessions, or yourself or a loved one’s wellbeing, having protection reduces anxiety, mitigates hyperfixating on the risks, and provides peace of mind. When you have a case on your phone, you worry less about dropping it because you’re confident it’s protected. When you have motor insurance for your car, you worry less if you have a fenderbender. When you have life insurance, you can rest assured that your family will be taken care of should the worst happen. When you have something to cherish or love, you stop at nothing to protect it. All you have to do is see the value of it, then be proactive and safeguard it.
Keishon Wilson is Senior Life and Pension Sales Advisor at Freisenbruch. To learn more about life insurance or if you have any other questions, please contact him at kwilson@fmgroup.bm, or call 441 535 6352, or 441 294 4616.
