PLIA Marks ‘Life Insurance Consciousness Week’ with Financial Literacy Initiatives

Six years ago, my wife and I decided get life insurance policies from Sun Life. From then on, we enthusiastically attended various financial literacy seminars that opened up our consciousness to be wary of the future and manage our meager income so we can secure our family’s well being in the days to come. We’re glad that we are now more conscious about personal finances and know that saving money in banks is the least possible way of growing it. The only regret we had is that we were not able to pursue these kinds of opportunities when we were younger. Thanks to the learning Sun Life events taught us over the years, we are now more confident to invest in various financial tools available and suitable for us.

FALIA-PLIA Partnership...

When our eldest son started working in the BPO industry a year ago, we took notice of his spending habits. Being young and having the novelty of independence, the temptation to buy a lot of stuff for himself during pay days was strong. We called his attention about it and spent time thoroughly discussing it with him.

our eldest son, a working professional at age 22

Thankfully, he came to the realization that he needs to save for his future and was comfortable with our suggestion to put aside a portion of his earnings for a VUL Insurance. Not only that, he even extended his good gesture by getting a policy for his younger brother. The idea is to pay for its premiums until our second son would have the capacity to pay for them himself. Then, it will be a “pay-it-forward” scheme by getting another life insurance policy for another brother, our youngest son.

The FALIA-PLIA Partnership promotes finance and insurance consciousness 
among the young professionals in the BPO industry... (Photo Credit: Inquirer.net)

My wife and I are grateful that this early, we could guide our children about wise financial decisions. We didn’t have that kind of guidance when we were in our 20’s. It’s a good thing that more organizations are seeing this as a need that has to be addressed, too.

A more viable type of insurance for young professionals...

Recently, the Philippine Life Insurance Association (PLIA), an organization initiated by various life insurance companies in the Philippines, celebrated “Life Insurance Consciousness Week.” The whole month of October covered a series of activities that aimed to further promote financial literacy among Filipinos and help them understand how life insurance can help them reach their life goals.

The highlight of this celebration was the partnership of PLIA with the Foundation for the Advancement of Life and Insurance Around the World (FALIA). The partnership will initiate a series of lectures on financial literacy and life insurance among students in various schools in Metro Manila. A part of it is an essay writing contest that will run from September to December 2016 with the top three selected winners getting an all-expense-paid trip to Japan while runners up can win up to P30,000 in cash.

The essay writing contest of FALIA-PLIA is just the first of many initiatives that will boost public awareness and consciousness. With the advent of the the internet and social media, they have also extended the campaign to netizens by allowing Facebook users to participate in an online contest. Participants simply have to share how life insurance can help meet their goals and aspirations in life.

Mr. Emmanuel Dooc, Insurance Commissioner, Mr. Turu Nagashima, FALIA Managing Director, Mr. Gregorio Mercado, PLIA President, Yoshitaka Masai, FALIA Director

The Facebook page of PLIA will also serve as an information hub where people can get a quick lessons on financial literacy. One may also learn from the forum tips shared by other financial experts. PLIA’s advocacy will also be brought to the next level by bringing the financial education curriculum to secondary schools and will be available via an online portal.

Mr. Ferdinand George Florendo, Deputy Insurance Commissioner, Ms. Gizlle Camua, PLIA Marketing Committee Chair, Ms. Maria Cecilia Ubara, PLIA Consultant-Knowledge Community Inc. Managing Director, Mr. Emanuel Dooc, Insurance Commissioner, Mr. Turu Nagashima, FALIA Managing Director, Mr. Gregorio Mercado, PLIA President, Ms. Dorothy Calimag, Deputy Insurance Commissioner, Mr. Yoshitaka Masai, FALIA Director

This life insurance campaign of PLIA is something that every Filipino, most especially the younger generation, should engage in as early as possible. Not only that life insurance premiums of young people are lower, they will also develop a better grasp of how to effectively manage their wealth in more responsible ways, making then wiser individuals.

PLIA'S Insurance consciousness campaign among students...

It was just recently that I learned about the ‘Life Insurance Consciousness Week,’ but I hope more young people would get to learn much from this initiative. As for me, I’m glad that such consciousness was already planted into our eldest son at just the right time when he’s earning from his first job. My wife and I hope that he will be able to deal wisely with whatever uncertainties he may face in the future.