EVERYONE will still remember the most famous and memorable line in the movie “Forrest Gump:” “Life is like a box of chocolates; you’ll never know what you’re going to get.” Indeed, life is full of surprises; we will never know what will happen next. It is unpredictable with its twists and turns. But we can prepare for it and sail through life’s possibilities and uncertainties.

Early in my insurance career, I learned of life’s three possibilities — sickness, untimely death and long life — for which everyone should be prepared and can prepare through life insurance. I wish I had learned them sooner but am thankful I still had enough time to work on them. Hopefully, by reading this, one can be helped to prepare for their own, too.

We all have a picture of the life we want for ourselves and our families. We have our dreams and plans all laid out in our mind. But no matter how well we plan, life sometimes takes us to a different direction than we originally planned. It will have its own detours and unexpected turns, like illnesses, accidents, untimely demise, or pandemic. And when we have not prepared for a backup plan when this life’s “ifs” and “twists” happen, they can totally ruin, even our best thought of plans.

The ongoing health crisis is a very good example of how our life can take a sudden detour. Coming off of a good 2019, we were confident that 2020 will even be a better year for us. We were poised to do and achieve our plans for 2020. No one suspected that three months into the new year, our lives and plans would be radically changed. Most, if not all, of our plans never saw the light of day due to the Covid crisis. People got sick and lost lives, family members, friends and livelihood due to the virus. And just how we learned from all the management books and programs we’ve read and attended, this pandemic definitely taught us that we need a backup plan for life’s possibilities, uncertainties, twists and turns. For many, life insurance is their backup plan, it’s the contingency plan. Life insurance is the only product that should any of life’s “ifs” happen, it will provide financial security for you and your loved ones. Life insurance is there so people can continue to live and dreams can be fulfilled.

Latest data showed that critical diseases, such as ischemic heart disease, cerebrovascular disease and cancer, continue to be the leading causes of death in the Philippines. The percentage of getting these diseases is much higher than the possibility of being hit by a car or struck by lightning. The Covid virus is the fifth cause of death in the past two years. Just like the top critical diseases, Covid will not instantly kill. But the treatment, medication and hospitalization costs can really be a big burden. Almost everyone had a relative or a friend who had been critically infected with the virus and saw how the illness drained the patient and the family physically, emotionally and most of all, financially, especially when health insurance is not in place. A patient might have survived the illness but the huge hospitalization cost, which can reach millions, can take an even greater toll on the family. That is why having a health insurance policy is very important as it covers you from unexpected hospitalization costs, and protects you from needing to use your personal savings and divest your assets to settle medical bills. The Insurance Commission reported that the majority of Filipino households pay off large medical expenses out of their own pockets and as a result, 1.5 million families are pushed to the poverty line. With one critical hospitalization, one’s life savings can be depleted. PhilHealth alone is not enough. We need health insurance that can give us the peace of mind that we have a safety net in case of medical emergencies. Depending on one’s budget, there are several types of health insurance to choose from. Don’t go on living without one.

We all desire to have a good life for ourselves and for our families. We work hard to be good providers. We want to send our children to the best schools, give them a comfortable life, and provide for both their needs and wants. Usually, we are given long years to do this. We always imagined, and assumed that we have the means and the luxury of time to provide the best for our family. But then again, life’s twists and turns can cut this short. Again, this we saw during the pandemic. A number of breadwinners lost, either to unemployment or death, their capacity and time to provide for and fulfill their dreams for their families. The prolonged lockdowns and quarantines resulted in an economic plunge which led to the closure of many businesses. In one click, thousands of breadwinners lost their jobs and source of income. Those who had some savings managed to work their way through for a few months but eventually struggled. Some lost their homes, some can no longer afford to send their children to school, some had to rely on government dole outs to feed their families. Though they want and are physically capable to work, the pandemic took that opportunity from them. Those who were not as lucky, did not only lose their jobs but also lost their lives to Covid, unprepared. Leaving their grieving families with debts to settle and uncertain of their future. In both scenarios, the time to set up the funds to make their dreams happen was taken away from them, abruptly and unexpectedly. As a consequence, their families had to suffer. Having adequate life insurance coverage will help avoid this, as it can provide both living and death benefits for the insured and their family, when the source of income is lost. There are now a variety of life insurance programs that can cater to one’s protection, savings and investments requirements. Live life protected with one.

Really! Living too long is also a major concern?! Isn’t it a blessing to live longer? The answer: It depends on how much you have prepared for it. With advanced medical technology and awareness of healthy living, the average life span of a Filipino is now 71 years, from 65 years several years ago. This means that we have more years to live long after we stop earning active income. And without a sufficient retirement fund, this can pose a serious concern. Consider this, as our children will most likely have their own families by then, we need to live and provide for our own needs. And as we age, we are more prone to sickness, so we need maintenance medicines and other health supplements. Yet the pension we receive from SSS or GSIS will hardly cover for these. What do we then do to afford these? Will we work again? We ask for help from families? While some are lucky to have children who provide for them, this is not the default set up. We are not the responsibility of our children. So, if you don’t have a sizable retirement fund, your retirement years can either be a dream life or a nightmare. But we can live our dream retirement by making sure that we work on it, early in our life. I wrote about this in my June column. Setting up a dedicated retirement fund through an investment or savings program will help you prepare for this. Ready to live your dream retirement with one.

While we cannot control the twists and turns that life will throw at us, we are empowered to prepare for it. Life can give us lemons but we can always make lemonade with the water and sugar we have saved. Add ice, too!