Live A Good Life

Because none of us have many years to live, and we can't take along anything when we go, so we don't have to be too thrifty.

Spend the money that should be spent, enjoy what should be enjoyed, donate what you are able to donate, but don't leave all to your children or grandchildren, for you don't want them to become parasites who are waiting for the day you will die!!
Don't worry about what will happen after we are gone, because when we return to dust, we will feel nothing about praises or criticisms. The time to enjoy the worldly life and your hard earned wealth will be over!

Don't worry too much about your children, for children will have their own destiny and should find their own way.

Don't be your children's slave. Care for them, love them, give them gifts but also enjoy your money
while you can. Life should have more to it than working from the cradle to the grave!!
Don't expect too much from your children. Caring children, though caring, would be too busy with their jobs and commitments to render much help. Uncaring children may fight over your assets even when you are still alive,and wish for your early demise so they can inherit your properties and wealth.
Your children take for granted that they are rightful heirs to your wealth; but that you have no claims to their money. 50-year old like you, don't trade in your health for wealth by working yourself to an early grave anymore. Because your money may not be able to buy your health.

When to stop making money, and how much is enough (hundred, thousands,million, ten million)?
Out of thousand hectares of good farm land, you can consume only three quarts (of rice) daily; out of a thousand mansions, you only need eight square meters of space to rest at night.
So, as long as you have enough food and enough money to spend, that is good enough. You should live happily. Every family has its own problems. Just do not compare with others for fame and social status and see whose children are doing better, etc., but challenge others for happiness, health,
enjoyment, quality of life and longevity.

Don't worry about things that you can't change because it doesn't help and it may spoil your health.
You have to create your own well-being and find your own place of happiness. As long as you are in good mood and good health, think about happy things, do happy things daily and have fun in doing, then you will pass your time happily every day.
One day passes without happiness, you will lose one day. One day passes with happiness, and then you gain one day.

In good spirit, sickness will cure; in a happy spirit, sickness will cure faster; in high and happy spirits; sickness will never come. With good mood, suitable amount of exercise, always in the sun,
variety of foods, reasonable amount of vitamin and mineral intake, hopefully you will live another 20 or 30 years of healthy life of pleasure.
Above all, learn to cherish the goodness around... and FRIENDS. They all make you feel young and "wanted"... without them you are surely to feel lost!!

As I Mature

Naming Beneficiary

It may seem obvious that once you have determined how much insurance coverage you need, and the life insurance policy that is right for you, picking a beneficiary would be a breeze.

When it comes down to it, however, this decision may prove a difficult one to make. A beneficiary is the person (or persons) you name in your life insurance policy who will receive any death benefits from the policy.

Some companies specify that the choice of a beneficiary should have some stake in your passing. This could be a spouse, child, or other relative. Other insurers are less specific. One's estate can also be named as the beneficiary of a policy. At the time of death, any benefit is split among other assets defined in your will.

One problem with naming your estate as your beneficiary is that proceeds may not be exempt from any creditors who can then lay claim to their portion of the sum. Naming a beneficiary in most cases exempts them from creditors' claims.

Beneficiaries differ. Revocable beneficiaries can be changed whenever you wish while irrevocable beneficiaries cannot be changed without their consent. Changing beneficiaries is as simple as requesting a beneficiary designation form from your insurer, listing the changes you want, signing and dating the form.

There is no legal limit to the number of beneficiaries that can be named. What is important, however, is stating exactly how the proceeds are to be divided among them. Percentages are probably the best way to do this, particularly if one has any interest or dividend adjustments on the policy, which would alter the face value, and subsequently, the final benefit amount.

While the value of the policy changes, the values designated in the percentages allow for distribution of the funds as desired. Naming a minor as a beneficiary requires the appointment of a guardian, or trust, to prevent the probate court from appointing a guardian for you.

It is further important to review one's beneficiaries annually, or when major life events such as marriage, divorce and childbirth occur. In this way, policies are kept updated, and inconvenient surprises avoided.

An Interesting Article - Life Is Fragile

It was New Year's Eve and I just got off the phone with the insurance company. That conversation took me from the edge of a cliff to the possibility of a future. But a crazy twist of fate could have just as easily pushed me over. My story went back 10 years earlier, to a fateful decision that changed everything.

I met my husband when he was 26 years old. When we met, he was an actor/dancer who truly lived in the moment. He didn't have any money but that was part of his charm. I was entranced by his joie de vivre. As so many of us when we're in love, we ignore the boring, practical side of life and we seized the moment.

Luckily, I had been brought up to believe you always covered your bases. Those years of childhood lessons nagged at me. I suggested that we both get life insurance. I went ahead but he let the forms sit on the table for months. I know he was thinking that I was being paranoid about money. After all, he was young and what could possibly happen to him. He had been a world class, competitive rowing champ. That made him healthy, strong and invincible.

But cancer doesn't discriminate. Cancer takes whomever it can get. And it got my husband at 26. In the five minutes it took to get the diagnosis, my husband just became ineligible for insurance. If only he had filled out those forms when I asked him to.

We reapplied every single year only to hear that the insurance company felt he was too high risk. Finally, nine years later, one company said yes. What a relief. Having a financial safety net was so important to me. I was about how to find how important.

In what seems to have been a cruel twist of fate, nine months after we received life insurance coverage on Tim's life, his cancer came back. We were stunned. He had been cancer-free for 10 years. How could this be possible? But cancer plays by its own rules and in this case, the truth hit hard. Life had just dealt us a very cruel blow.

Within a year, my husband was dead. Thirty-seven years old, father of a two-and-a-half year old. My world shattered.

What made all the difference to me was that life insurance policy. When I received my check, I cried with relief. That money was my lifeline and I don't want to think about what would have happened without it. It's a frightening thought.

The lesson of the story is an obvious one but it's one so many choose not to hear about. Don't we all wish that our lives would be a series of happy events and happy endings. And most times it is. But what happens when the unexpected drops into your life. Are you ready for it? When I tell my story to women, I remind them that my reality will be their reality one day. The demographics say so.

We have this amazing ability to tell ourselves stories that we want to hear and stories that always have happy endings. But for all of us, sooner or later, there isn't a happy ending. And when that time comes, the happiest ending you can hope for is one which won't devastate you financially.

It is shocking to learn that over one third of Canadians have no life insurance and of widows whose husbands died prematurely, less than 25 per cent of them felt there was inadequate insurance. This adds incredible burden on families at a particularly vulnerable time in life.

Life insurance is as vital to your life as food and shelter. As parents, you owe your children safety and security. Life insurance gives them that. And as parents, when the worst happens, and tragedy has devastated our children's lives, you owe it to them to ensure you don't rip away everything else that matters to them, like their home, their familiar life and parent who is not living in fear of financial survival.

Do yourself and your children a favour. Buy that policy. I can't imagine what my life would have been life if I didn't have that. That is something I definitely don't want to think about.

RM6.7 Billion Claims Paid - 2012

A total of RM6.70bil was paid out in life insurance claims in 2012, up 19% from RM5.6bil a year ago, according to the Life Insurance Association of Malaysia (LIAM) - and this includes various types of claims payment namely death, disability, medical and cash bonus payments. An additional amount of RM7.6bil was paid for maturity of policies and cash surrender in 2012.

The association said that as at December 2012, the Malaysian population was covered with RM1.02 trillion sum insured in various forms of life insurance policies. This was 8% higher than the corresponding figure in 2011 of RM946bil. The average sum insured works out to be RM34,700 per capita for 2012, an increase of 6.7% from RM32,533 in 2011.

LIAM noted that investment-linked policies continued to outshine traditional policies in terms of growth with 49.5% of new business share. In 2011, the investment-linked policies formed a lower portion of 45.6% of all new policies sold.

Thailand Life Insurance Surged 19%

Thailand's life insurance industry grew at its highest rate for 10 years in 2012, with written premiums worth up to 391 billion baht.

The Thai Life Assurance Association (TLAA) said based on gross premiums, the industry surged 19.1% last year, with new premiums accounting for 131 billion baht, a rise of 32.5%. American International Assurance (AIA), Thailand's largest life insurer, remained the industry leader, controlling 26.3% of the market.

Muang Thai Life Assurance overtook Thai Life Insurance for the first time to take a 12.49% market share, just ahead of Thai Life's 12.48%. SCB Life Assurance was in fourth place with 10.7%, followed by Bangkok Life Assurance at 8.85%.

The other top 10 life insurers were Krungthai-AXA Life Insurance (7.39%), Allianz Ayudhya Assurance (9%), Ocean Life Insurance (3.78%), ING Life (2.91%) and Thanachart Life Assurance (2.59%). The remaining 14 life companies together accounted for only 8.51%.

Measured by new premiums, the market was still led by AIA (18%), followed by Muang Thai Life (16.6%) and SCB Life (14.3%). Thai Life slipped to No.4 with 10.96%.

TLAA director Busara Ungphakorn said the industry's growth rate was driven last year mainly by tailor-made products and insurers' efforts to develop sales teams and promote understanding.

Mrs Busara said the agency channel contributed 57.3% of total premiums or 225 billion baht (up by 11.9%), followed by bancassurance at 36.7% or 144 billion (up by 34.2%). Sales via telephone or telemarketing amounted to 12.1 billion baht or 3.09% (up by 9.4%), while other channels fetched 10.9 billion baht or 2.95% (up by 1.9%).

MAA Indonesia - Sold to Tokio Marine

Japan’s Tokio Marine insurance group has recently acquired a life insurance company to tap into the country’s growing insurance market. Last October, the group completed the acquisition of a majority stake in the now defunct PT MAA Life Assurance — a business unit of Malaysia-based MAA Assurance —and renamed it Tokio Marine Life Insurance Indonesia (TMLII).

The Tokio Marine group currently controls 89 percent ownership of the new firm, while PT Multi Artha Aman holds the remaining 11 percent.

The revamping strategy includes recruiting more agents and opening new offices as well. The company is looking to have around 1,000 agents by the end of 2013, much higher than the 100 it has currently. TMLII currently serves between 12,000 and 15,000 clients, most of whom are former MAA customers. By year-end, it hopes to attract at least 2,000 new clients.