Insurance Reps – Pests or God send?

Insurance Reps – Pests or God send?

Occasionally, when I attend functions, I will get the opportunity to meet new acquaintances. It’s exciting to meet new people from different background and job scope like doctors, engineers, managers and many more. Often, while being introduced, people would predictably ask, “So, what do you do for a living?” I would always give them a big smile and then said, “Well, I am a Life Insurance Rep”. I often find that almost instantly, there will be a moment of silence before either party break the silence or the common phrase is “I see” and I will notice a quick change in our earlier conversation to another topic with some uneasiness from the other party. “Well, I guess it was nice meeting you tonight and this is my business card. Let me know if you need any insurance” I said before I moved on as we exchanged our business cards.

So who are we exactly? Well we go by many names such as insurance agents, insurance rep, financial consultant, financial planner, business development executive and so on. We are actually representatives appointed by the life insurer (referred as the Principal) and are authorized by the Principal to represent and sell the life insurer products to end users.

So what are our roles here? We are responsible mainly for helping individuals, families and businesses select insurance policies to protect their health, lives and property. We have to undergo strict regulations set by the government. LIAM (Life Insurance Association of Malaysia) is the governing body regulating the appointments of life insurance agent.

Prospective candidate must be,
Ø 18 years old
Ø Pass Pre-contract Examination (PCE)
Ø Pass Certificate Examination in Investment-linked Life Insurance (CEILLI) if the agent is transacting investment-linked business
Ø Must complete SPM / MCE or SAP with at least 5 subjects passed or its equivalent qualification.
Note: Please refer to LIAM or Allianz Life Insurance Malaysia Berhad guidelines for additional information.

So are Life Insurance Reps – Pests or God Sent? What do you think? I would like to relate this story for you to make your own analysis. Here goes …

Once upon a time, there were 4 close friends. Mr. Lim is a doctor, En. Ali is a banker, Mr. Ong is a teacher and Mr. Lui is a life insurance agent.

The 4 friends will have dinner at Mr. Ong house every Friday night without fail. Mrs. Ong enjoyed cooking for her husband’s friends especially the Doctor and Banker. She dislikes the life insurance agent – even at times considering him to be a pest.

One night, Mrs. Ong received a call from the police station informing her that her husband had met with an accident and was admitted into the hospital. Unfortunately her husband passed away.

Many friends visited Mr. Ong house to pay their last respect. The first friend to arrive was Doctor Lim. He said, “Mrs. Ong, I am sorry your husband passed away. He was a good friend, a good husband and a good father. By, the way, our Hospital requested you to pay for your late husband’s medical bill. It is $20,000”.

The second friend Banker Ali arrived. Banker Ali said, “Mrs. Ong, I am sorry your husband passed away. He was a good friend, a good husband and a good father. By, the way, our Bank requested you to settle your late husband’s housing loan. It is $80,000”.


The third friend Agent Lui arrived. Agent Lui said, “Mrs. Ong, I am sorry your husband passed away. He was a good friend, a good husband and a good father. By, the way…….”

Mrs. Ong lashed out, “You are all useless friends. Can’t you see my husband is dead? You are all here to ask him to pay his bills and loans.” We don’t have the money.

Agent Lui replied, “Please Mrs. Ong. I am not here to ask for any payment from your family. Your husband was a responsible person. He purchased a life insurance policy and named you as the beneficiary. I apologized for being late because I had to collect a check. I am here to present your family this check of $ 500,000”.

So what’s your opinion on Life Insurance Reps now? Hope that you have a better understanding now after reading this story.

The moral of this story is “Humble agent performs the most important service to society. Remember that the amateurs built the ark but professionals built Titanic.”

Winston Churchill quoted, “We make a living by what we get. But we make a life by what we gave”
Hope you enjoyed this post. In closing, I would like to dedicate this short prayer to all our fellow co – workers in this industry. I hope that we’ll continue to run this race and overcome every obstacle faithfully to protect people’s lives as our mission.

My Prayer

Dear Lord;

“Thank you for this wonderful opportunity that you gave us as Life Insurance Reps. It’s by far the noblest job ever in the history of mankind. Help us Lord, to run this race faithfully without giving up or breaking down halfway. Let it be our sole mission to see and talk to people – to protect their lives and their love ones. Let your name be glorified whenever we protect one life. May people see Jesus thru our good conduct and action in the market place. When we are down with obstacle, we’ll look upon you to draw strength and wisdom from you, to continue this race. May your blessings continue to overflow us from heaven as we run this Race of Life”

Amen