Hugh Reid, General Manager, JN Life Insurance, says more Jamaicans should purchase life insurance for their families to build financial resilience. He points out that such a move would provide a chance for a better quality of life.
The JN Life Insurance General Manager made this call during a series of activities to mark the 10th anniversary the life insurance company.
Mr Reid said currently more than 80 per cent of Jamaicans are without a pension plan and about the same, or even more, are either underinsured or without insurance. He explained that this means that several families are at risk of financial hardship during retirement and when their breadwinners die or are diagnosed with a major illness.
“The number of Jamaicans without a critical illness plan in place in the event of being diagnosed with a chronic illness is probably even higher than 80 per cent. As a result, many families undergo serious financial hardship when a breadwinner dies or is diagnosed with a critical illness, as typically the cost of treatment will run into millions of dollars and in some cases, tens of millions of dollars,” he said.
“Insurance is a good way to assist in terms of planning financially. It ensures that your family can cope should you be affected by unfortunate events. Many of us should remember that the reason you buy life insurance is not because you are going to die, but because those who you love are going to live,” he said.
He noted that life insurance has many benefits to economies and families. Beyond the guarantee to pay a stated sum to family members who are the beneficiaries on the death of its income earner or diagnosis of a covered illness, life insurance can also serve as a means through which individuals save because many persons who might not otherwise save consistently will, nonetheless, regularly pay their life insurance premiums. He added that this can constitute a type of quasi-compulsory savings.
He noted that one of the effects of having little or no critical illness insurance was that many families are robbed of loved ones whose deaths could have been prevented.
“In terms of critical illness insurance, every Jamaican should have at least two such policies as, for example, a cancer diagnosis which involves surgery and chemotherapy/radiation could easily exceed $5 million if private health facilities are utilised. Unlike many policies on the market, JN has a critical illness policy that provides a recurrence benefit, which allows customers to make multiple claims over time for critical illnesses that recur. This JN Life Aide critical illness policy will, therefore, assist many families who would otherwise, lose loved ones, whose deaths were preventable, owing to the costs associated with treatment and not having insurance to cover them,” he added.
Mr Reid was speaking at the 10th Anniversary Church Service for JN Life Insurance held at the Church of Transfiguration in Meadowbrook, St. Andrew on May 28. The church service marked the beginning of a yearlong series of activities to celebrate the company’s important milestone. JN Life also hosted an outside broadcast on Sun City 104.9 FM on June 14 at the JN Bank Half Way Tree branch. JN Life was established in 2013 and is a member of the JN Group. The company offers life insurance to companies and individuals through its Group Life, mortgage creditor and single premium creditor facilities. It also offers family and individual critical illness plans, family indemnity and burial plans; a term life product, JN Life Vest and an approved retirement plan, the JN Individual Retirement Scheme.
