CocoLife Insurance

I just finished watching the news regarding Insurance scams here in the Philippines and it really took me back to the time when I was almost scammed out of my money as well.

The Insurance was called CocoLife. Beware of this company.

I have little to no experience at all when it comes to insurance companies. My parents would just simply warn me not to entertain any person offering insurance. Bottom line: most of them are scams. Never knew why before but I had to find out the hard way. Oh, they weren't able to take anything from me but they did took two and a half hours of my time.

First thing you should know: they are experts at what they do. They will tell you anything to convince you. While some of their policies may look real to you, they are made for the company's own benefit, never yours. They are trained how to handle objections from different types of people; from students to simple orderlies, they know how to talk to you.

How do you handle this? Think beyond what they're saying. For every benefit they claim you will receive, there is a 'string attached' to it. Never believe what they say especially when they tell you that there's no disadvantage for you, that the company will always want what's best for their customer. That's bullsh*t. If they did want what was best for their customer, they wouldn't be in that business. Everything's a give-and-take relationship and it should be equal, not one-sided.

An agent called Kate tried to convince me and I was indeed convinced at first but I insisted I wanted to consult this with my parents first. You know what she did? She told me I was a grown-up; I should be able to make my own decisions. That doing this before telling my parents will benefit them as much as it benefits me. That I would be making my parents proud of me acting like a grown-up.

You know what I see? I saw someone coaxing a two year old child to drink bitter medicine. That's how she treated me. Okay, honestly, it might sound flattering for other people but some can find it insulting. I told her I respect my parents and that even though I can decide what's best for me, I do not make decisions behind their backs especially on something that will involve money. I work hard to earn money; we all do so we know the value of it. I can't just easily say 'yes' and give it away like it's nothing.

Second thing you will notice: they are walking advertisements. Okay, I may not wholly clear on that. What I meant was they know how to say it and the right time to say it. They will make sure you will fall for their program. Everything you do, from your answers to your gestures; they will use it against you. The moment they spot hesitation, they will go for it. Kate was like a tape; every time I said 'no', she would rewind back and start over with her advertisement. Like a robot. She has no respect.

The sad thing is, some of them have successfully convinced some people. Kate even showed me a couple of receipts from hardworking people. One gave Kate all of her savings. Another gave Kate 8,000php. That is a lot of money; it can pay for several bills, food and house rent. They are people who work abroad, away from their own families just to give a better future for their children.

They will tend to tell you that you can start the account with any amount of money you may have (Kate told me: 'kahit barya lang po, pwede na ma'am.' That's a lie; her 'barya' is actually 4,000php.) In reality, your contribution will tend to depend on your age and true insurance companies will tell you that you will not receive money from them for as long as you live; there will be limits. Kate was saying the opposite.

You have to be solid in your decision. Even if it will look rude or harsh, you have to say NO. Agents who scam like this lack transparency, meaning they will not tell you the whole ugly truth. Also, they can become rude to you. Kate is a very sarcastic agent. When we were already talking for almost two hours, she went to the point when she told me: 'this offer is only good today so let's not waste each other's time' ('ngayong lang itong offer na 'to kaya 'wag mo na sayangin ang oras mo at oras ko') and asked me to sign a form that states I am giving them authorization to actually debit money from my bank account ('pirmahan mo na 'to para makapagstart ka na'). I smiled sweetly and told her: 'no, I don't want you to debit money from my account. Even if the offer expires today, it's fine.' ('ayoko po pirmahan yan, ayoko kumuha kayo ng pera sa account ko. Kahit matapos na ang offer, okay lang.')

As we part ways, she told me sarcastically: "God bless you, ma'am." Like somehow she went to some lengths as to use God and guilt-trip me. Shame on her.