– Anuz Thapa
Since February, there have been lots of blogs, news reports written about the cheating of life- insurance agents to the customers, especially in Nepalese media based in the US. It created a kind of terror among the insurance policy buyers.
There have been news reports of people dropping their insurance policies by the customers fearing they might be cheated. Insurance buyers are in dilemma. There are people who have been buying the insurance policies for so many years and have spent money in their policies for ‘safe future’. Now, they fear about their ‘safe future’ listening to all the rumors.
Recently, a community discussion program among Nepalese living in Queens regarding “Insurance Terror” was conducted to create awareness among the people about the insurance. The program started with a very good beginning but ended in a total chaos.
Around 150 people gathered together to listen and discuss about the the issues regarding life insurance policy at Sherpa Kyidug Hall in Elmhurst, Queens.
Unofficially 20,000 Nepalese live in Queens. There are many people who bought the life-insurance policy and some are regretting it as well since they were found to be buying expensive policies. After so much noise on the social media and Nepalese news portal in the US, White Himal Television (www.whitehimal.tv), a community online television running from New York City, conducted a community discussion program titled “Insurance Atanka” which translates to “Insurance Terror” in English.
The show started with a very good beginning i.e. with a poem recital. The poem composed by a freelance journalist Sahadev Poudel explained how the life-insurance agents work to capture the people to sell their insurance products. Interestingly, Poudel, 37, is a life-insurance buyer. He wasn’t sure if his policy was good or not good. “I don’t know how I express it. I have been a customer of New York Life Insurance for more than four years. I still can’t figure out if my policy is good or bad,” he said. He pays $94 per month as a premium for his $100,000 death benefit policy.
Poudel is not the only one in dilemma on whether the policies customers are buying are good or bad. Most of the participants who attended in the discussion program were unaware of their insurance policy.
Krish Thapa, 37, who has just bought a life insurance policy from a well known person in Nepalese community of New York, said, “I have no idea what my policy is. I was constantly called by my agent for a long time. He said the policy would be very good for me so I bought the policy.”
Thapa, who has been living in Elmhurst for more than four years, still has no life insurance policy paper with him. “I haven’t even looked at the policy paper since I am so busy at my work,” he said. “Now, I feel scared after hearing all the rumors and all the discussions, “he added.” I will quickly call my agent……. if I feel cheated; I will cancel my policy asap.” He has been paying the premium of $150 a month for the last two months for his policy.
Yam Adhikari, an insurance professional working for New York Life Insurance, was one of the panelists of the discussion program. Many questions from the audience were directed to him. Adhikari, 43, who has been in this profession for more than a decade, tried to defend himself. He said, “I am in this field for a long time. You have to understand that insurance is not an investment, it’s a protection.” He further added,” You have to fully understand your product before you buy it.”
Xue Wei Gao, the Executive Marketing Director of World Financial Group (WFG), echoed Adhikari’s voice. Gao, a Chinese national, who has been working in the company for fourteen years, said,” Don’t buy any insurance product before you are fully aware of it.” Gao, who barely knew Nepalese language suggested that the title of the community discussion program should be ‘insurance awareness’ rather than ‘insurance terror’.
WFG is a financial services marketing organization based in Johns Creek, Georgia that markets investment, insurance, and various other financial products through a network of associates in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico.
Gao, also said that if anybody feels cheated they can always complain to the insurance company. ” Yes, you can call the insurance company and complain against the agent if you feel like that,” Gao said.
The show host Shailesh Shrestha accepted that the program was organized to aware people about life insurance but he was not so much bothered about the title. “The title is what attracts people to participate. If we would simply keep the title as ‘insurance education or awareness’ the hall wouldn’t be pack like this,” he said, with a smile on his face.
The four hour long program seemed too short for the participants as they queued to bombard the questions to the panelists. When the host announced the end of the discussion, suddenly some people took matters into their hands. Some people got on the stage, confiscated the microphone and started to show their anger to the organizer. They blamed them that they weren’t given chance to ask questions.
Dawa Sherpa was one of the people who confiscated the mic. Sherpa, 35, a resident of Woodside, Queens, who is also a buyer of insurance policy, said,” We are not satisfied with today’s program. It’s useless.”
Even though the community discussion did not end well, the gist of the program was put forward clearly.
Certified Public Accountant Biraj Rijal, who was also one of the panelists and who spoke much about the implication of tax in the insurance, urged customers to consult with professionals so that they would not be cheated as he had thoroughly read the policy himself before buying them.”I have bought life insurance policy for me, my wife and for my two kids. I have read all the papers before signing it,” Rijal, 40, said. “It doesn’t matter if the agent is your relative or a friend, it’s you money that counts.”
He also emphasized the much repeated message of the program. He reiterated, “Remember insurance is not an investment, it’s a protection.”
Note: Video link of the story:
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