BETONIO, Mary Bernadette Joyce B.

FISPETO4 – Life Insurance and Variable Life

REFLECTION PAPER

As a finance student, the topic for the FISPETO seminar held last November 7 with Ms. Anne
Emmanuelle Sarah Besitan as the speaker is quite interesting for me. It was also a pleasure to have met
a Registered Financial Consultant (RFC) and Million Dollar Round Table (MDRT) member which are very
prestigious distinctions in the field of finance. I was actually inspired and thought of aspiring the same
achievement as Ms. Besitan’s. At first, she was able to impart to us the steps in achieving our financial
goals. Then, she also discussed to us about life insurance and the different products of Manulife, where
she advice for, which I found unique compared to the common insurance offered, also known as
Variable Unit Life (VUL) or Unit-Linked Plan (ULP).

Ms. Besitan compared how planning and achieving one’s financial goals is relative to that for a
trip. From availing a service of trusted financial planner to enjoying the fruits of the investment, similar
to looking into travel agency for budget travel package to enjoying the trip, she discussed in details the
important steps that one may be guided along the way. What I liked about it the most are the examples
of how we can allocate our funds for our basic needs and other personal and everyday expenses. Among
the examples that she gave, I prefer the allocation wherein it includes for investment (45%), emergency
fund (5%), offering to God / church (10%) and fun money (40%).

In the other half of her talk, she discussed about the features of and how a VUL / ULP insurance
product works. Aside from the common feature of every life insurance as a life insurance protection, an
investor would have other benefits such as growing and earning a higher return for his / her investment
in the future through buying units. As its name imply, the investment is allocated in variety of funds. The
investor may choose from any of Manulife’s customized fund allocation as they are guided by their
advisors.

As a whole, I have learned a lot of interesting things in the seminar. I found it useful in terms of
planning for my future plans. Also, perhaps in the near future, I could considering going into this
insurance that would help me in my savings and investment and at the same time protecting me from
any life risks.