Life especially adult life in Uganda is quite interesting as every one seems to go about their business without thinking much about the uncertainties life could come up with like failing health that may require a very costly organ transplant or other medical procedure, fatal accidents resulting into permanent disability and even untimely death God forbid.
By default, we have been a cohesive society over centuries even millennia that takes care of one another but the individualistic culture that the western world has imposed upon us has fast caught on and the social safety nets we once boasted of highly are fast fading away.
Gone are the days when children were raised by communities, now they are raised by busy parents with the help of social media, television and the house maids.
A very sick person, an orphaned child, a widow or widower, an elderly person used to be a concern to our communities and they would do everything to help this person cope with what life had presented to them but all that is fast flying out the window as these days the notion is me, myself and I or may be me, my spouse and children for those who have them.
Enter the tough economy
While a certain closely knit circle of Ugandans are thriving beyond the average Joe’s wildest dreams, the majority or the rest of us seem to be struggling to keep up with things here and there with the cost of living shooting through the roof, school fees skyrocketing, medical bills becoming a nightmare and so much more yet wages are not going up to match these changes. This leaves most of us living on the verge of hitting rockbottom just Incase something small happens like a sudden shift in the economy, a major health challenge tothe family etc.
What can be done to help oneself?
As things get more complicated and complex for the everyday person also reffered to as the wanainchi or omuntu wawansi by various interest groups and the economy tightens it’s noose even around the well heeled, as the bills pill up and eat away harder on our stagnant earnings, the need to create new social safety nets is more urgent than ever in our society.
And life insurance is one of those guaranteed safety nets if not the most certain that can have your back when you are pushed against the wall by life.
How does it work?
It begins with a decision to sign up for a life policy which ideally is a contract between the insured (principal) and the insurance company (insurer) to cover you for certain risks that may include permanent disability due to sickness, permanent disability resulting from an accident, critical illness and death. A life insurance policy may cover all or any two to three aspects of the above with death inclusive as a given.
Once you get onto a life insurance policy, you are required to remit monthly premiums as the insured and the insurance company is obliged to pay you a sum assured (the money is in insurance company is liable to pay some one it had insured at any one point if risk occurs) or a percentage of it depending on the details of the insurance contract.
And as long as you have paid your first premium, the policy gets ‘into force’ is activated and you are covered incase risk covered does happen even the very day, the policy gets into force.
Other benefits
Besides covering you (the insured) on the risk side you can also get an insurance policy that offers you an opportunity to invest and earn an annual return on the portion of your premium dedicated to investment. This bit of the policy that is the portion of the premiums dedicated to investment and the returns accrued to it can be redeemed every so often usually after 3-5 years availing much needed cash for further investment and other uses on a regular basis.
And if bad luck or chance happens like it does more often than we want to accept or appreciate and you the insured in this case passes on, your beneficiaries as per your policy do get a pay out immediately of the sum assured, premiums are waived and depending on the type of policy they may still qualify to get another payment when the policy finally matures giving them an easier or slightly softer landing as they cope with your untimely and painful demise.
Finally insurance can be used as a tool for medium to long-term savings towards a project for example if you have a target of saving 50 million or 150 million may be 300 million towards a specific goal or project in 10 years or more, you can get your self a policy through an insurance agent who will help you work out how much you need to remit monthly, quarterly or annually to meet that goal. Remember on top of meeting your goal, you are also covered for whatever risk may be embedded in the policy cover ranging from permanent disability, critical illness and death. For more information or help on how you can get yourself a life insurance policy provided you are an adult and earning an income contact the author.
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