Life Insurance: The perspective of … Angelina Markova
Access to expert opinions and high quality medical services does not guarantee good health, it is just a prerequisite for it.
- How does your profession influence your perspective on the topic of life insurance?
My day-to-day professional life is mainly preoccupied with all sorts of numbers – financial reports, internal reports, business development. But in order to present my clients, which are international companies, with a complete picture and to provide guidance for future action, I piece together a jigsaw involving all parts of their business.
Each working business is faced with risks and uncertainties that influence decision-making. The future is not really predictable. However, business is aware of that, knowing all too well that contingent liabilities, and especially their scope may have a destructive character on one of their most important principles – going concern principle. Taking all of this into account, putting a number on it and the ability to limit possible damage are just some of the strategic and crucial aspects of business planning. It is through this perspective, influenced by my professional path in the last 12 years, that I also view to the topic of life insurance.
- What do you associate with life insurance and which aspects of your life does it provide useful solutions for?
I associate life insurance with a bundle of services you may need when facing series of events, under which, should these occur, a future financial resource would be secure. In case of an event, followed by treatment or a disruption to the ability to actively acquire income in given situations, insurance would provide a stable bridge to cross over, enabling me to concentrate on that which is most important at the moment; without worrying about resources which extend beyond my means and could affect family and loved ones. Of course, we cannot insure against everything and not everything is about money. In terms of personal options, I think it is good to be informed: In order to make the best decision; to make any disturbance to our everyday rhythm simply a period of our life we go through without turning into a life sentence. Access to expert opinions and high quality medical services does not guarantee good health, it is just a prerequisite for it.
- How did your life outside Bulgaria influence your attitude towards the topic?
Certainly, the fact that I have lived abroad and have a diploma in banking and finance (insurance was part of my lectures during my studies) makes the topic very familiar and easy to understand. Also, my life and professional path in Germany allowed me to observe this topic through the prism of knowledge and to see it put into practice there: both from a professional standpoint and personally. Life insurance, and insurance as a whole, is very common in the Western world, it is part of local culture.
- What criteria did you apply when choosing life insurance?
When making sustainable financial decisions, the availability of monthly free cash resources is the first thing I can plan ahead in the foreseeable future. This shapes the framework within which I consider alternatives which are realistic options for me, out of these I select a premium – cover ratio.
- Do you think there is a suitable moment in one’s life to seek out a life insurance company?
Taking western societies as an example – I’d say from the moment of birth or as early as possible.
- Is the consultant, i.e. the human factor important for you in making such a decision and in what way?
Yes, the consultant is important. For me a deciding factor is whether I have access to my consultant in case of an event. Especially, if we are talking about the type of events where because предложението е (of the nature of the product) of the nature of the situation, emotion takes hold; it is absolutely crucial for me to be confident that I have found someone to be there, to help me get the best guidance in order to make the best available decisions. And I chose Desi, because I believe Desi is that person.
- What advice would you give to a professional life insurance consultant about their work?
I would advise them based on what I learned from Desi, namely about their approach to consulting. When you have a consultant, who offers services, the first thing I expect from them is to have access to the full list of services and to get straight-forward arguments about why I need each and every one of these.
A personal attentive approach and ability to understand the needs of the other party are decisive for me, mainly because my trust is won through conversation. And so, considering my needs I seek dialog. It is at this point that the qualities I consider foremost come into play: the consultant’s discretion, competence and professionalism. To be a successful consultant you need to present a choice of solutions based on what your client shares, considering their perspective, which can only work if you have the necessary personal qualities and life experience.
- …and what about someone who has never before faced the issue of protecting one’s standard of living?
That is an interesting question…protecting one’s standard of living is related to our financial and investment planning and knowledge – transferred or acquired. For each of us, the most important things are those which give our life meaning (time and quality of life), without these any planning is pointless. If one has not considered this issue and has not been faced with this topic, let me try to take it closer to home in the next few sentences. I would advise everyone to take a look around and to think about what they would like to keep in their life as part of a permanent standard of living and what they would like to add; you just need to close your eyes and think about it, without unnecessary fear or panic about possible obstacles down the road. Well, for some of these things I believe life insurance can help, or?!
Angelina graduated from the “Plovdiv” Language High School and continued her education in Germany. After accumulating 10 years of corporate experience in the field of business development and finance in Germany and Bulgaria, she decided to enter the world of entrepreneurship. In the last two years, Ani has focused on the services her company offers to German financial directors and boutique consulting firms.
Why did I choose Ani to open this series of talks
Having had my share of professional and life experience I set a few key principles for myself with two clear goals:
/ to make my life better every day;
/ to make the people I communicate with happier.
If what I do in my job does not bring me joy, does not allow me to grow, and does not leave me a better person after I bring it to a close, then I do not need this job. My choice was to have a conversation with Angelina because she has something to say about the topic, she is willing to communicate in person with her consultant, she is sensible … and has the will to smile.
