My education plan baby

My daughter Cae is an education plan baby – literally and figuratively.

She was 2 years old when my cousin-in-law (hello, Tita Maricel), a pre-need agent, sold us our / her first education plan / policy.

Two years later (I was already with Insular Life then), I got her another plan. Since I belonged to the sales department which was marketing the latter, I purchased a policy out of loyalty and for credibility. Not only that, Cae was also one of the original College Provider models. She appeared on the brochures donning a college cap and gown.

Fast forward to School Year 2010-2011 >Cae’s first year in college. We were informed that the education benefits could be claimed every April and September. We had to comply with the claim requirements and fortunately, the funds were released in time for her 1st sem enrollment last April 2010. Imagine our relief when we only had to shell out less than 30K for a full semestral payment, instead of sourcing the entire tuition amount (60-70k) from our savings or from our paycheck.

This particular policy of Cae (which we paid for 5 years) would provide us with a certain amount every semester (for 8 semesters or 4 college years) plus interest every year. In effect, we would actually be receiving around 40% more than what we paid for. As of this writing, she’s already on her 3rd year-1st sem, so three semestral education benefits to go!

Cae’s other education plan – College Provider- has a life insurance component and was also payable for 5 years. When she turned 17 last March 2011, we were informed that we could already claim the education benefit, which was in lump sum, unlike the first one. Further, even if we already got the entire education fund, Cae is still insured up to age 21. Aside from that, she will still receive a graduation gift in cash also at age 21.

And now with Caehl...Initially, I didn't plan to get him one. I was thinking, maybe when the time comes, we wouldn't be worrying anymore about his college education expenses. After all, he’d be the only one studying by that time. But with the new K-12 education program or curriculum in the Philippines, I started to think again.  He has to have one. So I’m getting him one, also from Insular. Since he’s already 6 years old, the premiums are a little bit high now.

Paying insurance premiums is a great responsibility and more often than not, we find it burdensome. Imagine being locked out for 5 years (compared to a telco plan for 24 months and you even get a free handset). But just to give you an illustration, getting or paying for an education plan with a hundred thousand face amount or coverage is like buying a pair of shoes every month or having Starbucks coffee every day (but of course, a 100,000 face amount is just an example. You can get a higher coverage - say 500K or 1M, as the cost of college education in MM universities nowadays ranges from 45k – 60k per sem). When you think about the benefits, especially if you yourself experienced its convenience and rewards, you won’t have any regrets, really. Think about it :)