5 smart ways to spend your unclaimed insurance claims – ABS-CBN News
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What if you suddenly found yourself on the receiving end of a windfall? What if years ago, a relative died and no one knew about the insurance policy that was left behind for you?
When people think about life insurance, top of mind would be the most important things: provide money for loved ones upon death or defray costs in the event of a medical emergency or illness. While those are all true and cover the most important uses of life insurance, what if those were already covered and now you are the unexpected recipient of a large amount of money? Beyond the basics, this insurance claim can possibly give you financial wiggle room for your needs and wants.
If you find yourself suddenly in this scenario and unsure about what to use it for, you may want to check out these five practical ways to spend your insurance claims.
1. Use it to pay estate tax
Unexpected death usually leaves behind a lot of financial loose ends, and among those, estate taxes may be the biggest expense that you need to deal with. Fortunately, a windfall can help provide the resources you need to settle those taxes, so you can gain access to any assets left behind.
2. Invest in real estate
This is your opportunity to create passive income for yourself and your family as good real estate investment only appreciates over time. Buy that land, house, or condo and rent it out. A carefully thought-out real estate purchase can help generate multiple returns on your investment.
3. Buy collectibles
Did you know certain toys, watches, luxury bags, or even sneakers can sometimes sell for millions? Collectible investment involves buying something which (hopefully) will exponentially increase in value and be worth much more than its original sale price in the future. The item could be very popular with pricing depending on the condition, rarity, and uniqueness of the item.
4. Invest on yourself
Take that master’s degree you have always wanted or enroll in a certificate course that has always been at the back of your mind. Learn new skills, take up a new hobby. Whatever skill you decide to learn, investing in yourself can only result in gains for you. Whether it is for your personal use (like taking an MBA) or something you can earn from (like baking), new knowledge will always come in handy.
5. Take out another insurance policy
Strengthen your financial resilience. The good thing about life insurance is it provides a practical safety net during times of uncertainty, and with the insurance claims, you can use it to reinvest in a new insurance policy that will yield another set of benefits later on.
You can choose from a variety of products depending on your need – whether it is for protection from life’s many risks or something which will help grow your money long term such as investing in bonds.
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Find out if you have benefits to claim
Do you think you have benefits to claim? AIA Philippines (formerly AIA Philam Life) recently announced its search for thousands of policyholders who have unclaimed benefits which range from policy maturities, reinstatements, claims, redemptions, and even refunds. Despite efforts to contact its customers through registered mail, email, callouts, and their agents, there is still a huge number who have yet to be reached.
”We hope to reach customers–those who we have lost touch with amid changes in communications technology and who have bought their policies under our former brand, Philam Life,” shared AIA Philippines Chief Operating Officer Geegee Lopez. ”We are doing this because we have a promise that goes beyond passively responding when our customers make a claim. The promise of helping our customers live healthier, longer, better lives includes making sure these hard-earned benefits get to the intended recipients. We are asking for everyone’s help in finding our customers or their beneficiaries so we can give them their benefits.”
If that sounds like you, you can check if you have unclaimed benefits via https://bit.ly/AIAPH_CheckYourMoney. Simply input the policy owner or beneficiary details and wait to be notified if you qualify for a claim.
You may also visit the AIA Philippines website AIA Philippines on Facebook email customerservice.ph@aia.com, or call (02) 8528-2000 to know more.
NOTE: BrandNews articles are promotional features from our sponsors and not news articles from our editorial staff.
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