From strangers to good friends

Last night I invited a very special couple to dinner at my home. I have to tell you the story of how I met them later but before that, let me alert you on things that we thought we will do someday and that "someday" might never come. I am speaking through my own experience.  So what are they? Making a will and choosing the right insurance agent are important enough not to procrastinate. No one wants to think about tragedies, disasters or hardships. However, they are a fact of life. Bad things do happen so be prepared not for yourself but for the love ones you leave behind.

If you are a regular reader of my blog, you would have known that my late hubby, Mike passed away suddenly of a heart attack 21 years ago. He did not leave a will and unfortunately he has bought a life insurance. I did not make a typo error on the word “unfortunately” because the insurance policy he bought gave me a nightmare!! When I submitted my claim, it was declined! What happened was, when there was a period where Mike forgot to pay the premium and has to re-instate the policy, he was asked to report his health condition again.  Due to his laziness to fill in the forms, he let the insurance agent to handle it all. The agent was as lazy as he was and ticked “No” for all the boxes but Mike was already a diabetic. Mike was not aware of the mistake thus, created a reason for the insurance company to dispute the claim on the basis of non-disclosure of his health condition. Here I lost my husband and left with a hardly two year old toddler and an old mother to take care of and as if not tragic enough, I was left with a house loan, two car loans to service and a loan from one of my ex sister in law who immediately demanded me to return the money to her even before the funeral was over. At that time, I was not earning very much and my income can hardly get by without Mike’s contribution. Honestly, I felt the earth moved under my feet and the sky tumbling down. Why am I sharing this with you?  No, this is not to get your sympathy, I share this in the hope to save someone else from facing a same situation like mine. Taking great care in choosing the right insurance agent will save you all the heartaches. This should be taken as seriously as choosing a good doctor or a financial planner. Why is it so? Because you and your family’s life are in their hands!!

So who is this special couple I invited to dinner with us last night?  They are my insurance agents cum good friends, Jennifer and her adorable hubby, Cheah. 

I got to know them, during the time when I was desperately looking for a health insurance for my mum six years ago. When she was 70 years old, the health insurance company that I bought her medical insurance from, declined to renew her policy. I appealed several times basing on the fact that she is in excellent health and there was no claim over the years since inception but to no avail.  After much searching, I finally found that there was a medical plan at Prudential that will take her in at 70 and will cover her until she is 80. When I called the number, a lady picked up the phone and did not seem to know her job. I was disgusted and did not want to pursue further but then I could not find another insurance company (at that time) that will accept my mum.  I knew it is utmost important to have her covered because there is no way I would want to send her to the Government hospital should something happen to her. So, I decided to call Prudential again.  This time, I got Jennifer on the phone and I explained to her I needed a medical insurance for my mum who was already 70 years old and know what? She said it can be done as long as she is in good health. She made an immediate appointment with me to see my mum who was in Gopeng then. It was a two hours drive to go there from Kuala Lumpur.  Jennifer and Cheah came early in the morning two days later and drove me to Gopeng.  We met mum, let her sign the proposal form and took her straight away for medical check up on the same day.  Shortly after that, Jennifer got her covered! 

Jennifer is a dynamic and consentious insurance agent and a very sincere friend.

One would think that she will follow up to try to sell me and my family insurance policies but guess what? She did not. She and her hubby call periodically to say hello and to find out how my mum is doing. Eventually, we became friends and we always get together every now and then to have a good time eating, chatting and laughing. Whenever I needed advice on insurance matters including insurances I had that were not bought from them, they gladly render their help.  To me, their goal is not just focus on making money alone but to protect the life, the assets and the family of their clients. This is the type of insurance agent I want because I can be rest assured when I am not around, they are there to offer guidance and help to my love ones. 

Trust me, choosing the right insurance agent means you have someone you can trust, can confide in and who can guide you and your family through the maze of insurance protection. I have found mine, have you? 


For the longest time, my mum does not trust any insurance agent, but Jen and Cheah earned her trust and gain her friendship with their sincerity.

They bought my mum a jelly birthday cake to celebrate belated birthday with her.

Note: I am not involved in selling insurance or do I have a stake in Jennifer and Cheah’s Insurance company, I share my story because I was a victim of insurance bad faith. I hope my story will enlighten others to check the background of the insurance agent before making the decision to buy. Buying insurance from a bad agent is worst than not having one.

Now, are you curious what my guests requested my mum to cook for them last night?  


They specifically asked for Steam Salted fish with pork. 

These are the dishes mum cooked for them last night except she did not make the jelly cake.

Steam pork with salted fish is my mum's specialty and she would like to share her recipe with you.

Steam pork with salted fish

Ingredients:

300 gms sliced pork (about ½ cm thick)

50 gms young ginger finely diced.

40 gms salted fish, remove bone and lightly mashed)

1 tbs chopped garlic

2 tsp Chinese cooking wine

1 tbs sesame oil

2 tbs water

Marinate for pork:

(A)

1 tbs oyster sauce

½ cube chicken stock bullion, mashed

1 tsp sugar

2 tsp sesame oil

1 tbs corn flour

Method:

Marinate pork with (A) and place it in deep plate. Stir fry garlic and ginger till fragrance and scoop them on to the pork. Using the same oil, fry the salted fish till it is light golden brown and put them on to the pork together with the sesame oil. Add 2 tbs water and Chinese cooking wine and mix well.  Bring water to boil in the steamer and place the plate of pork mixture to steam for about 30 minutes. 

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