What determines “helping others in need”? For local homeboy Benson Ng, he believes that it means helping others protect their loved ones - even when they’re gone. Only slightly pass his thirties, Benson is considered to be a master in his field despite only joining the insurance line for only five years. Before that, he served the RSAF as an Air Warfare Officer C3 AWO, protecting the skies of the nation.

In 2015, Benson took the leap of faith to pursue his next dream to better the lives of others and that’s when he chanced upon the insurance line. Benson’s clientele includes people from all walks of life looking at means to protect themselves and their loved ones if anything were to happen to them one day.

What made you decide to make the big jump to join the financial industry?

I remember when I was in OCS (Officer Cadet School), we were told to take a small test where we had to list our top 10 greatest moments in our lives. From there, we slowly eliminated each moment to find out what brought us the most joy. I learned that my top joy comes from spreading joy and helping people.

I slowly realised that through my years being a regular, my passion to help people at a personal level was limited so the moment I finished my bond, I stepped into this line.

With insurance evolving through the years, how do you feel that the market has changed as compared to the past?

I feel that the youngsters these days are more educated and financially literate, and besides, even the government is actively promoting getting sufficient coverage. Only a fool would reject getting insurance. Therefore it isn't as bad as the past.

However, there are still a lot of agents out there peddling products and not showing enough concern for the clients’ cash flow and near term commitments. Therefore I always believe in empowering my clients with the right knowledge and coupled with having conversations that share with people the vast experiences (life lessons) which I've gathered from my clientele from all walks of life so that they don't have to make the same mistakes.

For you to be so passionate, has any life examples impacted this fire within?

When I was serving the RSAF, I had a very close comrade who was planning for his wedding in a few months. He got the news that his mum was diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer and the estimated medical bills were almost $800k. His mum had only bought insurance with a coverage of $300k and he ended up contemplating if he should cancel his wedding just to free up that money to pay for the medical bills.

I ended up advising them on the kinds of solutions they could have. Through that, I realised that many things come unexpected and with proper financial planning, such things may not come as a huge blow when it really happens. If I could offer that help of being prepared for the unexpected, I was willing to do so.

I’ve also seen many friends with a combined family income of $400-500k but without any savings versus friends with a $4-5k income per month with much savings. All these situations can be prevented or worked towards with financial planning.

What would you say to those who still do not believe in insurance as it is paying for something that may or may not happen?

I believe everyone has their own views and I respect that. It’s true that your monthly premium is paying for something that may or may not happen.

But what if it happens?

For example, the recent COVID-19 has had everyone scrambling for insurance policies as the number of infected cases started to rise rapidly. Only when things happen that we start to really feel the panic - that’s human. But amidst all these panic, at least you know if anything were to happen to you, your family and yourself will be properly covered and monetary issues will be the least of your worries.

I will educate and share with them the risks they are exposed to. Honestly, there are only three things that can happen. One, nothing happens and they continue to believe that insurance is unimportant. Two, someone close may come with a mishap then they’ll learn the importance. Three, something might happen to them but it’ll be too late when that happens.

Many referrals keep coming back to you. How do you manage to value-add to your existing clients?

I try to value add and keep myself updated to the current market and forward relevant articles or news that might impact my clients and share with them my views consistently.

My approach is not to sell, but to educate. I educate on the importance of insurance, and I always believe clients shouldn’t overspend on insurance. Otherwise, they would just end up over-committing and over-spending.

Benson with a team of volunteers for the YMCA

Apart from safeguarding his clients’ interests 24/7, Benson also regularly finds time in his busy schedule to help people in other ways. Together with his girlfriend, they organise camps whenever they have pockets of time for the less fortunate, “always remembering to give back to the society that provided for us.” Their volunteer work includes camps for the intellectually disabled children under YMCA and also taking part in cooking and giving out food under Willing Hearts.