In 2000 got my non-life insurance license when I was enjoined by some friends to try it, attended a full course in General Non-Life Insurance with a grade that did not require me to take the regular examination from the Insurance Commission. After a few months, the company, Country Bankers Insurance Corporation, through some boss asked me to give a report on how much income I was able to generate for the company. Even I was surprised after final auditing that it has reached plus or minus a million pesos at the time. I was lucky then an overseas employment company got all their repatriation insurances for their OFWs from me, aside from many other non-life insurance businesses.
Tried my luck in another field, real estate because heard agents make good money in selling properties so I applied and was accepted and from a short stint in a company, applied again to another. Through trial and error with no mentor, I learned the ropes of the trade.
Then a friend mentioned of a real estate seminar in Makati and suggested that I try it just to learn more. For only about P5,000 or so for a price, tried the course, attended several sessions not knowing that on the following Sunday there will be an exam! An exam? My seminar classmates were talking of an exam and had no idea what this exam was all about. Learned that it was a DTI exam for some licensure or something. Geesh, and to think there were days I was absent from the seminar and there will be an exam! I was very sure I would fail but as a "practice" for when I take my real exam when I'm ready next time, crammed for the remaining 3-4 days, took that Sunday exam and forgot all about it. But lo and behold, after a few months or so, got a letter from the mail saying that I passed the exam, couldn't believe it! From then on, I became a "Real Estate Broker" and availed of the "grandfather clause" to become PRC-licensed.
From time to time though, there was a need for non-life insurance and renewals from old clients. Continued to renew sucn non-life insurance license and pay PTR every year since I got that license and paid the heftiest penalty for the years PTRs were not paid. Then just offered surety bonds to friends.
At this point, the requests for surety bonds for licensed brokers and appraisers increased, and so were other calls on other non-life insurance requirements. Today I decided to revive this business, maybe put more attention to it, after all I have every right to sell it with my license.
Lost some interest on this biz for a while, but now incorporating it with my real estate business and letting my friends know. It's good to be busy with business again after being burned out with cramming on a different field -- Environmental Planning. For 2 weeks, managed to squeeze in information needed to pass that exam. Lost momentum in business, and only these past days getting the inspiration to keep going with business again. Yeah, I think I got back my mojo.
Photos credit to owners -- CTTO
