Success is no accident. It entails hard work, perseverance, learning, sacrifice and most of all, love for what you do. Oftentimes, those who are unsuccessful often feel trapped, whether in a dead-end career or otherwise. Sometimes, a 180-degree turn or turning to a different direction, can do wonders.
Nina Solomon, a Senior Executive Advisor and a Unit Manager in Philam Life, did one such transition. She dared to reinvent herself and found a place where she can excel.
Before joining the corporate world, she manned and managed the fruit wholesale business of her mother in Divisoria for 10 years. Her good handling of the business made it profitable, but she yearned for something else. She wanted to have a career where she can feel fulfilled. Then a friend told her about the Philam Life insurance business, and she was drawn to it.
It all started-off as a way to reinvent herself, patterning herself mostly after fashionable colleagues on how to look professional, smart and elegant. But it eventually turned into a passion to share the importance of financial literacy. As she began attending trainings, she realized the value of the protection coverage and the benefits that financial products can offer to clients.
“I remember one client of mine who showed me a picture of his family and made me promise that if something happens to him, I will take care of his family – that struck me the most. I felt that I am responsible for my clients and that I should take this career seriously,” said Solomon.
Nina’s respect for the need for financial literacy and planning went beyond training. She experienced firsthand how proper financial planning for life’s uncertainties helped out when a great tragedy struck her: Her beloved husband passed away unexpectedly.
“It was 2006, a day after his birthday. He was brought to the hospital for extreme headache. His blood tests were abnormally high and the doctor suspected either Dengue, Leukemia or a blood infection. I remember how he, in great pain, leaned on me as we waited for test results. Later, it was confirmed he had acute Leukemia,” said Solomon.
Being married for 23 years, Nina did not find it easy to regain her strength and face life’s journey single-handedly. But she found strength to go on with the love and support from her Philam Life family and her drive to fulfill her mission to her clients, whom she treated as family. To date, she has around 800 clients.
“My clients hang on to me. I can’t give up on them,” she said.
A new challenge was given to her by her managers - “What if you duplicate yourself?” She leads 25 Financial Advisors on her first year as unit manager, with ages ranging from the millennials to what they jokingly refer to as “may linya” (with facial lines). “They are the kids I never had,” she enthused.
Nina Solomon has been a Philam Life Financial Advisor for 20 years now. More than ever, she feels excited to fulfill her mission to her clients and to her new mentees. She teaches the value of excellence and passion as key to success.
She has been a member of the Million Dollar Round Table (MDRT), a prestigious global organization of high-performing financial advisors, for 19 years; Court of the Table for six years; and Top of the Table for one year. She has also attended the President’s Club in New York, just one of her many all-expenses-paid travels around the world given by Philam Life.
Aside from her mission to spread the good news of financial literacy, Nina also serves as president of Foundation for Professional Training, Inc. This is an organization that sends indigent female students to a two-year course in Hotel and Restaurant Management, where 100% of students get employed after graduation.
Philam Life is the country’s premier life insurance company. It is a member of the AIA Group, the second largest life insurer in the world, and the top MDRT Company worldwide for two consecutive years.
Like Nina, anyone can make a turnaround in their life by choosing to take action, to try-out opportunities, or to find their passion and purpose in life. And when they do, success comes without them realizing it.
To know more about this career option, visit www.philamlife.com
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About Philam Life
The Philippine American Life and General Insurance (Philam Life) Company is the country’s premier life insurance company. Established on 21 June 1947, Philam Life has earned the trust of customers for its financial strength, strong brand name, and ability to deliver on its promises.
Philam Life has PHP236.4 billion in total assets as of 31 December 2015 and has delivered timely payouts of over PHP10 billion in education benefits (2004-2015) and over PHP131 billion in insurance benefits (1950-2015), while serving close to 600,000 individual policyholders and over 2 million insured group members.
Philam Life understands the real life needs of its customers and provides the right plans and the right solutions including life protection, health insurance, savings, education, retirement, investment, group and credit life insurance. It also offers bancassurance and fund management products and services through its subsidiaries – BPI Philam Life Assurance Company (BPI-Philam) and Philam Asset Management Inc. (PAMI).
Philam Life is a member of AIA Group Limited, the largest independent publicly listed pan-Asian life insurance group.
About AIA
AIA Group Limited and its subsidiaries (collectively “AIA” or the “Group”) comprise the largest independent publicly listed pan-Asian life insurance group. It has a presence in 18 markets in Asia-Pacific – wholly-owned branches and subsidiaries in Hong Kong, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, China, Korea, the Philippines, Australia, Indonesia, Taiwan, Vietnam, New Zealand, Macau, Brunei, a 97 per cent subsidiary in Sri Lanka, a 49 per cent joint venture in India and representative offices in Myanmar and Cambodia.
The business that is now AIA was first established in Shanghai almost a century ago. It is a market leader in the Asia-Pacific region (ex-Japan) based on life insurance premiums and holds leading positions across the majority of its markets. It had total assets of US$181 billion as of 31 May 2016.
AIA meets the long-term savings and protection needs of individuals by offering a range of products and services including life insurance, accident and health insurance and savings plans. The Group also provides employee benefits, credit life and pension services to corporate clients. Through an extensive network of agents, partners and employees across Asia-Pacific, AIA serves the holders of more than 29 million individual policies and over 16 million participating members of group insurance schemes.
AIA Group Limited is listed on the Main Board of The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited under the stock code “1299” with American Depositary Receipts (Level 1) traded on the over-the-counter market (ticker symbol: “AAGIY”).
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