ExclusiveDeath and taxes, the cornerstones of a life in insurance for Alwin Lam

From a humble upbringing in Guandong, to the peak of the Hong Kong life insurance community, Alwin Lam shares his thinking on what has made the sector a vital ingredient in Hong Kong’s financial scene

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AIA honorary chairman Alwin Lam Mun-dart: from Manulife’s top salesman in the early ‘70s to a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Hong Kong Federation of Insurers last Tuesday. Photo: SCMP

Published: 5:33pm, 2 Sep 2018Updated: 9:22pm, 2 Sep 2018

It was former US President Benjamin Franklin who is credited with the much-coined adage penned in a 1789 letter that, “in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes”.

And rather smartly, legendary Hong Kong life insurer Alwin Lam Mun-dart says he stuck rigidly to those two key elements, to become the city’s top sales agent, when he first joined the sector nearly half a century ago.

Now AIA International’s honorary chairman, Lam was first blooded in the industry with Manulife, in 1970, and still well remembers how hard it was getting his first signature on a proposal form.

“Back then, many Chinese didn’t like to discuss anything related to death, which is considered to be unlucky. So it was tough selling them the idea of buying a policy to protect their family in case of their death.”

Alwin Lam Mun-dart, on the start of his career: “I told my clients that buying life insurance would help pass on the family wealth to the next generation, without having to worry about coming up with the cash to cover the cost of that tax.”

So he studiously avoiding overusing the ‘d’ word, focusing instead on taxes to sell the idea.

“When I first started, Hong Kong still had a 20 per cent estate duty. I told my clients that buying life insurance would help pass on the family wealth to the next generation, without having to worry about coming up with the cash to cover the cost of that tax.