Owen Xu

At first, insurance meant nothing to me

Mine wasn't a comfortable household. Growing up, the answer to what I wanted was usually "we can't afford it"; later, my university tuition was borrowed, loan by loan.

Back then insurance meant nothing to me — I only knew money had to be stretched. It took me a long time to see it: not daring to think about "what if" is itself a kind of being unprotected.

I stumbled into this industry

I came across Cheng Shiang at university. I had no strong feelings about the job at first — it just seemed like something you could do well at if you worked at it, and there was a free drink at the talk, so I went.

Not long after I started, the manager training me left for military service and vanished. I sat in the office on my own, not really knowing what I was supposed to do.

Then I met my current manager, and finally someone brought me up to speed. That first year I had almost nothing to show for it — no network, and I still didn't know how to talk to people about this.

The turning point: a client hurt by mis-selling

In my second year I earned the investment-linked insurance licence and started reviewing policies for people around me. Around then I met a client whose policies were nothing like what he thought he had bought. I sat with him, laid out every one, and worked through them item by item.

After that, the way I work changed: think about what this person needs first, then what I can offer. Reverse the order, and the whole job becomes something different.

Since then, I'd rather have fewer clients.