Insurance Business Attracts Former Athletes
By Kim Tae-gyu
Staff Reporter
Athletes appear to be attracted to the insurance business as many of them have tapped into the highly competitive sector both at home and abroad.
Lim Chun-ae might be the most outstanding example here. The triple gold medalist at the 1986 Asian Games in Seoul once worked for Samsung Life Insurance, the nation's foremost insurer.
Lim became a national heroine when the pale, frail-looking 17-year-old track star topped the podium three times at the Asian Games and got the honor of being one of the five final torch-bearers for the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games.
Married to a former football player, she joined Samsung Life as a salesperson in 1996 and worked for more than two years before leaving the job in early 1999 after she gave birth to twin sons.
``Lim chalked up a good performance. Maybe her reputation attracted customers, or maybe her experience overcoming challenges helped her. Anyway, she was a good staff member,'' a Samsung Life official said.
Kim Hyun-sook, a former women's national basketball team member, also waded into a tough job ― after spending 15 years on the court as a first-tier perimeter shooter, she joined Shinhan Life in 2000.
While working at Shinhan for about eight years, she was picked as manager of the year in 2004 and in 2007. Kim moved to Kyobo Life Insurance midway through last year.
Kim pointed out that insurance sales and basketball games share a host of features in common.
``Basketball games are about relationships with teammates. Insurance sales are about relationship with customers. Both require the same virtues of honesty, trust and love,'' Kim said.
``We analyze our clients before we meet them face-to-face, much like I did for our opponents. Sometimes I win and sometimes I lose, though the percentage of victories is much lower in insurance.''
Kim was able to remain emotionally resilient thanks to her sportsmanship even when potential customers refused to sign up for products recommended by her.
``Think of a football. A forward can score a goal after a number of failures. If I cannot persuade a customer this time around, it is okay. I will net the goal on the next attempt,'' Kim said.
Brad Bennett of Chartis in Korea, previously AIG General Insurance, is another example of an athlete who has transitioned to insurance ― he played minor league baseball in the United States for four years in the early 1980s.
As an outfielder, he failed to rack up impressive results. But his speed and patience were recognized by scouts, qualities that seemingly have something to do with his success in the insurance business.
Bennett originally started his financial career in 1986 at Allstate Insurance Company and moved to AIG in 1995. He took the helm of Chartis in Korea last November.