Update News for March 2025

Here is a quick run-down on what you will find in this bulletin:

• • Richard Gilbert, Megacorp

  • Internet Engine Bug Progress

  • Lots of Redundancy

  • API Now Running New Internet Engine

  • Internet Engine Customers

  • Windows Bug Fixed

  • The DIS File Bug

  • Are You Using Pick 12 to UP SELL The Level Period?

  • Chasing and Fixing Bugs – Delay of Game

  • Our Current Programming Plans for 2025

These topics will be dealt with in more detail throughout this bulletin.

Richard Gilbert, MegacorpThis month we would like to give a shout out to Richard Gilbert, Compulife’s first subscriber in Canada (or the U.S.), having purchased Compulife at the end of 1982. Yes, Richard (Dick to his friends) and I are still working. It’s good that there is NO heavy lifting in either the insurance or software businesses which lets seniors like us continue to work as long as we want.

Each Friday, like clockwork, Richard publishes an email that he calls “Friday Smiles”. Each edition attaches four pdf files of jokes and humor (that’s “humour” in Canada) and often some additional humor in the body of emails. This past month contained some “tech support” material that had me laughing and nodding my head. Here were the best ones:

• Tech Support: ‘I need you to right-click on the Open Desktop.’

• Customer: ‘OK.’

• Tech Support: ‘Did you get a pop-up menu?’

• Customer: ‘No.’

• Tech Support: ‘OK. Right-Click again. Do you see a pop-up menu?’

• Customer: ‘No.’

• Tech Support: ‘OK, sir. Can you tell me what you have done up until this point?’

• Customer: ‘Sure. You told me to write ‘click’ and I wrote ‘click’.’

• Tech Support: ‘OK. At the bottom left hand side of your screen, can you see the ‘OK’ button displayed?’

• Customer: ‘Wow! How can you see my screen from there?

Caller: ‘I deleted a file from my PC last week and I just realized that I need it. So, if I turn my system clock back two weeks will I get my file back again?’

 

Thankfully, those examples do NOT represent most of our customers, but every once in a while…

If you would like to have a little smile on Friday mornings, send Richard an email at:

Tell him that Bob from Compulife sent you and that you would really like to be added to the Friday Smiles email list.

IMPORTANT NOTE:   I shared a draft of this bulletin with Richard who wanted to emphasize that the material in his Friday Smiles emails are from contributions made by his readers. He is hoping that if you add your email to the list, and begin receiving them, that you will also keep him in mind when you come across material that would be a good fit for Friday Smiles. I suggest signing up, see what it looks like, then share with Richard any funny material that you come across.

Internet Engine Bug ProgressIn the first week of February we replaced the internet engine on our web quote websites, and our Compulife Mobile websites. In total that’s 4 sites, a pair for Canada and another pair for the U.S. All four of those sites/services have run consistently for the month of February, so we believe our internet program issues are almost behind us.

Lots of RedundancyYou should know that we spend more money than most for internet servers to ensure as much redundancy as possible. If any of those four aforementioned sites go down, for whatever reason, we should still be OK on the other three.

Committing everything to ONE server and one website is risky business, particularly if that site goes down. When that happens (that’s when not if) everyone is calling because everyone is out of action.

For me, going to a “cloud system” is NOT a solution because the fact that one site has multiple copies of your site on multiple computers, does not help you if the “cloud system” itself fails. When the cloud concept was first being marketed I had an immediate allergic reaction. I didn’t think it was the solution that was being promised and I still don’t. Nothing beats separate domain names, for separate sites, on separate servers. One going down does NOT impact the others.

With Compulife’s web quoting options you have multiple services, on multiple servers, using multiple web addresses. This means that if there is a hardware/software failure on one, our entire operations on the internet are NOT down.

NOTE:   My distrust of web based programming and services are why Compulife will NOT abandon PC software, at least while I am still on the planet. No matter what happens to the internet, you can still get a quote from your PC as long as you have the electricity to run your PC.

Speaking of electricity, I bought one of these this month, because I thought it was a pretty good deal:

The reason I like that particular UPS is because the TWO batteries that provide the UPS with its backup power are the same batteries that are used for most mobility scooters. Lots of those are available and they sell for less than $30 each. I know because I used to buy them for the grandkids’ prego toys. Generally the batteries are the only thing that goes bad in these over time, and having a generic battery system keeps the cost of repair/replacement low. Changing the batteries in that UPS is a do-it-yourself job with lots of videos on YouTube to show you how.

BACK TO THE WEB:   We have four separate servers/websites that provide updates for your PC software. If one does not work, the software will search for another (assuming your PC is connected to the web). But the web is only used for PC updates. The web is NOT required to be able to run a quote on your PC.

API Now Running New Internet EngineThere is a fifth and final web service that we have for providing quotes on the internet. That is our API service. Currently Canada and the U.S. run from the same server for that service, simply as the number of Canadian customers purchasing the API service is relatively small by contrast to the number of American customers. At some point this will be divided, but currently Canadians benefit from U.S. use in that if there is an interruption in the service, it is usually the U.S. that is first to report it. Once the issue is resolved, the service is back up for everyone. Volume use is the other issue that we monitor. In the event that we believe API volume is beginning to hurt performance, we will contemplate another server. All that to say that the API service is all running on one server at this time.

Having said that, on Monday, February 17th the engine we use for our API was updated to the new engine. For two days we had no reports of problems or issues which was good. Unfortunately, on Wednesday morning, February 19th, we received a call from an agent who uses www.term4sale.com to say that the site was not working. Term4Sale uses the API, and given the high volume of Term4Sale usage in the U.S., if there is an issue with the API that is usually the first service that generates a call from a user reporting a problem; as was the case this time.

NOTE:   Given the number of API users, all of which rely upon the API service, it is why we have term4sale running on that service. Term4sale is the “canary in the coal mine”. If there is an issue there, we hope to be able to act quickly to get it resolved so as to minimize any interruptions in service for other customers.

The new engine did resolve one error issue that we had been having with the program running on the server, but the latest update appeared to have introduced another error. The error was not in the engine, but rather in its ability to run on the server in the API environment. With the API the engine is surrounded by other computer programs that do the work of translating requests to the engine so that the engine can process the requests. The API then packages the results and returns them to the customer in json format. All of that activity is logged and monitored to ensure that it is licensed use and that we are not being pirated. We also monitor volume use as the API service pricing is volume based.

As of the writing of this bulletin, we are continuing to monitor the situation closely, and trying to get a better idea of what may be causing the new problem. Until that is resolved, we know HOW to reset the system to keep the service up and running. If you are an API customer, and you have ANY interruption, please send an email to service@compulife.com.

Once this API problem is solved, that will complete the updating of the engine to all our servers which provide our own web quoting services.

Internet Engine CustomersThe only “OLD” engines still in use are those subscribers who use the internet engine on their own servers.

If you are an internet engine user, there is NO need to update at this time. The old engine is working just fine. If all goes to plan, the need to update the engine will come when we begin the process of moving to the new data structure which will not happen until next year at the earliest.

Windows Bug FixedDuring February we also had a repair to a renewal premium issue that showed up in multi-life quotes. The bug was specific to term insurance quotes for a Canadian company that offers a level premium renewal to age 100 at the first renewal after age 77. It’s not very likely anyone would actually still be buying that policy at that age. It is also very unlikely that anyone would be paying YRT renewal premiums for any of the U.S. or Canadian products that change to YRT renewals. Regardless, it is still important that people get correct information about the future costs of their insurance policies to make informed decisions today.

NOTE:   This bug has nothing to do with the internet engine that our subscribers use, it only affected the PC version and the engine we use for our own Compulife Mobile service. At this point multi-life quotes are NOT something that we plan to do with the engine in the future.

Are You Using Pick 12 to UP SELL The Level Period?When it comes to future (rising) insurance costs, most consumers are just plain ignorant. That’s why we introduced Pick 12, to make it easy to show what happens to the future costs of various term and permanent plans. Insurance buyers need to think about how long they will need the coverage. Most important, the insurance buyer needs to think about the problem of having a policy that will eventually have increasing renewal premiums at the same time as they continue to need that insurance coverage.

In that regard, did you know you can do a 2 page quote (showing renewals much longer) with Pick 12? That makes a VERY effective quote if you are showing a level period longer than 30 years, or including a permanent product. Here’s a sample so you can see what we are talking about:

We think that sort of quote will underline for your client that a “short term” solution is NO solution if your client is going to need the insurance beyond the initial level period. And as you look at those renewals on the bottom of page 1, and especially look at the renewals on page 2, that higher priced permanent policy (the 5th product in the quote) starts looking like a much more reasonable option for those who need insurance WHEN they die, NOT IF they die.

I was tempted to include a non-renewable product in the Pick 12 example, but I did not want to muddy the point I was trying to make. You will notice that there are now a number of companies for whom we do not quote renewals. This is because there are companies who have adopted the practice of transforming their level term products into decreasing term products at the renewal following the level period. Compulife considers ANY product that no longer provides the option of keeping the original level face amount, to no longer be renewable. It is unreasonable to try to compare costs of two or more insurance products when the death benefit coverage that they are providing is no longer the same.

Further, in an inflationary economy (and inflation is here to stay) the level death benefit of ANY insurance product is already a decreasing face amount because the present value of that level face amount is diminishing with inflation. Oh sure, the million dollars is still a million dollars, it’s just that a million dollars is NOT what it used to be. If a consumer buys a 40 year term plan, or a permanent policy, it will be worth much less in today’s money as you get further down the road. The good news is that the present value of the premium is also going down at the same time, for the same reason, and on the same inflationary basis.

And finally, some will make the same argument for products that are non-convertible when compared with products that are convertible. While I acknowledge the point, and discuss it at our own public site term4sale, I think the basic and fundamental coverage of any term policy is the death benefit. Conversion is a secondary issue (not unimportant) and something that each agent needs to explain to their insurance prospect or client. Because conversion provisions are NOT uniform from company to company, and because it is not just a simple matter of how long a product is convertible, it is impossible for us to provide adequate information to make any decision about the comparable conversion benefits between any two products, beyond identifying products that are NOT convertible. On the other hand, if there are two products with comparable prices, one with conversion and one without conversion, it stands to simple reason that conversion is the better way to go. And to underline that point, there are some companies offering both options, one without conversion, and one with conversion. In those examples the product with conversion costs more. It is clear that conversion is an option worth money, and having it is better than not having it.

Chasing and Fixing Bugs – Delay of GameThe good news is that we have been successfully fixing problems with the software; the bad news is that this continues to delay our getting back to work on CQS.EXE. The strategy for moving forward has NOT changed, we just need to make sure that our current systems are bug free before returning to work on the new systems that will eventually replace those old systems.

If you want a run down on the strategy, you can go back and read the February Bulletin (or any other past bulletin) on this web page:

Our Current Programming Plans for 2025The following is the current order for new work that we will be doing in 2025:

• • Introduction of New PC Version: CQS.EXE.

• • Overhaul Of Current Product Data Files.

• Introduction of Compulife Mobile* Plus (with Pick 12).

Anyone with questions about any of these upcoming projects can call Bob Barney to discuss:

Please don’t email me essay questions; just call. If I’m not in, email me your phone number, I’ll call you.

These planned objectives will easily consume our programming time during the balance of this year and throughout 2025. The good news is that once the product data files have been converted, and we have introduced the new CQS.EXE, and upgraded our internet engine to use the new data files, Compulife will be turning its full attention to our web based, Compulife Mobile software. The long term goal is to have a web based product that does everything our PC based software does.