Chapter 52: Helping me is the same as helping yourself

Governor, I need you to do me a favour?

As Zhou Ming said these words, everyone still in the office was shocked. Governor Edward's entourage was surprised by Zhou Ming's rudeness and impudence, while Omar was surprised as to why Zhou Ming, who was usually very measured, would say such things. It was completely the tone of a superior giving an order to a subordinate. If Governor Edward had been in a bad mood, he would have even gotten up and left.

Could it be that Mr. Zhou Ming was in too much of a hurry and therefore confused?

With this thought in mind, Omar immediately stepped forward to help Zhou Ming explain, 'Uncle Edward, my friend is just a little nervous because he is meeting you for the first time, so his speech may not be up to par.'

However, Edward did not pay any attention to Omar's explanation, and just stared at Zhou Ming and asked, 'You say that you learned from Omar that I was coming here and then deliberately waited here for me? You don't want to chat with me, you just want me to do you a favor? You don't think that there is a serious problem with the way you speak, and most importantly, what makes you think that I will help you?'

'Because my problem is very important,' Ming said.

Edward laughed: "I understand, everyone will say their problem is important, just like children will always think their toys are the most important in the world. But do you know that Massachusetts is the centre of the New England region, where many things happen every day, and each one of them may be very important. What makes you think your problem is important?'

'Because my problem will affect the economic situation of Brighton and even Massachusetts as a whole!" Ming said.

With these words, Zhou Ming's entourage first froze, then burst out laughing. Even Edward shook his head helplessly, while Omar looked at Zhou Ming with concern. However, Zhou Ming remained unruffled: 'I know you will think I am naive for saying this to you, Mr. Governor. You may as well listen to what I have to say next.'

Edward shrugged, as if he found it very interesting, and gave Zhou Ming a gesture of invitation.

Seeing this gesture, Zhou Ming let out a sigh of relief and then said, 'First of all, I feel that I need to introduce myself. My name is Zhou Ming, and I am currently the chairman of Wharton Insurance Company, but I won't be for long because my Wharton Insurance Company has currently had all its assets frozen by the Department of Justice. At the same time, there was a mass food poisoning at Congressman Brooke's processing plant, and I need to pay the medical insurance claims.

'So you can't pay it now, and you hope that I can use state financial means to help you pay this medical insurance claim and help Wharton Insurance Company get through this difficult time, right?' Edward asked, picking up Zhou Ming's train of thought.

Zhou Ming nodded and said yes. Edward said, 'This is Brighton. Do you know how many insurance companies there are in Brighton alone? You can name more than 30, and there are countless more small insurance companies that you can't name. Do you think that if I have to use financial means every time an insurance company is unable to pay a claim, the state treasury will go bankrupt in no time?'

'Of course I understand, but I am not like other insurance companies,' Zhou Ming said.

Edward frowned and said angrily, 'I am only answering you because you are a friend of Omar and you helped him get involved in politics, so please be careful with your words.'

Obviously Edward's words were already a warning, but Zhou Ming still said without regard: 'Mr. Governor, my Wharton Insurance Company has launched a new type of financial insurance this year. Although the terms are complicated, put simply, it means that the policyholder buys an insurance policy from me. If no claims are made during the insured period, then the principal can be refunded after the insurance expires, and there is also a stable additional interest income.'

'Mr Zhou Ming, I'm not interested in insurance. Today is also when I'm talking to Omar. If you continue to ramble on about nonsense here, I'll ask you to leave!' Edward warned.

Zhou Ming continued, 'This kind of financial insurance has been sold 52,000 copies so far, with an insured amount of over 70 million US dollars. The total theoretical claim amount has already exceeded 20 billion US dollars. The interest alone that needs to be paid in five years will be over 40 million US dollars, and that's not including the principal, which will be 110 million US dollars.'

As Zhou Ming's last word fell, there was a sudden silence in the office. Everyone gasped in shock, and Edward's hand stopped in mid-air. He had originally wanted to ask Zhou Ming to leave, but now he could no longer find the words to say.

Even an ordinary person would involuntarily gasp when hearing the two figures of the insured amount of 70 million US dollars and the theoretical claim amount of over 20 billion US dollars. In a country as highly developed in finance as the United States, anyone would understand some economic principles, not to mention that everyone in this office is highly educated, at least with a bachelor's degree, and they can all understand what a terrifying thing this is.

If it were an ordinary person, they might say, isn't insurance just a matter of chance? Two hundred billion dollars is just a theoretical claim amount, how could it possibly be realised?

But no one wants it to be realised either, but as long as more than 10% of the amount is realised, it will be a big problem, not to mention that after the insurance expires, there is still 110 million in principal and interest to be paid, which will be an incredibly heavy burden for any insurance company.

'Damn it, are you Chinese crazy about making money? How could you design such an insurance product?' Edward angrily scolded.

Edward could not help but be angry, because from what he had just heard, this insurance product designed by Zhou Ming was basically an unpredictable financial bomb. Although it would not become a financial crisis, it would definitely cause great turbulence. More importantly, insurance companies are not allowed to go out of business, and no one will take over an insurance company that is clearly losing money. It can only be restructured by the state government using financial subsidies and then auctioned off.

In any case, the state treasury will have to pay the bill. Edward is a newly elected governor who is just beginning to realise his ambitions. Now Zhou Ming has suddenly dropped this financial bombshell, how can he not be anxious?

Governor Edward was furious and jumped up, but Zhou Ming, on the contrary, relaxed and leaned back on the sofa: 'Mr Governor, do you think this insurance product is not good? But in my opinion, it is likely to become the future development trend of insurance for the simple reason that people are profit-oriented. Imagine spending the same amount of money, on the one hand you can only buy an insurance policy, while on the other hand you can not only buy an insurance policy, but also participate in investment. Which one is more attractive? I think the answer is beyond doubt.'

'But this is a product that destroys the balance of insurance!' Edward said, 'It's true that people are profit-seeking, and it's also true that people will choose your kind of financial insurance. But this kind of insurance itself has huge security risks, and the insurance costs to be borne are really too high!'

'Mr. Governor, what you are saying is just the general situation, but insurance companies have been very important investment entities in the capital sector since a long time ago,' Zhou Ming said. 'Our Wharton Insurance Company has only received insured amounts of 70 million U.S. dollars, but the funds on the books of my Wharton Insurance Company have long since exceeded 100 million U.S. dollars.'

Edward let out an exclamation of interest: 'Is this the result of your investment?'

'Governor, you should say it is the result of the joint efforts of me and my company's traders,' Zhou Ming emphasised, before adding, 'Governor, you always emphasise reform in your usual speeches and interviews, so this kind of insurance product of mine is actually an important reform of the insurance industry and even the entire capital sector!'

'First of all, the development of this insurance product will directly push insurance companies to the capital market, changing their previous conservative attitude of sitting back and doing nothing. They will compete with fund companies and securities companies for a slice of the financial market. As a result, this will directly eliminate small insurance companies that are not strong enough or lack a spirit of innovation, completing a major reshuffle of the insurance industry.'

Zhou Ming continued, 'Since the law does not allow insurance companies to go bankrupt, the entire insurance industry will become increasingly regulated during the process of continuous mergers and reorganisations of insurance companies. This will also be very helpful for your healthcare reform, Mr Governor, because it will help you clear away the obstacles of the past, when there were too many insurance companies and they were all mixed together.'

Zhou Ming paused for a moment before concluding, 'It is for this reason that, Mr Governor, by helping me this time, you are also helping yourself!'

If Zhou Ming's previous words only made Edward feel a little interesting, then Zhou Ming's final words made him light up.

'Did you plan this long ago, or did you just make it up today on the spot and tell me on purpose?' Edward asked.

Zhou Ming smiled and replied, 'Governor, I don't think this question of yours is important, because whether it was a plan that had been thought out long ago or just nonsense made up on the spot, it doesn't affect its usefulness, does it?'

'That's true,' Edward said. "So now you can tell me about yourself. How much do you need from the state treasury to help pay the settlement?'

'Seven or eight million dollars," Ming continued. 'But the amount of the settlement is actually not important. What's important is why there is this settlement.'

'Why is that?' Edward asked cooperatively.

Zhou Ming replied to him, "Because of Senator Brooke. He first reported to the Department of Justice to freeze all the assets of Wharton Insurance Company, and then created a mass poisoning incident. His goal was to ruin my insurance company and then take over, so that he could directly interrupt the insurance company's market innovation. I have a strong feeling that this is a huge conspiracy against reform!'

Edward also frowned: "Senator Brooke? That's someone from the Adams family.'

Zhou Ming nodded in agreement with Edward, 'Yes, Governor, the judge who rejected the insurance company's request for an extension of the investigation just two days ago was Will Adams!'

After hearing Zhou Ming's answer, Edward was silent for a while before finally looking up at Zhou Ming and saying, 'In that case, I promise you that the settlement money needed by Wharton Insurance will be paid for by the state government's finances.'