Don't we all need to hear it?

I kinda don't. I tend to feel that actions speak louder than words, and I don't pay attention to words very much. That said, just because the way you feel is different from the way he feels doesn't make your feelings wrong or invalid. If you need verbal reurance, it's not up to him to declare that you "shouldn't" need it. Seems like a compromise would be easily achieved by you paying more attention, and giving more weight, to non-verbal expressions of love, and by him making an effort to reaffirm his feelings verbally every once in a while.