Extract from the speech by chairman of Income, made at the annual general meeting on 30 June 2008:
Some policyholders have raised specific concerns on the special bonus in blogs. Allow me to address them.
> While special bonuses are not guaranteed, they are designed to ensure that the reduction in annual bonus is compensated. As I have indicated earlier, the new bonus structure is aimed at improving, the total payout to policyholders.
> Should the special bonus in future reduce due to adverse financial conditions, we are committed to restoring it when conditions improve.
> I have stated that this Board will look after the policyholders’ interests. Towards this end, the Board will ensure that the bonus allocated to policyholders result in payouts is fair and consistent with the experience of the Life Fund.
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Avoid switching to another high cost policy
Dear Mr. Tan,
I would like to seek your help and advice on the policies which i purchased from X a few years back. I am 25 years old and started work 2 years ago. I bought my first Protection policy in 2002. Later, I bought a Living policy in 2006.
Recently a few insurance agents advised me to terminate my policies with X. They said that I am paying a very high premium for my policies. Especially for the Living policy. Two agents from Y and Z offered an alternative policy at a lower premium.
I have been reading your blog and am curious if I am really paying a costly price for my policies under X? Due to the high living standard in Singapore, i would like to spend my money wisely and purchase the most competitive policy in the insurance market.
Should I terminate my policies with X and buy the policy recommended by Z? Is there any other alternatives which i can look into?
G
REPLY
As a general guide, you should not terminate a policy and buy a new policy from another agent. Each time that you buy a policy, the agent earns big commission that takes away two years of your savings. I suggest that you approach the insurance agent from X, and ask for his or her advice, on whether the agents from Y and Z are giving you proper advice.
If you wish to make a change, you should buy a low cost term insurance and invest your money in a low cost investment fund. Low cost means that there is no adviser who earns a lot of money from giving you the advice.
Read this FAQ:
http://www.tankinlian.com/faq/savings.html
I would like to seek your help and advice on the policies which i purchased from X a few years back. I am 25 years old and started work 2 years ago. I bought my first Protection policy in 2002. Later, I bought a Living policy in 2006.
Recently a few insurance agents advised me to terminate my policies with X. They said that I am paying a very high premium for my policies. Especially for the Living policy. Two agents from Y and Z offered an alternative policy at a lower premium.
I have been reading your blog and am curious if I am really paying a costly price for my policies under X? Due to the high living standard in Singapore, i would like to spend my money wisely and purchase the most competitive policy in the insurance market.
Should I terminate my policies with X and buy the policy recommended by Z? Is there any other alternatives which i can look into?
G
REPLY
As a general guide, you should not terminate a policy and buy a new policy from another agent. Each time that you buy a policy, the agent earns big commission that takes away two years of your savings. I suggest that you approach the insurance agent from X, and ask for his or her advice, on whether the agents from Y and Z are giving you proper advice.
If you wish to make a change, you should buy a low cost term insurance and invest your money in a low cost investment fund. Low cost means that there is no adviser who earns a lot of money from giving you the advice.
Read this FAQ:
http://www.tankinlian.com/faq/savings.html
Online Trading Platforms
Sir,
I refer to your blog entry on your subscribing to Fundsupermart: http://tankinlian.blogspot.com/2008/03/fundsupermart.html
I recommend that you check out the service provided by Phillips Capital (at http://www.poems.com.sg) as well. I have accounts on both, and I have noticed that POEMS sometimes has lower sale charges for their unit trusts. (I do not have vested interests in either companies and am speaking as an individual investor.)
As an example, Fundsupermart has a 2% sales charge for the DBS Shenton Global Opportunities fund. For POEMS, it is 1.5% (I think you need to have an account before you can see these details). Also, there are ways to get even lower charges on POEMS.
POEMS provides avenues to invest in ETFs in global markets and S'pore govt treasury bills, while Fundsupermart does not. Fundsupermart provides an avenue for investing in S'pore govt bonds, while POEMS does not.
One key downside about using POEMS is its (very) badly designed user interface, but I can live with that!
JT
I refer to your blog entry on your subscribing to Fundsupermart: http://tankinlian.blogspot.com/2008/03/fundsupermart.html
I recommend that you check out the service provided by Phillips Capital (at http://www.poems.com.sg) as well. I have accounts on both, and I have noticed that POEMS sometimes has lower sale charges for their unit trusts. (I do not have vested interests in either companies and am speaking as an individual investor.)
As an example, Fundsupermart has a 2% sales charge for the DBS Shenton Global Opportunities fund. For POEMS, it is 1.5% (I think you need to have an account before you can see these details). Also, there are ways to get even lower charges on POEMS.
POEMS provides avenues to invest in ETFs in global markets and S'pore govt treasury bills, while Fundsupermart does not. Fundsupermart provides an avenue for investing in S'pore govt bonds, while POEMS does not.
One key downside about using POEMS is its (very) badly designed user interface, but I can live with that!
JT
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