I have just returned from a 4 day business trip to Jakarta. After clearing my stack of incoming mail, I have now obtained a total of 210 signatures for the Collective Protest. It is quite tedious work as many of the forms contain only 1 or 2 signatures.
There are many individual messages of support from policyholders. I apologise for not being able to reply to you individually.
Some of the sigantures are now being sent by pdf to me at kinlian@gmail.com. A few forms contained many signatures (which is what I need most!)
I hope that those who have responded earlier to me, can help to get more signatures from your family, friends and colleagues. You can scan and send by e-mail to me. I need your help to achieve the target of 1,000 signatures by 25 May (which is just 10 days away).
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Inconsiderate Practices
I have encountered many businesses with these inconsiderate practices:
1. Detailed survey form containing more than 30 questions
2. Do not reply to your feedback or questions, submitted through their feedback channel.
These businesses are not genuinely interested in their customers. They only want to make a "show".
Some businesses require a lot of details to be provided in their business form and website forms. They take a long time to complete. Often, several of the information are not necessary for the transaction. It creates an unncessary hassle for the customer.
1. Detailed survey form containing more than 30 questions
2. Do not reply to your feedback or questions, submitted through their feedback channel.
These businesses are not genuinely interested in their customers. They only want to make a "show".
Some businesses require a lot of details to be provided in their business form and website forms. They take a long time to complete. Often, several of the information are not necessary for the transaction. It creates an unncessary hassle for the customer.
Low cost Investment Linked Policy
Dear Mr. Tan
You mentioned few attributes of good financial products, can you recommend specially those available in the market? I received a brochure from an insurance company that sells a financial product that is similar to what you mentioned, low fee. What do you think of that?
REPLY
You have to check the "allocation rates" of the investment linked policy, which is a form of upfront charge.
Read this FAQ:
http://www.tankinlian.com/faq/ilp.html
You mentioned few attributes of good financial products, can you recommend specially those available in the market? I received a brochure from an insurance company that sells a financial product that is similar to what you mentioned, low fee. What do you think of that?
REPLY
You have to check the "allocation rates" of the investment linked policy, which is a form of upfront charge.
Read this FAQ:
http://www.tankinlian.com/faq/ilp.html
Term Insurance
1) For term insurance, does the insurance company take into account the health condition of the insured?
Reply: The life insurance company will increase the premium rate for a person who is in poor health. The standard rate apply to a healthy person.
2) I've bought a 10-year term insurance in place of a mortagage insurance just to cover my loan in case of mishap. But i've read somewhere that term insurance should be around 20 - 25 years, is my 10-year term, which is in line with my loan tenure, too short? I'm almost 40.
Reply: It is all right to buy a term insurance policy for the duration to cover a mortgage loan. You can buy a separate term insurance policy to cover the loss of earnings up to, say ,age 65 years.
Reply: The life insurance company will increase the premium rate for a person who is in poor health. The standard rate apply to a healthy person.
2) I've bought a 10-year term insurance in place of a mortagage insurance just to cover my loan in case of mishap. But i've read somewhere that term insurance should be around 20 - 25 years, is my 10-year term, which is in line with my loan tenure, too short? I'm almost 40.
Reply: It is all right to buy a term insurance policy for the duration to cover a mortgage loan. You can buy a separate term insurance policy to cover the loss of earnings up to, say ,age 65 years.
Buy a life annuity later
Dear Mr. Tan,
I am 48 yr of age. I am comtemplating to buy an annuity now, the payout to start from, maybe 55 or 60 yrs onwards. I found the payout be be exceedingly low. For a $100K annuity, the guarantee payout is about $400 per month plus an non-guaranteed amount for the rest of the life. A little calculation shows the breakeven for the investment is about 25 to 30yrs, hardly seemed worthwhile, not factoring inflation yet. May I have your advise on the investment?
REPLY
I suggest that you invest in a low cost investment fund for the next 10 to 20 years and find a right time, when the market is high, to convert into a life annuity when you are older, say from age 60 to 70 years.
Read this FAQ:http://www.tankinlian.com/faq/savings.html
I am 48 yr of age. I am comtemplating to buy an annuity now, the payout to start from, maybe 55 or 60 yrs onwards. I found the payout be be exceedingly low. For a $100K annuity, the guarantee payout is about $400 per month plus an non-guaranteed amount for the rest of the life. A little calculation shows the breakeven for the investment is about 25 to 30yrs, hardly seemed worthwhile, not factoring inflation yet. May I have your advise on the investment?
REPLY
I suggest that you invest in a low cost investment fund for the next 10 to 20 years and find a right time, when the market is high, to convert into a life annuity when you are older, say from age 60 to 70 years.
Read this FAQ:http://www.tankinlian.com/faq/savings.html
Monday, May 12, 2008
Travel and term insurance
Dear Mr Tan
Even though you have retired, you still make yourself available for help for those who need you.
For my family year end vacation, I usually purchase travel insurance from either AIA or NTUC. Can I buy both? Is it an offence to do so?
When someone buy life or term insurance for many years, will the insurance firm pay when he is sentenced to death for capital offences?
Many American insurance websites offer cheap term life from reliable insurance firms. Can Singaporeans purchase these insurance? Is there any laws prohibiting us to buy from them?
REPLY
There is no point to buy travel insurance from two insurance companies. You can only claim for the actual amount of the loss. You cannot claim two times, even though you pay two premiums for travel insurance.
A term or life insurance policy pays for death from any reason, except for suicide in the first year. The family can claim for the death benefit on a term or life insurance policy for a person who is sentenced to death for capital punishment.
You can buy term insurance from the American website. Be sure that you have checked the reliability of the insurance firm. However, you may find some difficulty in making a claim due to difference in law. It is better to buy term insurance from a Singapore insurance company, even if the premium is slightly higher.
Even though you have retired, you still make yourself available for help for those who need you.
For my family year end vacation, I usually purchase travel insurance from either AIA or NTUC. Can I buy both? Is it an offence to do so?
When someone buy life or term insurance for many years, will the insurance firm pay when he is sentenced to death for capital offences?
Many American insurance websites offer cheap term life from reliable insurance firms. Can Singaporeans purchase these insurance? Is there any laws prohibiting us to buy from them?
REPLY
There is no point to buy travel insurance from two insurance companies. You can only claim for the actual amount of the loss. You cannot claim two times, even though you pay two premiums for travel insurance.
A term or life insurance policy pays for death from any reason, except for suicide in the first year. The family can claim for the death benefit on a term or life insurance policy for a person who is sentenced to death for capital punishment.
You can buy term insurance from the American website. Be sure that you have checked the reliability of the insurance firm. However, you may find some difficulty in making a claim due to difference in law. It is better to buy term insurance from a Singapore insurance company, even if the premium is slightly higher.
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Blog: Suggestions for improvements
I am posting suggestions for improvements through my blog. There are directed at various organisations, such as:
Starhub
Central Depository (CDP) or Singapore Exchange
Land Transport Authority
DBS
... and others
I hope that some employees of these organisations read my blog and will bring it up to their management. You can take it as your own suggestion. Let us together, reduce wastefulness, reduce cost and improve service.
I invite other readers to send their suggestions for improvements for posting in my blog. I also invite the respective organisations to send a reply to me for posting in my blog.
Starhub
Central Depository (CDP) or Singapore Exchange
Land Transport Authority
DBS
... and others
I hope that some employees of these organisations read my blog and will bring it up to their management. You can take it as your own suggestion. Let us together, reduce wastefulness, reduce cost and improve service.
I invite other readers to send their suggestions for improvements for posting in my blog. I also invite the respective organisations to send a reply to me for posting in my blog.
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