Tan Kin Lian's Blog: Agent plays a useful role

Thursday, July 26, 2007

Agent plays a useful role

I use an agent actively to help me handle a transaction. The "agent" in this case, is:

* relationship manager assigned by the bank or my telco
* my stockbroker (remisier)

I have their personal contact number and e-mail address. I send my request to them by e-mail, SMS or a call. As they are familiar with the products and processes in their organisation, they can handle it easily for me.

The relationship manager earns a salary.

The stockbroker earns a modest rate of brokerage, maybe 0.15% of the value of the transaction. He earns a good income by having a high volume of business.

I hope, one day, that the insurance adviser can operate like a relationship manager or a stockbroker. They do not have to look for customers. The customers will contact them, if they need help.

The adviser can serve many customers, improve the productivity, and reduce the cost to the customer.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...: In US, Australia and UK the financial planners do not prospect customers like the insurance agents do here in Singapore.In UK, road shows are banned. Soliciting on the streets or any where outside their premises are considered hawking. They see them as no difference as street hookers.
Customers see their planners in the office for every area of their personal finance. They can range from debt management, risk management,divorce advice to structuring a portfolio for retirement or college funding.
They are professionals like lawyers, accountants and doctors well respected. No wonder in US financial planners are the highest
paid professional.. Insurance agents are at the bottom,very much
despised and distrusted as dishonest and incompetent.
We hope that day will come when financial planners can hold up with lawyers and accountants etc.; July 26, 2007 8:15 PM
Anonymous said...: It will take some time for this to materialise in Singapore. Reason being life insurance is still seller-driven. Most people will not buy unless approached by an agent. For stocks and investments, their business is buyer-driven, so it makes sense to have low commission but compensated by high volume; July 26, 2007 11:28 PM
Anonymous said...: Yesterday a friend was cursing and swearing that he was harassed by insurance agents despite telling them to back off. He shared that he no longer trusts them because they made a mess of his investment of $100K of his CPF money.I advised him to look for a good adviser with right qualifications.
If i am not mistaken there is something in place which disallows
sales people from calling customers at certain time and day. In US, sales people are not allowed to call their clients at the workplace and also at certain hour of the day.
Can someone recall what is this prohibition on sales people?; July 27, 2007 12:12 AM
Anonymous said...: Insurance agents should be barred from calling people's mobile. It is a nuisance especially when we are in the midst of something. calling our
home line isn't that bad but also must at the proper time when we are free. Insurance agents must be banned
soliciting at the roadside, mrt and shopping centre.They are so pestering and insistent .It is no difference to the china girls at geylang, like those reported in the press.; July 27, 2007 1:12 PM
Anonymous said...: The problem is that we cannot regulate the number of insurance agents in the market by force (so that the system can re-organize to an appropriate state)

If you do not like their service, tell him directly in a polite way and ask them not to approach you again.

I usually spend about 10-15 minutues with them to find out what they have to offer and to explain in a nice way why I do not need their service. Once clarified, they usually leave me alone. If I need time to do research, I'll ask them to call me back, say in a few weeks or even a month.

Be a part of the market force to fix the system!; July 28, 2007 10:38 AM
Anonymous said...: if we can highlight the rogue insurance agents we can create public awareness of what they should be looking at when engaging an agent. Those that pester are usually desperate for business,trying to meet certain quotas, some incentives or simply greedy.They do anything to get business.
To weed them out is to petition MAS to raise the bar. To conduct audits more often and to suspend and to ban them. Public education be conducted to make consumers aware of their rights, the recourse
to take when aggrieved.This way rogue insurance agents will be eliminated.; July 28, 2007 7:40 PM
Khiat Han Hwee Adrian said...: Sadly, Insurance professional are the worst sales job in the world.
Their job is actually very noble. They help the society by convicing people about insurance.

But they are badly despised and look down upon. They need to serve their customers for life like a lifetime warranty.
Nobody see them at work during claims and how they brought smiles to the families.

People treat them like a salesman despite the amount of knowledge they gained from whatever courses available.

As the authorities are trying to educate the public about Financial Planning, they should also upgrade the image of Insurance professionals. They are professionals, except that they are also wearing a sales cap.; July 29, 2007 2:04 AM
Anonymous said...: because they behave like salesman.
maybe you are but many are shield and spear salesman or koyok salesman.
They have glib tongue even the birds can be conned by them. CASE can testify to this. Every month hundreds of complaints are lodged against them.; July 30, 2007 1:12 PM
Thomas Phua's Blog said...: When a claim arises, whatever plan one has, wholelife, term or whatever and a large amount cheque is delivered to the insured.

Will one then say the Insurance agent is koyok salesman?

That is the time, the insurance agent is most appreciated, carring a $150,000 cheque for policy that is only inforce for few years.

Yes, say what you like, insurance agent do have a noble job.; August 06, 2007 12:06 AM
Anonymous said...: Is $150,000 what your client needed.
It might have been $500K. But because the insurance plan with cash value was more tempting , more commission that you ended up compromising his needs of $500K. So what the widower or the widow got the $150K. If it is a widow,and a middle aged one, she will have to start thinking about employment.What is the chance of getting employed. What if the deceased spouse had left what the family needed then there would not be problem like this.
The point is agents sell at the expense of client's protection.Insurance is not about something better than nothing. It is about meeting the needs of client.; August 08, 2007 11:14 PM
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