Tan Kin Lian's Blog: Premium rates for Term Insurance

Thursday, November 29, 2007

Premium rates for Term Insurance

Dear Mr. Tan,

My insurance agents are not keen to sell Term Insurance. They discourage me from buying term insurance. Their premium rates are not as attractive as those indicated in your FAQ.
Where can I get good term insurance rates?

REPLY

You have to call the insurance company directly.

According to a newspaper survey about a year ago, NTUC Income offers the most attractive premium rates. I am not sure if other insurance companies have since come forward with attractive rates. Perhaps you can try Aviva and AXA as well.

I have set out some indicative premium rates in the FAQ. They are not the actual rates that are being charged by any specific insurance company now. I have calculated them, based on the mortality experience in Singapore and with allowance for expenses.

If you find any insurance company that offers premium rates around the level indicated in my FAQ, you can accept them. Even if the premium rates are slightly higher, you will find that Term Insurance is quite affordable.

http://www.tankinlian.com/faq/term.html

4 comments:

Anonymous said...: Axa specialises in term plans only. There are some very competitive term but you should explore the other two named by Mr. Tan. Between the 3, you should be able to get the best. But my advice is don't be calculative because the difference in premium may not be very much. More importantly is to get one that meets your needs adequately. Often in our serch for the best especially among the low cost products, we miss the big picture and that is our needs.Don't over shop.; November 29, 2007 4:02 PM
Priyadi said...: "They discourage me from buying term insurance. Their premium rates are not as attractive as those indicated in your FAQ."

unlike plans with cash value, it is very easy to directly compare between a few different term products. on the other hand, it is almost impossible to compare between two plans with cash value! not without bothering your agents for several weeks, making several sheets of spreadsheet, and wasting precious time and energy in the process! most people just won't bother comparing plans and end up with an expensive plans. and some won't even notice how expensive the plan is.

if an agent tells you "term is not a good deal", it usually boils to "you don't get your money back with term". but that would only mean that he/she doesn't know basic understanding of time value of money, and we shouldn't expose our finances to these people.; November 29, 2007 4:36 PM
Anonymous said...: I wonder what are the authorities and the watch dog body doing. This is the best place to get feedback from the buying public. This is the place where they can see what is going in the market place. The rampant malpractices and daylight robberies are committed.; November 29, 2007 9:35 PM
Anonymous said...: you can try looking at safra group insurance. quite affordable and includes critical illness cover; November 29, 2007 11:53 PM