Tan Kin Lian's Blog: More than Insurance

Thursday, May 08, 2008

More than Insurance

POSTED IN ONLINE CITIZEN
http://www.theonlinecitizen.com/

What Mandy (post 51) said is similar to what Tan Suee Chieh said in his media interviews. So far, I have avoided commenting on what TSC said, to avoid interfering with his management.

If I remember correctly, the so called non-core businesses of Income (except for Snow City and Singapore Dress) did quite well over the years as follows:

> they were operated viably
> they contributed to the branding of NTUC Income
> most successful were the car sharing and home repair services

All of these businesses were started with the approval of the investment committee of the board of directors.

Snow City and Singapore Dress made a loss of perhaps $5 million in total. This is more than offset by the gains from other investment decisions made during my management. I have left a surplus of $650 million to my successor.

I am particularly annoyed that TSC mentioned in a Straits Times interview that he had to discontinue the funeral services business. I wish to ask TSC to tell how much money was lost on this non-core business (if it really existed).

I hope that people like Mandy (who could be a fictitious name) do not slander me unfairly.

14 comments:

Anonymous said...: You can see ntuc was different from the other compnaies in that it could provide other non insurance perks to policyholders and yet gave good coverage and return. This set ntuc
apart from the rest. Ntuc was a class by itself. Don't understand why new management wants to be like the others and follow their practice. It is puzzling, isn't it? I think this new team forgot that it has joined a cooperative. if this is the case it is dangerous to leave your money with team which is suffering from dementia or amnesia.; May 08, 2008 10:28 PM
Anonymous said...: This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.; May 08, 2008 10:41 PM
Tan Kin Lian said...: Can the person who posted the comment about the expensive office chairs (20 X $2,000) send evidence to me, to substantiate it.; May 08, 2008 10:56 PM
Anonymous said...: TSC told all of us that he only wants to concentrate on the insurance biz.

How come he is still keeping the carcoop biz and the home repair services? Didnt he says that insurance is the only core biz of NTUC?

He is contradicting himself by what he says and what he does.; May 08, 2008 10:56 PM
hongjun said...: Where can I read teh "speech" by TSC on his new direction for NTUC?; May 08, 2008 11:56 PM
Anonymous said...: It is cherry picking. Pick what is good and useful to you and condemn the rest. It is lies and half truths.
New management should be open about all this.
Its slogan of "make insurance make a difference" tells how narrow is his focus. This slogan is out of date and obsolete when others are moving to financial services . Maybe , can't blame him . He just came back from the past and still stuck in the time when he was ceo.
It is an illusion. Over the years the landscape has changed and he thinks the old model of the his old time"industry practice' is relevant today. No wonder he is resorting to bonus cut and thinking that we are still idiots at maths. Today we are using not just calculator but financial calculator.I hope he knows how to use because his agents don't know.; May 09, 2008 12:46 AM
Raymond T said...: This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.; May 09, 2008 7:23 AM
Anonymous said...: Mr Tan, i am a staff. I can confirm that the chairs indeed cost around $1k plus to $2k each.; May 09, 2008 9:12 AM
Anonymous said...: "Anybody know why he left Prudential?"

from http://income.com.sg/aboutus/releases/2007/feb21.asp :

In 1994, Mr Tan became Prudential’s first Asian CEO at the age 34. In 2001 he left for Columbia University in New York and completed his Masters in Social Organizational Psychology, with special interest in group and organisational dynamics, change management and conflict resolution.; May 09, 2008 10:36 AM
Anonymous said...: This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.; May 09, 2008 11:50 AM
Tan Kin Lian said...: I have deleted comments directed at a specific person on why he left a specific previous place. I wish to avoid being personal.; May 09, 2008 11:59 AM
Anonymous said...: Don't get too personal and start to attack TSC's character and worst family matter.

I hope the issue can be dealt with and not become personal attack on TSC.

I am not siding anyone, if this can come out in the open, I think TSC can sue for libel.

Be careful.; May 09, 2008 12:00 PM
Anonymous said...: I am also a staff and i can verify what was said about the $2k chairs are true.

Its about $1k plus to $2k lah. Only the board room has those chairs. I am not so sure about the numbers. But i think there are more than 20 chairs.

The board room is next to the CEO's room. As staff members, we are not allowed to hold our meetings there nor are we allow to enter the room without permission.

If you all happen to drop by during the AGM, do go to the 6th floor to take a look. But dunno whether the security guard guarding the floor will allow you to enter. haha.; May 09, 2008 12:06 PM
tatos@irc.rizon.net said...: "To a customer (policy holder) the most important thing is that whatever the company do, they (CUSTOMER) must not be negatively and directly affected. What NTUC INCOME did in cutting the annual bonus affects the customer now, directly and negatively. Tell me who (and I mean ordinary folks) wants to get something (terminal bonus) higher when it is in the distant future and not guaranteed?"

- I don't work for NTUC, not even banks, I don't even work in financial institutions mind you.

But here is something for you to think about:

Whats the most important thing for a Insurance Company to function? Reserves and proper risk management, risk-sharing, credit statuses, etc.

During most turbulent financial times in financial histories, it was the insurance contract which provided the most stable financial shelter for people, not the banks, While many banks failed and never reopened their doors, while stock crashed and crumbled, many lost their entire savings, most insurance companies survived intact, and mostly unscathed, it always happened in history, and repeat, and repeat.

Of cause this is Singapore, we live in a stable environment thus its hard for us to see such times happening, but the major reason is because Singaporean companies are more conservative in approach in investment and money management, much more so by Singaporean Insurance Companies, and thus able to avoid calamities, and come out top compared to other financial institutions.

If cutting bonus rates can preserve the integrity of the company, they can actually protect the bulk of their policyholder's savings from unnecessary exposure to market and bank volatility. This is the MAJOR point most people tend to forget.

When I think of people being 'tricked' by an Insurance Company (firstly cos I don't work in financial institutions), normally I think of something in the industry called 'concealment'. As in the policyholder are either not informed about guaranteed/non-guaranteed bonuses.

Let us not forget, investments have risks. No matter what kind, so don't take it for granted.

-gah I feel like a Naive Brat.; May 14, 2008 11:15 AM