Thursday, July 02, 2009
Vista Plan (from Zurich)
Only 3 policyholders replied to my survey on the Vista plan. I have given the contact details to these respondents to contact each other, and decide on their action.
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3 comments:
I am a client of Zurich, having taken out their Vista plan in 2005. I am VERY SATISFIED with this plan and I know its workings.
I work in IT Sales, so as a fellow salesman I feel I must speak for the financial adviser’s who have advised me since I took it out.
I see negative feedback on this blog (and others) - unfortunately the way of the world. I came across these whilst searching for a link to send my colleague.
If you have a bad meal in a restaurant, you’re more likely to tell people than if you have a good one. I would like to break with this tradition as the Vista plan has been a satisfying “meal” for ME.
I'm originally from the UK but have lived and worked in Dubai, Hong Kong and now Singapore since 2003. The IT company I work for produces accounting software for financial services companies. YES I am aware that the financial services industry makes tidy profits from its customers (as do lawyers and dentists).
I sat down with a financial adviser in late 2004 (in Dubai) as, after 12 months of being away from the UK, I realised I'd made no pension contributions since leaving. I was earning more money than when I lived in the UK but was also spending all my surplus. I needed a review of my financial planning but mostly someone to instill savings discipline into me. I contacted a friend who was a financial adviser in the UK and he recommended a former colleague of his who was in the same line in Dubai.
After reviewing my current planning and future plans, he recommended Life and Critical Illness coverage (I have 2 young children, a mortgage and my wife is a full time mother so this was an easy decision) as well as the Zurich Vista plan to use as a retirement vehicle. I was given a number of glossy brochures and told to read them and highlight any areas where I had questions. The benefits for MY NEEDS were explained (disciplined saving, a portable product, flexibility in savings amounts, multi currency and ease of management). On top of this I was to get a bonus in the first 12 months.
We met 2 weeks later, I asked questions about the premiums paid in the first 18 months (I was slightly uneasy about these being secured in the plan until the end date). Keith (the adviser) explained that the benefits (discounted entry into the investment funds being the clincher) were my “private banking” type reward for maintaining this minimum balance throughout my 24 year relationship with Zurich. He clearly explained that this was long-term planning and not designed for someone saving over a 2-3 years. I had a few other questions about making the monthly payments from my Sterling bank account in Jersey which he answered and I became a Zurich client.
I left Dubai in July 2007 and Keith put me in touch with a colleague in his Hong Kong office who helped me set up a HK bank account (where my salary would now be paid) and also on how to change the payment method on the Zurich plan to come from this account. This was seamless and free of charge.
I stayed in HK for 14 months before I moved to Singapore to set up our office here and again I was referred to an adviser locally in Singapore. I was now paid in Singapore and set up a Giro to pay premiums on the Zurich plan. Again free of charge. I recently rebalanced my portfolio (I selected 2 funds my bank were marketing) and entered these at 100% investment (the bank were offering 97.5% investment).
In the 4+ years I have held my Zurich plan I have been impressed with both the product and the advisers I have worked with. The product does as I was told and read and I have never heard anything (from 3rd parties) that I wasn’t aware of. It does have it’s charges (nothing in this world is free) but they are less than 1.5% p.a. on average. For the benefits I get, I’m more than happy with the costs.
The product may not be right for everyone but it was right for ME. I was fortunate enough to deal with reputable advisory firms who were accountable for their advice.
Don’t believe everything negative you read and hear.
D. Allen
Opposing View and Attention!: Am glad to hear that others have fared well (so far) with Zurich Vista.
Not everyone (my friend included) was fully explained to, that if a payment is missed during the first 18 months, the plan value is ZERO! Yes, zero. Zilch.
My friend was retrenched after paying less than 18 STEEP payments. He was eventually given a 3 month deferral on installments, however, the penalty for missing a monthly payment is so high (found only in the small, confusing print - not explained to him verbally), he would NEVER have agreed to those terms over the duration of the plan nor would he KEEP putting his money into that sort of (unethical) plan.
My friend is the long process of trying to get HIS money back based on the lack of "fairness, transparency, and ethics".
Tan, my friend suspects the reason there aren't more anti-Vista commenters is the high pressure that the governing body (the 1st line of defense when trying to resolve a financial dispute) puts on Confidentiality. It's like a Catch-22.
Perhaps there are MANY more victims reading this in search of an answer, but who are afraid to comment because of the breech-of-confidentiality fallout.
Good luck to my friend and many more in his shoes.
-Your Friend
I would have to disagree with the opposing view - why would Zurich leave themselves open to potential complaints. I'm sure they have their compliance/legal teams who are paid to ensure the appropriate level of transparency is there for clients.
I'd further disagree on the grounds that a product sold in regulated jurisdictions (both HK and Singapore I believe) has to jump through the hoops the regulator puts in place to ensure the "man on the street" knows what they are entering into. This is because the regulator doesn't want the complaints.
I'm sure there are complaints that rule in favour of the complainant BUT on the flip side I'm sure there are complaints that go no further than, "I'm sorry, you purchased this in good faith (signed and saw x, y and z worded toward the "man on the street") and now your circumstances have changed you CANNOT hold your financial adviser and/or Zurich accountable."
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