Tan Kin Lian's Blog: GreatLink Choice insurance products valued between 19.2 and 29.8 cents

Monday, August 03, 2009

GreatLink Choice insurance products valued between 19.2 and 29.8 cents

By S.Ramesh, Channel NewsAsia Posted: 03 August 2009 2151 hrs

SINGAPORE: Great Eastern Life's customers who have bought its GreatLink Choice investment-linked insurance products have started receiving letters to exercise the redemption offer made by the insurer.

Last Friday, Great Eastern announced that it would buy back S$594 million worth of GreatLink Choice products from 18,000 policyholders.

In the letter, the insurance company's managing director Mr Tan Hak Leh said the financial crisis has had an especially adverse impact on the market value of GreatLink Choice 3, 4 and 5 products.

The prices of these tranches as at June 30 this year were between S$0.192 and S$0.298 and they have a credit rating of CCC- (minus) from Standards and Poor's. Each unit was sold at S$1.

Great Eastern added that in view of the challenging market conditions, it has decided to make a one-time redemption offer to all GreatLink Choice customers who had bought tranches 3, 4 and 5 of the structured product.

Customers have until August 28 to decide if they want to redeem the policy. Great Eastern said customers will receive their money within two weeks after the close of the offer.

The company added that the redemption price is 90.2 cents per unit, compared to the latest GreatLink Choice 3 price of 29.8 cents per unit.
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporebusinessnews/view/446602/1/.html

Great Eastern's managing director, Tan Hak Leh, hopes the one time redemption offer will give customers peace of mind during these challenging times. - CNA/vm

15 comments:

Anonymous said...: Very efficient, just fill in the forms and will receive the redemption money within 2 wks.
Don't have to attend interviews/meetings or even submit letters of complaint.
Amount of buyback is a whooping S$594 million!!!!

Great Eastern's managing director, Tan Hak Leh, hopes the one time redemption
offer will give customers peace of mind during these challenging times.

This is what is meant by CARE & CONCERN to the customers. GE has by its action
earned its trustworthiness/respect and instill great confidence in its customers.

Bravo!!!!!!!Well Done!!!!!; August 03, 2009 11:22 PM
Anonymous said...: It seems that those org that compensate more are local companies or from neighbouring countries (GEL, HLF, MayBK, etc.)

Those westernise or more westernise FIs don't believe in it.

Do you agree?; August 04, 2009 7:00 AM
Anonymous said...: Quoting from the article "It will be handled 'fairly'" The Straits Times dated
26 Oct 2008

XI'AN (China) - .........

'The banks have what they call reputational risk,' said PM Lee. 'In other words, if you do the right thing, your customers will remember you for a long time.

'If you do the wrong thing, customers and potential customers will remember you for a long time....'; August 04, 2009 8:32 AM
Anonymous said...: Agents are asked to payback the commission earned. On average is about $12,600 each.
See
http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_412125.html

starlight; August 04, 2009 8:49 AM
Anonymous said...: ""Agents are asked to payback the commission earned. On average is about $12,600 each.""

Good. I hv scolded that agent a few times.
Next time who dare to sell me this type of products. This is 100 times (1,000 times) better than banning the products.

Well done, GEL. This is such a smart move.; August 04, 2009 9:43 AM
Anonymous said...: When discussed over lunch yesterday, all colleagues agreed Great Eastern has done the right thing and certainly won the trust of all. I think the agents can expect more sales very quickly to make up for the lost commission; August 04, 2009 1:01 PM
Anonymous said...: It is damage control and not as you think/ It is a metter of time.
MAS must investigate them and their agents for mis selling. Why were they sold? Did the Ah Peks and Sohs know about what they bougth? Sue the agents and the company; August 04, 2009 3:25 PM
Unknown said...: I wonder if the agents are the only individuals penalised? If so, then I think it's not right coz this whole thing goes thru the hierarchy, from the quants & actuaries who designed the products to the mktg dept who painted them as low risk, to senior mgmt who approved to compliance & legal who signed off on it, and of course to the sales & distribution channels.
Btw, I'm not an agent and my dad did suffer from minibombs, though he was offered compensation due to his age.; August 04, 2009 6:04 PM
Anonymous said...: By words of mouth, MAS and Govt reputation is at stake. Being labelled as most expensive govt and does not help heartlanders is decremental to it's reputation. I cannot think of another incident that caused so much unhappiness and "tarnished" their reputation.

Some possible outcomes:

i) Govt/MAS stick to their gun. Continue talking about BIG picture. Act like nothing has happened. Then I think they need something big to wake them up.

ii) Already have something up their sleeve but cannot announce. Recent GE announcement and double quick Straits times report relating to MB feels abit fishy. No reply or Wayang speech from Govt to cool down MB investors which is uncommon.

Let's hope more good things will happen soon, else this Govt is not the same one I voted for.; August 04, 2009 7:39 PM
Anonymous said...: GE gave the FI a lesson on how to traet customers. If they refused to learn, they will realise the effects in the years to come.; August 05, 2009 10:01 AM
Anonymous said...: GLC was a great fraud. GE knew it couldn't hold on anymore and had to confess the truth. The $250 million is a peanuts compared to the damage it will suffer when exposed. No one would trust their insurance agents for mis-selling..How did an old lady working as toilet cleaner could 'choose' GLC and needed product advice only? Isn't this a mis-selling and the agent mis-sold her?
MAS must conduct an investigation into this and expose the rogue agents. Find them and ban them before they defraud others in the future with other products. This is proof waht insurance agents do to 'earn ' a living. It is robbing the poor ignorant customers of their hard earned money.
The 1000 agents who sold the GLC msut be investigated by MAS for mis-selling. I can bet anyone for $100 to $1 that there was mis-selling in every of the sales.
MAS , it is time to make the changes to the rules and control the agents.
Imagine $10,000 commission for cheating the poor unwary victims?; August 05, 2009 12:59 PM
Anonymous said...: Please do not pick on GEL anymore.
They are so nice as to pay back in full, and ask agents to refund commissions.

Why don't you talk about other FIs who didn't even compensate a single cents? You must get the proportion right.; August 05, 2009 1:59 PM
Anonymous said...: Maybe GLC is a fraud. Maybe GLC is not a fraud. Does it matter as they faced up to the challange and refunded 18,000 customers. It can also be that they are protecting the 1,000 agents as in their business, reputations of the company and agents are very important to win trust and respect from the customers.

I can't say that for MAS. It takes 9 lies to cover the 1st lie. They still have a few more lies to use. Maybe by then, MAS has changed name to Happy Sgp or Smiley Sgp or something. Remember, PSB changed to Spring Sgp.; August 05, 2009 3:08 PM
Anonymous said...: Never trust a salesman. That is what has been happening in all these debacles, the minibond and the GE's GLC. These are not the only two. There are many not reported yet but when Mr. Tan gets his FISCA going more cases of mis=selling will be exposed, more fiiasco due to mis-selling by salesmen you call insurance agents or RMs.
Join FISCA to know your right to proper advisory service and not 5C selling..; August 07, 2009 9:54 AM
Anonymous said...: A slimy exit by GE Life. Agents sold the products without understanding what is a CDO. Heart burnt on the investors. Dare the MAS and FIs continue to sell to the public such toxic products. Shame on the regulator and the CEO of GE Life. They blindly accepted the CDO as a sure- win product from the West. Idiots they are. Higher their education, worse their common sense. How can the FIs think that sub prime mortgage securities are even credit worthy? I wish there is a worse term than the word IDIOTS.; July 31, 2018 10:32 AM