Tan Kin Lian's Blog: Vista product

Sunday, April 25, 2010

Vista product

Hi Mr Tan,
I bought a investment product named Vista for nearly a year now. I just re-read the policy document and felt that the financial planner had not clearly explained to me the product. The product is an ILP and not what I understood as a normal mutual fund. I realised the costs are high and the surrender value can be significantly lower than total premiums paid in early years of the policy.

Can you advise where I can get help to surrender the policy at no or minimum loss, on grounds of mis-selling?

REPLY
Please approach FISCA at www.fisca.sg. they charge an admin fee of $50 and will help you to write a complaint to FIDREC. The chance of getting redress is uncertain, but is worth a try.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...: FISCA can review all insurance products.
The review will be to check for mis-selling, misrepresentation, conflict of interest and recommendation not on reasonable basis.
The clues lie in the product features and benefits based on reasonable return, meeting the needs of the policyholders adequately, protection cost, full disclosure by insurance agents or concealment of material facts, lies and falsehood etc.
All insurance policyholders should have their existing policies reviewed as more evidence of mis-selling has surfaced in the recent years especailly par products like wholelife and endowment and regular ILPs are indiscriminately pushed without fact find.Despite their poor return and protection they have been pushed as one size fits all or as cure all products by unethical insurance agents.The public must be aware and if they are not sure seek FISCA's help before buying a new product or review their existing ones. It serves you well to check as it is well known today that unethical practices by insurance agents are on the rise. It is NOT true that there are only a handful of 'black sheep', almost 99% of insurance agents either dishonestly or incompetently screwed up consumers' financial future.If not checked now it will be too late 20 years down the road.
Today , Singaporeans are in dire straits because of poor planning or no planning and worse screwed up by charlatan , incompetent insurance agents disguised as financial consultants.MAS should ban the indiscriminately use of titles which misrepresent the competence, skill and knowledge.This is dishonesty and it is considered cheating which is a crime. Why is MAS not acting? We are baffled.; April 25, 2010 11:46 AM
Anonymous said...: People should come forward to expose the unethical ways products like this being pushed to unwary customers. Who says that customers can understand the products and buy them with eyes open. 9.9 out of 10 consumers can't .Eg. the writer of this posting. Does he not appear educated and yet he was conned by the insurance agent.
Vista is NOT a simple product. Even a so called simple product like wholelife is also NOT simple as you think. Consumers only kid themselves that they know. It is far more complex . That is why you find from time to time people coming to this blog to air their disappointment of the WL products and confessed they didn't actually understand when they bought.Come on, the so called practitioners of life insurance themselves have difficulties understanding them what do you expect consumers who have one hour of presentation of the products to understand.
MAS must make the onus of appropriate recommendation on the insurance agents and not the buyer.
MAS must also recognise that no consumers can make INFORMED DECISION especailly independent decision. They must be advised and helped by the insurance agents to make the decision and the onus is on the agents.
To discover after many years that you bought the wrong product is wasteful and loss.
The warning that buying insurance is a long term committiment and premature termination will result in loss should also include that if the product reommended is inappropriate and not on resaonable basis the loss resulted from cancellation should be borne by the insurer/agent.The old warning is stacked against the buyer and is unfair and needs changed. MAS should look into this to stop this wasteful cancellation by making the insurance agents pay for any how pushing products.
MAS should come down from the high horse or take its head out of the sand if it is serious about protecting the consuming public against insurance agents and their insurer working hand in glove to con them.
All consumers are clueless and this MUST be the assumption at the start of the selling process.; April 25, 2010 6:32 PM
Tan Kin Lian said...: Some policyholders who bought Vista asked me to put them in touch with other policyholders who bought similar product. If you wish to join this group, send an email to kinlian@gmail.com; April 25, 2010 6:49 PM
Anonymous said...: The writer should post his letter to the mainstream media to warn others. I know there are ppl who will still fall into this trap. However, as more ppl read about this cases the more careful ppl will be.; April 26, 2010 10:05 AM
Wayne said...: I have done a write-up on this plan before back in Jul2008. What a coincidence that I see this posting here.

See http://www.waynekoh.com/2008/07/btitr.html

Basically, it is better to B.T.I.T.R; April 26, 2010 9:37 PM