Tan Kin Lian's Blog: SM Goh and Term Insurance

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

SM Goh and Term Insurance

Here is the text of my letter to the Straits Times in response to SM Goh's call to life insurance companies to sell term insurance. The editor made some editorial changes to the published letter.

3 comments:

Lye Khuen Way said...: I can see that the ST editor DID edit Mr Tan's letter. Now that was why I expressed my surprise that it was published. The original version would have in some ways answered a response in today ( 18th Oct ST Forum-on-Line)
sent by a lady.

As I said, let us wait for "Official" responses.; October 28, 2010 6:28 AM
Tan Kin Lian said...: Hi Khuen Way,

Even if my letter was pubished in the original text, Peralyn Koh will still attack me. She is out to disagree with me, and will find any angle to disagree with.

You can expect it from her and from other people who like the freedom to continue the existing situation.

There are dishonest agents (and not all agents are dishonest) who will tell half truths and deliberate lies to cheat the consumers. I hope that MAS will take suitable action to address this situation.

There are already countless examples in my blog,and they are not interested to contact me. If I write to them, they will say "thank you for your feedback" and nothing will happen.; October 28, 2010 8:51 AM
zhummmeng said...: If MAS accepts your feedback it means they have to over haul the industry to correct them.
But what we asking MAS to do is to address a few of the processes.
1.the approach to clients' needs.
The approach should be similar to a doctor's approach. Find out the problems and identify the solutions and honestly prescribe the appropriate medicine.In the case of insurance the agents don't and instead they prescribe the products that suit themselves and then gives excuses to justify.This breaches the reasonable basis required under section 27 of the FAA. This is the problem why consumers never get their needs correctly addressed.
Eg. The agents may do fact find and analysis and the needs uncovered but the solution is Very very far from meeting the needs and sometime maybe even wrong solution...eg.. if the agents uncovered that the client needs $1 million the agents will only recommend only $100K limited payment WL and give excuse that the client has no budget...crap, right? No budget, how come? The premium for the WL can buy a few millions of coverage.
Another excuse is the client wants a WL with saving crap. Do the agents tell the clients of the dangers ahead if his concern or risk is not addressed immediately? And of course the real purpose of insurance.
There is another excuse...the customer die die must have WL...as if the customer is savvy and knows about insurance planning. In this case why buy from the agent and waste a lot of commission for doing nothing?
This industry is all wrong from the start. Even the companies recruiting are stressing get rich quick and sky is the limit earning.
Currently there are 2 companies paying large sum of money which runs into millions to poach agents from other company or to retain agents by stuffing their mouth and ass with large sum of money.
Where is money coming from?????????? Is it from the life fund? I pity the policyholders. They should expect a bonus cut later.; October 28, 2010 1:19 PM