Thursday, January 10, 2008

Charges under a investment linked policy

Dear Mr. Tan,

I am confused about the many charges under an investment-linked policy. The insurance agent does not explain them clearly to me. I am now stuck with these high charges. Can I get out of them?

REPLY

It is better to buy a low cost Term insurance, to provide the life insurance protection. You should invest in a unit trust or an investment fund with low upfront or annual charges.

If you invest in an investment-linked policy, make sure that 100% of your premium is invested and that the only charges are the initial spread (which should not exceed 3%). Make sure that the annual charges of the fund is less than 1.5%.

A good example is the Combined Fund from NTUC Income, which you can buy through the Flexi-link plan.

You should avoid the regular premium investment linked plan as it has another layer of charges that can take away 15 to 21 months of your savings (with a few exceptions).

You can read the following FAQ to understand the charges in an ILP:
http://www.tankinlian.com/faq/ilp.html
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1 comment:

Derek said...

Hi Mr Tan,

I'm never a big fan of ILPs but I won't say that it's all bad. For the less financial savvy, combining both an investment and insurance together seems like a match made in heaven. Of course, when you start explaining the costs and other alternatives to them, they will see it differently.

Cheers
Derek

January 10, 2008 8:33 PM

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