Some insurance agents or financial advisers curse me for exposing the bad features of the life insurance products that are on the market today. They write in my Facebook, "how can an veteran of 30 years who has benefited from the business in the past, now talk bad about the business?"
To these naive or crooked advisers, let me tell the honest truth.
When I was in the insurance business, the products offered to consumers take away less than 1.5% from the yield. If the insurance fund earn 6.5%, the consumers take a yield of 5%.
Today, more products take away 3 to 4% from the yield. Some even take away as high as 6 to 8%; which is like daylight robbery.
When the life insurance industry is "robbing' people in this fashion, it is my duty to warn consumers to avoid these products.
Many new insurance agents may not be aware that the products are so bad. They are naive. I like to advise them to calculate the reduction in yield, using the example, shown in this article
http://tankinlian.com/admin/file.aspx?id=716&IID=722
Look into the mirror and and ask if you really want your client to suffer this type of loss?
Remember, you have the option of selling the proper insurance package to them as shown here:
http://tankinlian.com/admin/file.aspx?id=725&IID=731
Some insurance agents already know the truth, but they like to sell the bad products to earn the high commission. They behave like crooks; I detest them - as much as they hate me.
6 comments:
Am afraid, Mr Tan, your honest Hard Truth may not be enough to prick their conscience!
What we need is the regulatory body or bodies, to do their part.
Relying on morals and sense of right from wrong in this age and in Singapore in particular is putting too much faith in the Insurance and may I add the financial industry here.
Mr. Tan , I support your work. These insurance agents and the companies must be exposed. They are no longer insurance companies which set out to help the public meet their financial goals.The agents are greedy and have no conscience. They rob their victims
without batting an eyelid.
The truth is this is a get rich quick industry where many professionals, engineers , accountants are attracted too to join and they don't mind being known as insurance salesmen at the expense of their own reputation. Like prostitutes money is more important than reputation and values and self image.
One engineer even admitted in a Sunday Times feature article that being an engineer he could NOT get rich but being an insurance salesman he could get rich QUICK.
There was an undergrad who earned $200K in his first year and owned a condo after 'working' for a year as insurance salesman.
There was another engineer who claimed he could earn for his clients 25% to 45% yearly return on investment . Wow, every customer would rush to engage him, right? Is he another snakeoil salesman?
Agents when becoming managers they could even pimp on his recruits of agents to earn for him, making them pushing high commission products like whole life and regular ILPs for fast turnover.
Managers could operate like MLM scheme to live off the earnigs of various levels of agents, usually young men and women.
Ethics is not important so long they bring the sale, like the companies' goal.Misconduct can be covered up and defended. Ask any agent about other agents who make it to MDRT, COT or TOT how they achieved them. The answer is they beg steal and do anything, shamelessly, despicably so long they make it. Sounds like prostitutes and those drug traffickers? Morals can be thrown into the river. Customers' interest can go to hell. How do these agents make it to MDRT? 'push high commission products lah" if not how to make so much commission to qualify for MDRT? putting customers' interest first? 'ya, the company talk only..they also tell you to push high commission products ONLY, lah.Fact find is a big BS. Just cut and paste and use template, lah after getting the sale. Where got fact find before the sale ? ..what needs? make the customers sign here and there and you write wahtever to cover up the sale. That is fact find...a big load of crap practised in all insurance companies.
The truth is the agents and the company work hand in glove to rob their customers. Any new products approach existing customers first, they already trust you, just tell the good things about the product and the rest is left to you to cook up.
This is no secret. But why MAS doesn't know? or is MAS closing their eyes? Maybe MAS has vested interest to maintain the status quo? Maybe this is a booming industry making significant contribution to the GDP and the tax coffer?
I salute you, Mr Tan.
Why the insurance companies paying out only about 20% of the return to policyholders is because the CEOs are getting 5 times of what your salary was. Not only that in many companies there are so many Generals or VPs with high salary too. Where got enough to pay them? Make the tied agents push more high commission products so that more of the policyholders' saving portion of the premium can be invested to generate income to pay these people. Isn't it not a fact?
That explains why insurance companies like to manufacture only par products with saving element so that they can charge higher premium and have more money to make use of.
Disclosure of premium allocation should be highlighted in the future products when MAS releases the result of FAIR review.
I suspect some of them may not even understand what you are talking about or it's irrelevant to them.
Has anyone used IFS? They contacted me, just wondering if they're honest? After reading all this, just want someone I can trust.
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