So Many Horrible Agents Around

[blurpandasg2014]

Yet again, I managed to review my friends insurance portfolio. Another prey of unscrupulous agent trying to makan an innocent lamb!!!!! This time from AIA! Heard that the agent no longer works in that company

He was being sold AIA products on a yearly basis....paying exorbitant prices for shitty cover.

In year 2012:

1) AIA S$ Guaranteed for life (15): 100k Death, TPD - $2868/yr
2) AIA Complete CI Term till 75yr: 50k CI/ECI - $702.5/yr
3) AIA HealthShield Gold Max A
4) AIA HealthShield Gold Max Essential A

In year 2013
1) Smart Growth (12) - $1191.36/yr

In year 2014
1) AIA Family First Secure - $1200/yr (100k Death/TPD)


Can anybody recommend which plan to cancel! I have already gotten him to stop the GIRO for AIA Family First Secure. Cash value is about $300

Kind of tricky situation here cos he has a history of congenital hole in the heart and gout. Unsure what exclusions would insurers give? For AIA, he is excluded for all heart related problems and gout? Your advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks

 

[flee0308]

Get term plan to cover first before cancelling

 

[newjersey]

Have you heard of COMPAREFIRST, a truly unbiased platform for insurance?

rule of thumb, don't mix protection with investment.

I always recommend a term life plan, which is cheap and affordable.

A whole life insurance comes with returns, which means you have to pay alot more for it.

It is a very backward concept, to seek a service and to want to get paid for it, at the end of the day.

These 2 instruments give insurance agents, no matter what they call themselves "financial consultants", the most commission, i.e. whole life insurance, ILP ( investment linked products ), unit trust.

thanks for our nanny government, they ( I mean the gov and the insurance co ) have jointly set up this initiative, so that you can be independent of the insurance agents and go straight to the insurance companies to purchase whatever suits you best, without the mis.selling and the un.necessary commission to the insurance agents.

http://www.comparefirst.sg/wap/homeEvent.action

 

[MaoZeDuo]

Dont anyhow recommend him to cancel... sway siao next day he kena something ish chiur fault he lost the chance to claim... Furthermoar he has pre-existing...

Break down the figures in an excel sheet... do an analysis together wib chiur fwen... Grasp a picture of claimable amt in a few key stages of life then make a decision (by himself) as for which to keep...

Dont touch h&s...

 

[wahkao3]

My financial adviser asked me what is my risk appetite, I say I am low risk, but want high return

Yesterday I asked my financial adviser for good investment can make me huat big big, she asked me what is my risk appetite.

me: I am low risk taker
FA: Ok, I recommend you bond mutual fund the return is 2%
me: U siao ah! inflation already 5%. U only offer me 2%.
FA: Because your risk appetite is low risk, only mutual fund return 2% and very low risk.
me: I am looking for high return, low risk. Why you recommend me this kind of nonsense mid risk, low return product?
FA: In market no such thing as high return,low risk. High return will come with high risk
me: Then what for I need you? What is your value add? You are just going to get in the way and suck commissions. If I want high return high risk, I can easily find it everywhere. I can go MBS, even faster.

What chiu all think huh? I answer like that satki or not?

 

[newjersey]

My financial adviser asked me what is my risk appetite, I say I am low risk, but want high return

Yesterday I asked my financial adviser for good investment can make me huat big big, she asked me what is my risk appetite.

me: I am low risk taker
FA: Ok, I recommend you bond mutual fund the return is 2%
me: U siao ah! inflation already 5%. U only offer me 2%.
FA: Because your risk appetite is low risk, only mutual fund return 2% and very low risk.
me: I am looking for high return, low risk. Why you recommend me this kind of nonsense mid risk, low return product?
FA: In market no such thing as high return,low risk. High return will come with high risk
me: Then what for I need you? What is your value add? You are just going to get in the way and suck commissions. If I want high return high risk, I can easily find it everywhere. I can go MBS, even faster.

What chiu all think huh? I answer like that satki or not?

well, technically, she is already mis.selling you.

It is misleading to claim low risks = low returns, high risks = high returns.

Stating the above, equates high risks would ensure high returns, which guarantees high returns, is misleading.

high risks possibly brings high returns, this is correct, as it underlines the element of uncertainty with the word "possibly".

After all, what do I know?

I was just an insurance agent with AIA for 03 months.

I remember I was leaving the industry and didn't want to submit my sales, as I did not want people who buy the policies because of me, to know I am no longer with the company.

As I always tell people, buy the policy, not the friendship, cause it's misleading to think the sales agent would be there, helping you with the claims process, as we aren't trained in that and it's NOT the obligation of an insurance agent to assist in the claims process !!!

 

[MaoZeDuo]

My financial adviser asked me what is my risk appetite, I say I am low risk, but want high return

Yesterday I asked my financial adviser for good investment can make me huat big big, she asked me what is my risk appetite.

me: I am low risk taker
FA: Ok, I recommend you bond mutual fund the return is 2%
me: U siao ah! inflation already 5%. U only offer me 2%.
FA: Because your risk appetite is low risk, only mutual fund return 2% and very low risk.
me: I am looking for high return, low risk. Why you recommend me this kind of nonsense mid risk, low return product?
FA: In market no such thing as high return,low risk. High return will come with high risk
me: Then what for I need you? What is your value add? You are just going to get in the way and suck commissions. If I want high return high risk, I can easily find it everywhere. I can go MBS, even faster.

What chiu all think huh? I answer like that satki or not?

Lol chiu no new story?

 

[wahkao3]

Lol chiu no new story?

old story for an old problem. There is no need for a new story

 

[Genesisz]

As I always tell people, buy the policy, not the friendship, cause it's misleading to think the sales agent would be there, helping you with the claims process, as we aren't trained in that and it's NOT the obligation of an insurance agent to assist in the claims process !!!

And this is very true and practical.

I agree with you. The policies and insurance company should come as priorities.

 

[Keverus]

old story for an old problem. There is no need for a new story

i literally lol-ed.

thanks bro.

 

[cscs3]

well, technically, she is already mis.selling you.

It is misleading to claim low risks = low returns, high risks = high returns.

Stating the above, equates high risks would ensure high returns, which guarantees high returns, is misleading.

high risks possibly brings high returns, this is correct, as it underlines the element of uncertainty with the word "possibly".

After all, what do I know?

I was just an insurance agent with AIA for 03 months.

I remember I was leaving the industry and didn't want to submit my sales, as I did not want people who buy the policies because of me, to know I am no longer with the company.

As I always tell people, buy the policy, not the friendship, cause it's misleading to think the sales agent would be there, helping you with the claims process, as we aren't trained in that and it's NOT the obligation of an insurance agent to assist in the claims process !!!

Problem is when you call your insurance company hotline to make enquiries about your policy. They will ask you to talk to your agents!
This is my experience with AIA. So please tell your company about the policy vs agents thing you mention.

 

[newjersey]

Problem is when you call your insurance company hotline to make enquiries about your policy. They will ask you to talk to your agents!
This is my experience with AIA. So please tell your company about the policy vs agents thing you mention.

hi,

I am no longer with AIA, I only stayed there for 3 months and decided the inustry is about pushing for sales, regardless of the consumers' needs.

but it was profitable to me, as it meant I learnt basic insurance concepts.

insurance overall is a great idea, it transfers the risk to the bigger co.

but 1. don't mix investment and protection together, so ILP, investment linked products are a terrible idea, but agents love to push it, as it gives the bigger commission,

2. buy term whole life, not whole life insurance, cause when we analyse a customer, we would put in the portion of whole life insurance to increase our commissions. there's no meat in term whole life for the insurance agents.

3. no, claims process aren't our problem. that's why, I tell people, buy the insurance policy because of the contract you are entering into, not because so and so is a friend or worse, not because some bitch wears some skirt and she unbuttoned the top 2 buttons for some sex appeal.

 

[Shion]

newjersey,

AIA is aggressive with their marketing and sales tactics, right ?

 

[newjersey]

hi there,

hmm, I was only in AIA, so I am not able to make the comparison.

I would suppose all insurance companies are about the same, just focused on sales.

I remember when a friend was willing to buy about just anything from me, as long as it's capped @ SG$50/month, my director scolded me, he said go for more.

haha... whatever happened to his "religious" portrayal?
anyway, self-righteous people are the worst wolves around...

but yes, that's why I tell people around me, to look into the strengths of that policy, not the depth of the friendship.

Why?

Often, an insurance agent may not last very long in the industry.

those that can last long, may switch to another company, and what happens to your policy then?

in Singapore, it's quite peculiar, as we have negative views of insurance agents and property agents.

( I can understand why for the part on property agents though )

But it's important to understand the concept of various insurances, so that you can pick what you need for yourself, instead of trying to let someone do the picking for u.

 

[Shion]

Last time I was introduced to an ILP which I signed up since it was introduced by one of my relatives. And also a savings plan.

Both cost me around $4k per year. Another of my friend, insurance agent, told me this money put in a limited-pay life better...

???

 

[newjersey]

to ntucagent,

haha, sorry to disagree...

but are u saying u don't mix term whole life with whole life plans?



we all know the "needs-analysis" is an excellent instrument to cause the consumer to desire for more, so that we can pitch to them the whole life plan and then cover the rest with the term life plan.

the way it is, an insurance agentless platform is alot better, as it allows the consumer to make the better decision, than being recommended the "solution" through a vested interest.

I think if you know this makes the agent redundant, you know your real value to the society...

I would rather be shown the door, than to sell people things that they overpay for & need to support for the rest of their lives / a very long time in their lives, to breakeven. That's the chief reason why I showed myself the door after 3 months, though I hit the target for a new agent, but no, I recommended the policies to my prospective buyers and asked them to seek someone else, as I was exiting.

Today, I would tell them to buy the policy direct from the insurance co, because they can save the commission on the sales agent.

that's why I applaud the government's initiative for self-help.

http://www.comparefirst.sg/wap/homeEvent.action

At end of the day, it really boils down to how you choose to live your life.

Getting out of the insurance line is one of the best decisions in my life, I have very low opinions of insurance agents / property agents, because they are unnecessary middlemen that cause costs to go up.

But we are no longer in the industrial age, where information is held at a premium. Welcome to the information age, where information is usually a freemium, if it's important and necessary.

If you are happy living one, that compromises your principles and later seek self-help from organisations that make you feel good, through donations, etc... like I said... then... more power to you, cheers.

 

[newjersey]

hi ntucagent,

it's very simple, regarding the debate between whole life insurance vs term whole life insurance.

the former gives a return, which is terrible, as compared to taking the money and investing it yourself, directly to the stock markets.

afterall, what difference do the insurance companies do that you can't do it yourself, with regards to investment? Other than feeding the layer of 1. insurance co, 2. insurance agents, is this really beneficial for the policyholder?

let's drop the coldblooded bs and just look into the set of numbers in terms of returns one can get from "investing in whole life policies" and investing directly in stocks... the answer should be pretty clear.

the gap between the older generation is pretty clear, they are not information savvy, that's why we see that they are open to subscribing to whole life policies, limited life policies. Afterall, why did Tan Kin Lian himself advocate buy Term Life insurance, Invest the rest? Not that he started the concept, but it's a common notion that protection & investment don't mix.

Regarding beneficiaries, nominations, I am not sure if I trust an insurance agent to advice me about all these, as it can be outside the scope of their knowledge. Are you legally qualified to give advice in those areas? ( I would highly appreciate a simple Yes / No to this question ). To me, it's like going to the butcher, thinking that they can do the barber's job, cause both uses cutting instruments. I rather not, but thanks.

So, no. I would prefer to exercise due diligence to extract the information, which again, is not hidden in clandestine layers, in this information age.

But I do recognise that there are people who aren't that savvy and that's where your market lies. ( haha, the pun is accidental but meaningful ).

After all, some peoples' way of living lies on other's imperfect information. There's no right or wrong in this.

Cheers.

 

[cscs3]

hi,

I am no longer with AIA, I only stayed there for 3 months and decided the inustry is about pushing for sales, regardless of the consumers' needs.

but it was profitable to me, as it meant I learnt basic insurance concepts.

insurance overall is a great idea, it transfers the risk to the bigger co.

but 1. don't mix investment and protection together, so ILP, investment linked products are a terrible idea, but agents love to push it, as it gives the bigger commission,

2. buy term whole life, not whole life insurance, cause when we analyse a customer, we would put in the portion of whole life insurance to increase our commissions. there's no meat in term whole life for the insurance agents.

3. no, claims process aren't our problem. that's why, I tell people, buy the insurance policy because of the contract you are entering into, not because so and so is a friend or worse, not because some bitch wears some skirt and she unbuttoned the top 2 buttons for some sex appeal.

Correction from "it transfers the risk to the bigger co." to "it transfers the risk to another party/person". No company will run a losing business. In the end, the next person is going to pay higher for the same risk next year, or years after. Eventually, it goes back to same person. SO everyone is going to pay higher in time to come.

Or, put it in a nicer way. Inflation.

 

[Henrypoo]

Haha not all agent are horrible leh.

 

[sAVaGEmP5]

need to see how much u need to cover. Death / CI / TPD. issit 500k / 300k / 500k or what.

Then go out market find some of the comparable and reliable products to fit this criteria. Some 200/100/100 can cost 4k, some cost 2k only. Some got complicated rider and etc but make sure u set ur base. what u wan to cover.