Archive

Finarati

Short-Sighted Fools

December 3, 2009 by Finarati
One of my clients gave me hell today. The area of conflict is the commission that I get. Apparently she has this idea that if she goes directly to the insurer to get the policy, she could get the product at a cheaper price (as she thought she don’t have to pay the commission since [...]

in Categories: Personal Finance

Read more →

When is the best time to get a Whole Life Plan?

November 19, 2009 by Finarati
I’ve often heard of this phrase – the earlier you get the whole life plan the better it is for you. Rather than taking the notion for granted, I decided to find out for myself what are the basis of this statement, and whether it is valid or not. So here comes “Harry”, and let’s [...]

in Categories: Investing

Read more →

Child Education: When to start and for how much

October 14, 2009 by Finarati
I was reading the papers today when I came across a very interesting article (“Should pre-schools be nationalised”? The Straits Times, 10/10/2009, Pg A38). The poignant point which was raised in that piece was the glaring disparity of childcare cost in Singapore. The upmarket pre-school establishments command a fee of more than $1000 per month, [...]

in Categories: Personal Finance

Read more →

Basic Medishield vs Private Shield Plan

September 21, 2009 by Finarati
Recently a friend of mine showed me an article regarding the Basic Medishield Plan. Apparently the author argued that “the insurance that offers the best value for money is the basic Medishield offered by the Central Provident Fund”, and he asserted that there are 3 reasons for that: 1) A private shield plan gives you [...]

in Categories: Insurance

Read more →

Deconstructing the Investment Linked Policy

July 11, 2009 by Finarati
I’ve been helping a client check out an investment linked policy, and here are two interesting points to help people make sense of investment linked policies: 1) What is an Investment-Linked Policy (ILP)? Basically an ILP is a policy that combines term insurance with investment. Essentially ILPs consist of 2 parts: A) a term insurance [...]

Read more →

The True Cost of Whole Life Plans

June 21, 2009 by Finarati
In my previous post I’ve written about the true cost of terms plans, which evoked a discussion and gleamed some important points. This particular post is to address ‘the other side’ of the spectrum – the whole life plans – and hopefully balance the bias. Using the previous case study of the 26 year old [...]

in Categories: Featured, Insurance

Read more →

The True Cost of Term Plans

June 16, 2009 by Finarati
In the course of my work, I’ve met clients who claimed that term plans are better than whole life plans because they are ‘cheaper’. Indeed, on the surface the premium of a term plan is much lower than that of a whole life plan. However, when I did a comparison of a term plan versus [...]

in Categories: Insurance

Read more →

Medical Benefits: Who bears the burden?

June 3, 2009 by Finarati
I came across this sobering story (“Part-timers run equal risk but no medical benefits”, 30/05/2009, Pg. A41) in the Straits Times Forum which set me thinking. This letter was written by a parent in response to his/her son’s predicament when he was injured at work. Essentially, being a “part-time” worker, the son had to face [...]

in Categories: Featured, Insurance

Read more →