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Tan Kin Lian

Avoid financial planners

January 31, 2011 by Tan Kin Lian

A foreigner, working in Singapore, approached me for advice. He bought a Vista plan from a financial planner two years ago, and was shocked to learn now about the high monthly charge of 5% of the premium that is deducted from the account. He never knew that he was buying a life insurance policy with [...]

in Categories: Insurance, Personal Finance

Big loss on ILP

January 30, 2011 by Tan Kin Lian

Dear Mr Tan, Here is my two cents worth for investment linked products. My wife being the naive person she is bought some insurance/investment plan from DBS/AVIVA called her assurance gold in a bid to earn a decent return on her hard earned money but alas she was sweet-talked by a financial planner to sign [...]

in Categories: Insurance

A bad investment product

January 29, 2011 by Tan Kin Lian

The investment-linked policy is probably one of the worst type of investment that is sold to a consumer in Singapore. Here are the reasons: The consumer takes the investment risks, without any commensurate return The consumer is locked into the policy due to the excessive upfront charge The insurance company levies a high fee to [...]

in Categories: Insurance

Unethical practice by insurance agents

January 28, 2011 by Tan Kin Lian

Hi I recently came across a practice by some agents which i find rather uncomfortable. But there is nothing much I can do about it so i hope you can raise some awareness about this so as to prevent more people from falling victim. The senario is as follow: Agent/financial advisor went back to all [...]

in Categories: Insurance

Big professional liability risk

January 28, 2011 by Tan Kin Lian

Financial advisers are not aware that they face a big professional liability risk. They are selling large life insurance policies to high net worth individuals, without explaining the distribution cost (more than $100,000) or the effect of deduction (more than $500,000). When the customer learns about these huge charges at a later date, they are [...]

in Categories: Personal Finance

Unfair conversion rate

January 28, 2011 by Tan Kin Lian

Dear Mr. Tan, I am a customer of a bank and responded to their RMB timed deposit promotion, which pays an interest slightly above norm. The bank converted my existing savings in SGD into RMB at their “internal exchange rate” at 36 pips above market rate and did not get my prior approval to the [...]

in Categories: Personal Finance

Single Premium Heritage Plan

January 28, 2011 by Tan Kin Lian

Dear Mr Tan I will like to ask you on your opinion on Single Premium Heritage plan from Manulife Financial. Please advise if it a good plan for investment. REPLY I find the policy to be quite complicated and not easy for me to understand. My advice to you is never to buy a policy [...]

in Categories: Insurance

Poor yield on Vivo-life

January 27, 2011 by Tan Kin Lian

A consumer showed me the benefit illustration for a Vivo-life. He found that the deduction at the end of 25 years appeared to meet my benchmark of 20%. The deduction was 20% based on a gross yield of 3.75% and 32% at the gross yield of 5.25%. I was surprised at the difference between the [...]

in Categories: Insurance

Sale of insurance over the telephone

January 26, 2011 by Tan Kin Lian

Hi Mr. Tan,A couple of days ago, my elderly mother received a call from AA (automobile association) promoting some personal accident insurance. I always believed that consumers should only get insurance that fits our requirements and needs, but the lady on the phone was just trying very hard to sell the insurance. I feel that [...]

in Categories: Insurance

Legislation to protect consumers

January 25, 2011 by Tan Kin Lian

I wish to research the various legislations in Singapore that were aimed at protecting consumers. Some of them that I could remembers are: Fair treatment of consumers by financial institutions Unfair contract terms Competition Act Consumer Protection and Fair Trading Act Public Transport Council With these legislation, consumers are supposed to be well protected in [...]

in Categories: Personal Finance

Plan for retirement at age 65

January 24, 2011 by Tan Kin Lian

Mr Tan, What are your views on the raised retirement age? This would mean that an adult who joined the workforce at 25, has 40 years working. Does it change any traditional assumption that you make when planning, considering the assumption has always been 25 years? REPLY In my financial planning tool, I advise people [...]

in Categories: Personal Finance

Poor yield from Vivo-life policy

January 24, 2011 by Tan Kin Lian

Dear Mr. TanI got a quote for a Vivolife policy from an agent. I did my calculation. Apparently, the effect of deduction on the 25th yr is far from your benchmark. I also calculated the actual yield of return which is roughly 2%.I wondered whether is the current market now offers this kind of policy [...]

in Categories: Insurance

Low yield on Endowment policy

January 23, 2011 by Tan Kin Lian

A consumer is unhappy about the low yield on a 20 year endowment policy that has matured. The insurance company did not revised the bonus rates during 2010, although the financial market has recovered. He asked for my views. Here is my reply: Dear I believe that this yield of 2.96% on your policy is [...]

in Categories: Insurance

Why are insurance agents wealthy?

January 23, 2011 by Tan Kin Lian

All around the world, insurance agents have thrived on the ignorance of consumers. They used the risk of premature death to get consumers to part with a large part of their savings to be invested to get a poor yield. The consumers are not aware that they can buy term insurance to cover the premature [...]

in Categories: Insurance

Can a Malaysian resident be insured under Private Shield?

January 23, 2011 by Tan Kin Lian

Dear Mr. Tan,I worked in Singapore for more than 20 years as a permanent resident. After my retirement, I returned to Malaysia as the cost of living is lower. I have been insured under Enhanced Incomeshield from NTUC Income for many years and has continued to pay the annual premium after I retired. I wish [...]

in Categories: Insurance

Financial planning – sample at age 35

January 22, 2011 by Tan Kin Lian

If you are 35 years old, you are likely to have just started a family. Are you having a good financial plan to take care of your family and your own savings needs for retirement? It is still not too late for you can make a review of your financial situation and change your plan [...]

in Categories: Personal Finance

Harassed over an old case

January 22, 2011 by Tan Kin Lian

A consumer received a letter from a lawyer acting for a motor workshop for a motor accident that occurred more than 6 years ago. The consumer was not clear about the validity of the case and sought my advice. I advised the consumer to take the following steps: Ask the lawyer to state the facts [...]

in Categories: Personal Finance

A good life insurance policy

January 20, 2011 by Tan Kin Lian

I have often been asked, “is this a good life insurance policy?” If this policy is being sold to you by an agent, you can be 90% sure that it is a bad policy. The agent (who can also have a title such as financial adviser or consultant) is likely to offer you a policy [...]

in Categories: Insurance

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