Saturday, August 26, 2006

Liability on Motor Accident

FROM POLICYHOLDER

I recently been hit by a recklesss driver and both of us submit our claim to NTUC, (Both on NTUC motor insurance)

Before the result even come back, workshop and friends say it will be most likely 50-50 claim as NTUC dont want to reck their head to see who right or wrong.. after all both are still NTUC patrons.

And the result is really 50-50. is it true on this concept? if so, being with other motor insurance company does make a difference?

DW

MY REPLY

My colleauge will look at your case and reply to you. We follow the protocol on the apportionment of liability as agreed by the general insurance association. It depends on the circumstances of the accident. We try to assess it fairly.

Tan Kin Lian

Good points of other insurance company's products

A person called "Truth Seeker" asked me to post good points of other company's products. This is to prove my "unbiasness".

I do not know of any of my competitor's products that give good value to the customers. Most of them pay high commission to the agent and make a good margin for their shareholders. They charge more to their customers to cover these additional expenses.

They give a return to their customers of 10% to 20% less than NTUC Income, due to the difference in expenses. This has been the experience over the past many years.

Most insurance agents and financial advisers like to sell the products of insurance companies that pay higher commission to them. I will let these agents convince their customers of the value of their advice. I am not able to do this work for them.

If you think that my views are biased, you can disregard them. If you wish to have some independent analysis, I suggest that you check this website: www.askdrmoney.com.

Thursday, August 24, 2006

Some problem in the backyard

A policyholder made a request to upgrade to enhanced Incomeshield. There was some problem with the request. He sent this message to me:

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Dear Mr Tan

This is what happen in your backyard, can you work something to get it right? Just got call that your teams lost all details and wanted us to re-fax again. What is this?

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Dear EL,

I am sorry about the trouble that you are facing.

As you have observed correctly, there is something wrong in our backyard. We are trying to clear it. Please bear with us.

Sometimes, this type of mistakes do occur. I hope that it is not too troublesome for you to fax again.

Tan Kin Lian
CEO, NTUC Income

Income Focus: Message to policyholders

Dear Policyholder

We want you to know more about the insurance products that you have bought. We now written a FAQ (frequently-asked questions) on our popular products. You can read them at www.income.coop/insurance/faq/.

Can you tell your family members and friends about our FAQ. They may find it to be useful as well.

We are probably the first insurer in the world to introduce an innovative plan that covers personal accident and infectious diseases. Our PA+ID plan provides 24-hour, worldwide cover for less than $10 a month. Application is hassle-free. No medical examination is required.

Many people like to buy a low cost, term insurance plan to give financial security to their family. We wish to introduce our i-Term, which provides a large life insurance cover at an affordable premium. A male (non-smoker), aged 30, can insure for $100,000 on life insurance for about $9 a month.

We have the largest market share of motor insurance in Singapore. We cover about 250,000 cars, motor cycles and other vehicles, representing 35% of all vehicles. We offer premium rates that are 5% to 15% lower for most vehicle models. You can save as much as $100 or more when you insure with us. You can also pay your motor insurance and road tax in 12 monthly installments.

If you have bought a new car last year, we invite you to come to us on the next renewal. You can enjoy a lower premium rate.

You can visit our business centres to get free advice on insurance and financial planning from our salaried consultants. They do not earn any commission.

If you have any questions, call 6877 3366.

Tan Kin Lian
Chief Executive Officer

Your blog widen my knowledge of financial product

Dear Mr Tan

I would just like to say that it is a wonderful gesture of you to spend time penning down your thoughts in your blog.

I may not agree with everything that you say but the purpose of the blog is to generate discussion and thoughts anyway.

It has widen my knowledge of financial products and planning.

Please keep up the good work.

JCCS

Wednesday, August 23, 2006

Report by Standard & Poors on Investment Funds

Standard & Poors reports on the investment funds offered by NTUC Income.

Global Equity Fund - awarded 5 stars (Top 10% of the sector)

Conservative Fund; Growth Fund and Global Bond Fund - awarded 4 stars (Top 11 - 30% of the sector)

Balanced Fund; European Fund; Prime Fund and Technology Fund - awarded 3 stars (Top 31 - 50% of the sector)

3 yr absolute return: 11 of our 14 funds have above average return when compared to their respective peers.

3 yr volatility: 10 of our 14 funds have below average volatility when compared to their respective peers.

Expense ratio: All our funds have below average expense ratio

Virtual contact center

We have recently set up a virtual contact center in Jurong with 28 seats. Each seat is equipped with a personal computer and soft phone. It supports our main contact center in Tampines.

The customer service officers receive their daily briefing through video conferencing from the main office. Their interactions are also monitored from the main office. We set up the virtual center to allow colleauges to work nearer to their homes and reduce the travelling time.

The virtual center also serves as an off-site center for disaster recovery. This is the first in the region.

Here is a view from our colleague: "I was struck by the clean, uncluttered look - flat screen monitors, compact key-boards and sleek work-stations. It has soft lighting, black ceiling, blown-up posters and a touch of designer decor. It is quiet, with only the humming of air-con and chatter from the TV screen. It provides a highly conducive working environment. By the way, it is bustling outside, surrounded by shops, banks, food-courts, coffee-shops and a mere 5-minute walk from the Jurong East MRT. "

If you are staying in the West and like to work in a really cosy and vibrant environment, do send in your resume via www.income.coop

You can get $228,000 more from NTUC Income

Be ready for a big surprise. Maybe a shock!

A young man aged 30 invested $100,000 in an investment product offered by a large insurer (not NTUC Income). He showed the benefit illustration to us.

We made a similar illustration based on the Flexi-link from NTUC Income. We used the same assumption, ie a gross yield of 5% and 9% per annum on our investment fund, and the same format as prescribed by the Life Insurance Association.

The difference in the projected return at age 65 (ie after 35 years) is staggering.


Projected return at age 65
5% p.a. 9% p.a.
NTUC Income $375,000 $1,390,900
Other insurer $313,400 $1,162,900
Difference $ 61,600 $ 228,000


The difference is due to the higher charges imposed by the other insurer.

By investing in a lower charge plan from NTUC Income, the policyholder can enjoy $228,000 more (or 20% extra) at age 65.

Why give away so much money? Call 62INCOME (62 462663) for a quotation!

Join NTUC Income to do insurance sales

We invite agents from other companies to move to NTUC Income. You will find it easier to sell our products. You will also get leads from the office to sell to our existing policyholders. Some of these sales can be done over the telephone.

No need to make cold calls. No need to visit them at their homes. No need to propect for new customers.

Just learn how to convert the leads.

Interested? Register at www.mailbox.coop/0001

Tuesday, August 22, 2006

I hope that more Singaporeans visit your blog

Hi
I think you have done a great job writing and sharing your views and ideas on financial planning and local issues. More CEOs from GLCs should do likewise.

I may not agree with all your views but I still feel it's great work done and hope more Singaporeans visit your blog

HL

Monday, August 21, 2006

Practical system to control hot and cold water

I stayed at the Interncontinental hotel in Wellington, New Zealand.

They have a good system to control the water in the bath tub and shower. They use two separate knobs to control the the hot and cold water to the bath tap, and another two knobs to control the water to the shower. It is so easy to use.

In many other hotels, it is quite a hassle to figure out how the water system works. Often, I turn on the wrong knobs and obtained the wrong temperature or got the water flowing out of the wrong tap.

The other features in the hotel room are also well designed and friendly to the hotel guests.

I have stayed in many other hotels, including those managed by international chains, that are not friendly to the hotel guest.

Congratulations to the Intercontinental, Wellington. I shall check if this is due to the hotel chain or the New Zealand architect!

I give my honest views

Some visitors to my blog are competitor agents or financial advisers. They accuse me of being biased in my views posted in this blog.

They are mistaken.

I give my honest views. I do make a judgement of what facts are fair and relevant. For example, I do not look at small investment funds, because the results are volatile. I consider them to be not suitale for long term financial planning.

Some of the large funds under NTUC Income perform slightly worse than the market. For example, our bond funds. I do not hesitate to show them, and explain why this is the case (if I know the reason).

Generally, the equity funds under NTUC Income perform well during the past three years. They earn 2% to 3% per annum better than most similar funds. I suspect that this is due to our lower charges.

Although the actual difference in charges is only 0.5% or 1%, I think that the other funds may have other charges that are not disclosed. In our case, we do NOT have any additional hidden charges.

I do not rule out that the difference could be due to the better performance of our managers. But, I think that it is mainly due to luck. In some years, certain managers may perform well, but this may reverse in other years. Over a longer period, the performance or good luck will balance out.

The low cost funds are likely to give a better return to the investors. This has been the result of many research done in America over the past decades.

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