Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Use "funny language" to confuse the policyholder

In April, a policyholder was advised by the agent to "lock in" his investment linked policy and wait for a higher price to "lock out" his policy. He was assured that he would not be adversely affected by this transaction. He trusted the agent and took the advice to "lock in" his policy, although he was not clear about this concept.

Later, he discovered that "lock in" meant that he sold his investments to prevent further loss, if the market falls further. Instead of protecting against further losses, he missed the rally in the market and lost a lot of money due to this bad advice.

Why did the agent use "funny language" to confuse the policyholder? Why not advise the policyholder in direct language, i.e. sell the investments to avoid further losses from a falling market?

If the policyholder sells the investments and buy them back later, will the agent earn commission on the new purchase? I do not know the practice of this company and the terms on which the units are sold and bought back. Is this another form of twisting?

I wonder if the agent was giving bad advice, or have an ulterior motive in getting the client to churn the investment? I am very sad that some agents take advantage of policyholders to earn more commission.