Distribution cost

The benefit illustration for a life insurance policy has an item called "distribution cost". This is the amount taken away from your savings (i.e premiums) to pay the commission to the insurance agent and his agency manager. It is usually a large sum of money, representing more than 18 months of premium. If you save $500 a month, the amount that is taken away as distribution cost could be (say) $9,000.  A large part of this sum is taken away during the first year and the rest over the next four years.

You should ask, "Is it too much to give away (say) $9,000 to buy a life insurance policy? You have more attractive alternatives. You can buy term insurance to cover a larger sum (say $300,000) by paying less than $500 a year.  You can invest in a low cost fund, such as the Exchange Traded Fund in SGX, and pay only a small annual fee of 0.3% for the asset management service.

If more consumers are aware about the alternatives, there is no need for them to pay 18 months of their premium as "distribution cost". This will force insurance companies to reduce their distribution cost and find more efficient and low cost ways to market their products. Some countries plan to ban the payment of commission for the sale of insurance products, as the consumers had been given a bad deal for the past years.

After paying such a high distribution cost, you are not getting a superior product that gives superior return. Most life insurance policies give a yield of 2% to 3% over 30 years. This is too low. It should be higher, if the distribution cost and other charges are kept at a modest level.

However, if you find a life insurance policy that has a modest distribution cost, say $300 or less, it is all right to buy the product. Alternatively, you should be willing to pay a fee of $300 for advice, provided that the commission built into the life insurance policy is refunded to you.

Tan Kin Lian