Insurance agents can play a positive role

I wish to say a few positive words about insurance agents; I know many of them personally over the past years. They sincerely believe in providing a valuable service to protect the financial security of their clients. They work hard to make a living and earned a modest income.

The commission rates earned by the agents of NTUC Income are lower than the market rates. This helped to reduce the cost to the consumers. This was the case in past years; I believe that it is still the case today.

Some people have regulary posted anonymous comments to attack insurance agents, particularly the agents of NTUC Income. These comments were unfair and malicious; I have blocked them.

While most insurance agents act honestly, there are some agents that take advantage of the ignorance of their clients. These bad agents resort to twisting and gave bad advice to earn more commission. They are the minority, but they gave a bad name to the other agents. The insurance companies have to share the blame for the bad practices also.

Insurance companies can play a positive role by designing products that are fair and give good value to consumers, while providing a fair of remuneration to the agents. The correct approach is to simplify the product, improve transparency, increase the productivity of agents and reduce the distribution cost. This will create a positive environment and benefit all the parties.

Tan Kin Lian