Effect of Deduction

An agent who recommends a life insurance policy to you is required to provide a benefit illustration, which can take 10 pages or more.

You should ask the agent to show you the "effect of deduction" and calculate it as a percentage of the "value of premiums paid". The "effect of deduction" should not exceed the following percentage of the "value of premiums paid" in the case of a regular premium policy:

20 year policy - 15%
25 year policy - 18%
30 year policy - 22%
35 year policy - 25%

The above benchmark is my estimate of the fair amount to be deducted from your "value of premium paid" to cover the insurance protection and investment services provided by the insurance company. If the actual percentage is higher, the amount taken away is excessive.

The "value of premium paid" is the accumulated amount assuming that your premium has been invested to earn the assumed rate of return. The "effect of deduction" is the amount that is taken away from your accumulated amount to cover the charges by the insurance company.

Most insurance policies have an "effect of deduction" that takes away an additional 15% from the accumulated premiums (compared to the reasonable levels shown above). These insurance plans do not provide good value to consumers.

For an investment-linked policy, the "value of premiums paid" is not shown. You have to add the "projected net amount" plus "effect of deduction" to get the "value of premiums paid".

Tan Kin Lian