I have added several additional topics in Learning Tips. Go to www.easysearch.sg and tick on Learning Tips.
They include financial planning, insurance, health and interesting places in Singapore (for tourists and locals!)
Direct link: http://easyapps.sg/learn/ (please bookmark it).
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Life insurance - its useful role
Life insurance can play a useful role for consumers to manage their personal finance, provided that it can be bought directly without incurring an exorbitant upfront charge (to pay commission). Here is chapter 7 from my new book, Get Value from your Life Insurance Policy.
www.tankinlian.com/latest.aspx
http://tankinlian.com/admin/file.aspx?id=328
You can learn more about the Flexi-Life policy (an investment linked policy where 100% of your savings is invested from the first month) here. This policy is not available yet, but will hopefully be available one day!
www.tankinlian.com/latest.aspx
http://tankinlian.com/admin/file.aspx?id=328
You can learn more about the Flexi-Life policy (an investment linked policy where 100% of your savings is invested from the first month) here. This policy is not available yet, but will hopefully be available one day!
Life insurance after retirement
Should a consumer keep a life insurance policy after retirement, if he or she has no further need for life insurance protection, e.g. the children have grown up?
Singaporeans travel in December
My friend observed that the traffic on the road is quite light in December. Many Singaporeans must be travelling on holiday. This is also confirmed by the visitors to my blog, which dropped 30% in December. I observed last year that after the holidays, it jumped back to normal.
Buoyant property prices
Benjamin Ching wrote in the Straits Times Forum that the buoyant property prices is a sign of rising wealth and it could be attributed to the measures taken by our government to achieve the economic recovery. This statement must please our government leaders greatly.
This was the same argument given to the booming property prices in Japan in the late 1980s. Although the property prices went to astronomical levels, the optimists justified them by pointing out the exceptional performance of the Japanese economy, especially in exports. I could not remember if anyone said at that time that it reflected "a sign of rising wealth". The bubble burst in 1990 and the property prices have remained in the doldrums for two decades.
A similar situation could be found in America during the greater part of this decade. The rising home prices were justified by the reasoning that the American economy had inspired confidence of investors around the world. Well, the bubble had finally burst and even the most optimistic observers now do not expect any recovery for a few years. It could take longer.
The rising property prices in Singapore is more likely caused by the extremely low interest rates, the large influx of foreign workers and the inability of the government to anticipate the shortage of housing. It is aggravated by the inflow of speculative foreign funds (and the lack of control of the inflow).
As with other countries, I expect the pain to come when the property prices correct in Singapore. I do not buy the argument that the government could cushion the fall as Singapore is a small place and can be managed. When things get out of control, it cannot be easily managed.
Tan Kin Lian
This was the same argument given to the booming property prices in Japan in the late 1980s. Although the property prices went to astronomical levels, the optimists justified them by pointing out the exceptional performance of the Japanese economy, especially in exports. I could not remember if anyone said at that time that it reflected "a sign of rising wealth". The bubble burst in 1990 and the property prices have remained in the doldrums for two decades.
A similar situation could be found in America during the greater part of this decade. The rising home prices were justified by the reasoning that the American economy had inspired confidence of investors around the world. Well, the bubble had finally burst and even the most optimistic observers now do not expect any recovery for a few years. It could take longer.
The rising property prices in Singapore is more likely caused by the extremely low interest rates, the large influx of foreign workers and the inability of the government to anticipate the shortage of housing. It is aggravated by the inflow of speculative foreign funds (and the lack of control of the inflow).
As with other countries, I expect the pain to come when the property prices correct in Singapore. I do not buy the argument that the government could cushion the fall as Singapore is a small place and can be managed. When things get out of control, it cannot be easily managed.
Tan Kin Lian
Flouting of traffic rules
Tan How Chuan wrote to the Straits Times Forum to suggest that the Police should penalise drivers who cause rear end collisions. He lamented the lack of enforcement action by the Police on drivers who float the traffic rules and engage in tailgating.
I agree with him. Many Singapore drivers have bad habits. They are impatient, sound the horn unnecessary and tailgate.
I observe that there are insufficient policemen on the road. It could be due to a desire to reduce the cost of the public sector. This is a short sighted measure. In a well managed society, there should be a certain ratio of policemen to the population. If the population increases, we need more policemen. The exception is when the people behaves well, reducing the need for policing. I do not see any evidence of such a good trend.
The situation is made worse when the top civil servants are rewarded on a KPI which includes the ability to reduce manpower cost, without regard to the negative impact on society. I wonder if this could be a reason?
Another possibility explanation is the inability to recruit people to take up the job of policemen, especially if it involves outdoor work. I know that many people aspire to join the banks or enter the financial sector, or even to take up jobs as property or insurance agents. They are able to earn more from these jobs, even though they do not add value to the wealth of the economy, except to help inflate asset bubbles.
Quite likely, it is a combination of both factors.
I expect the standard of safety and low crime rate to deteriorate in the future. This will be sad trend, as Singapore had the quality of being clean, green and safe - and they are now disappearing. Already, we are seeing criminal gang activities among the young. I suspect that the actual crime situation is worse than what has been reported in the newspapers.
Tan Kin Lian
I agree with him. Many Singapore drivers have bad habits. They are impatient, sound the horn unnecessary and tailgate.
I observe that there are insufficient policemen on the road. It could be due to a desire to reduce the cost of the public sector. This is a short sighted measure. In a well managed society, there should be a certain ratio of policemen to the population. If the population increases, we need more policemen. The exception is when the people behaves well, reducing the need for policing. I do not see any evidence of such a good trend.
The situation is made worse when the top civil servants are rewarded on a KPI which includes the ability to reduce manpower cost, without regard to the negative impact on society. I wonder if this could be a reason?
Another possibility explanation is the inability to recruit people to take up the job of policemen, especially if it involves outdoor work. I know that many people aspire to join the banks or enter the financial sector, or even to take up jobs as property or insurance agents. They are able to earn more from these jobs, even though they do not add value to the wealth of the economy, except to help inflate asset bubbles.
Quite likely, it is a combination of both factors.
I expect the standard of safety and low crime rate to deteriorate in the future. This will be sad trend, as Singapore had the quality of being clean, green and safe - and they are now disappearing. Already, we are seeing criminal gang activities among the young. I suspect that the actual crime situation is worse than what has been reported in the newspapers.
Tan Kin Lian
Free Training Tells You How To Build A Website For Maximum Free Traffic | BusinessAndLegal.ie
This failure can be easily traced back to the structure you put in place for your site at the outset. No sane online business owner will build a site without extensive research before even purchasing a domain name.
The time you spend on research, specifically keyword research, is time well spent and is critical to the ultimate success you see.
Like building a house, building a website must be built on a solid foundation.
This solid foundation involves picking the right combination of key phrases to be targeted on your site. Simply this involves picking key phrases or words that strike the right balance between having sufficient search numbers and manageable competition from competing websites in the search engines.
Read my book on financial planning
Dear Mr. Tan,
I do not have any life insurance and I would like to buy a whole life insurance. Now I am considering 2 life policies, i.e. NTUC VivoLife and GE FlexiLife 20.
As I have read your comments in your blog, VivoLife is not a good choice due to its low yield. However, I wish to get your advise on GE FlexiLife 20, if it is a better choice for me who do not own any policy.
I am 34 years old and looking for sum assured of $100,000 and a payable term of 20 years. Greatly appreciated for your advise.
REPLY
Did you buy my book on financial planning? There is an explanation on how to evaluate a life insurance policy. You can buy it at www.tankinlian.com/ishop
I do not have any life insurance and I would like to buy a whole life insurance. Now I am considering 2 life policies, i.e. NTUC VivoLife and GE FlexiLife 20.
As I have read your comments in your blog, VivoLife is not a good choice due to its low yield. However, I wish to get your advise on GE FlexiLife 20, if it is a better choice for me who do not own any policy.
I am 34 years old and looking for sum assured of $100,000 and a payable term of 20 years. Greatly appreciated for your advise.
REPLY
Did you buy my book on financial planning? There is an explanation on how to evaluate a life insurance policy. You can buy it at www.tankinlian.com/ishop
Data roaming charges
I wrote this letter giving some suggestion on data roaming charges. The Straits Times declined to publish this letter.
I urge the mobile operators to honor their commitments in the corporate social responsibility statements and avoid making profit from unwary customers. I also urge the regulators to come forward and carry out their duty to regulate the behavior of the mobile operators.
www.tankinlian.com/latest.aspx
http://tankinlian.com/admin/file.aspx?id=326
I urge the mobile operators to honor their commitments in the corporate social responsibility statements and avoid making profit from unwary customers. I also urge the regulators to come forward and carry out their duty to regulate the behavior of the mobile operators.
www.tankinlian.com/latest.aspx
http://tankinlian.com/admin/file.aspx?id=326
Insurance of co-payments
A consumer asked for my views about the rider that is offered by an insurance company to cover the co-payments under a Shield policy. The consumer gave me a lot of trivial details about the insurance rider - repeating what must have been told to him by the insurance agent. It is really a waste of my time to listen to the sale talk repeated by the consumer.
There is no need to buy the rider to insure the co-payments. This is explained in the FAQ here. The insurance agent will spin a long story to confuse the consumer and get the consumer to pay a few hundred dollars more in premium for the rider.
http://tankinlian.com/admin/file.aspx?id=325
There is no need to buy the rider to insure the co-payments. This is explained in the FAQ here. The insurance agent will spin a long story to confuse the consumer and get the consumer to pay a few hundred dollars more in premium for the rider.
http://tankinlian.com/admin/file.aspx?id=325
The Small Claims Court in Ireland | BusinessAndLegal.ie
The Small Claims court procedure is a service provided by District Court offices in Ireland and is designed to handle consumer claims cheaply without involving a solicitor.
To be eligible to use the small claims procedure, you, the “consumer” must have bought the goods or services (or the service) for private use from someone selling them in the course of business.
The small claims procedure is not available for use by one business person against another.
You should bring your small claim in the District Court area where:
the respondent lives or carries on business, OR
the contract was made, OR
in the case of damage to property, where the damage took place.The District Court Clerk, called the Small Claims Registrar, processes small claims.
Where possible, the registrar will negotiate a settlement without the need for a court hearing. If the matter cannot be settled the registrar will bring your claim before the District Court.
UK to ban commission on investment products (i.e. life insurance policies) from 2012
Read this article:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8589042.stm
The UK Financial Service Authority found so much abuse with the sale of life insurance policies by commission based agents that they gave up trying to enforce ethics on them.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8589042.stm
The UK Financial Service Authority found so much abuse with the sale of life insurance policies by commission based agents that they gave up trying to enforce ethics on them.
Risk of becoming an insurance agent [2]
I saw a friend, who is an engineer, studying to be an insurance agent. He said that this is where he can make more money. I asked him to read this message from the wife of an ex-insurance agent:
http://tankinlian.com/admin/file.aspx?id=297
http://tankinlian.com/admin/file.aspx?id=297
Low cost term insurance
Dear Mr. Tan
My husband is a Malaysian PR. He is not eligible to buy group insurance from SAF. What other option for him to buy low cost term insurance?
REPLY
Here is another option to get low cost term insurance:
http://tankinlian.com/admin/
Although the premium is higher than the SAF group policy, it is still much lower than other types of life insurance policies.
My husband is a Malaysian PR. He is not eligible to buy group insurance from SAF. What other option for him to buy low cost term insurance?
REPLY
Here is another option to get low cost term insurance:
http://tankinlian.com/admin/
Although the premium is higher than the SAF group policy, it is still much lower than other types of life insurance policies.
Considering cost and coverage
Dear Mr.Tan:
I am considering to buy health insurance policy in singapore. I have done some research, I found that there are total 5 insurance company which have the medishield upgrade plan. Those are covering hospitalisation. out of 4 of the insurance company provide 100% cover for medical expense. and only NTUC-INCOME cover 90% of hospital bill.
How do you think the 100% cover and 90% cover? When we choose health insurance what should we need to take note?
REPLY
You should consider the premium that you have to pay as well. The difference between 100% cover age and 90% coverage is small. The difference in premium should not exceed 10%. Read my views about Shield coverage in www.tankinlian.com/ask.aspx (search for "Shield" or "Medishield.)
REPLY
You should consider the premium that you have to pay as well. The difference between 100% cover age and 90% coverage is small. The difference in premium should not exceed 10%. Read my views about Shield coverage in www.tankinlian.com/ask.aspx (search for "Shield" or "Medishield.)
Bumped into TKL website
Hi Mr Tan,
Bumped into your website resently. Found that you have put up a lot of useful educational materials which I believe will benefit a lot of people like me, who are not very financially literate and who would like to take better control over their personal financial matters and don't quite know how to do it. Thanks for the effort and keep it up!
REPLY
You can buy my book on financial planning (www.tankinlian.com/ishop)
or attend the educational talks organiserd by FISCA (www.fisca.sg/events)
or visit my blog (www.tankinlian.blogspot.com)
or website (www.tankinlian.com).
Bumped into your website resently. Found that you have put up a lot of useful educational materials which I believe will benefit a lot of people like me, who are not very financially literate and who would like to take better control over their personal financial matters and don't quite know how to do it. Thanks for the effort and keep it up!
REPLY
You can buy my book on financial planning (www.tankinlian.com/ishop)
or attend the educational talks organiserd by FISCA (www.fisca.sg/events)
or visit my blog (www.tankinlian.blogspot.com)
or website (www.tankinlian.com).
FISCA Talk on Insurance - follow up questions
Dear Mr.Tan
Thank you for your talk and very useful advice for us on buying insurance.
1. Seminar Talk - Exercise 3. Earn interest 4% per annum, How much is the total contribution plus interest over 35 years? (Factor to be used is 73.65) Question: a) How to get 73.65 ? b) How to get 1,272,672?
Reply
Read this FAQ:
http://tankinlian.com/admin/file.aspx?id=307
3. Mr.Tan, you have the best price for those PA and Term plan with less than $500.
Could you give me some insurance company ? I will find out and compare the price to less than $1,000. with insured 1million. From my record, I have asked some insurance companies and agents, they quoted me the price were more than $2,000. with insured 1 million.
Reply:
Read this FAQ:
http://tankinlian.com/admin/file.aspx?id=116
http://tankinlian.com/Admin/File.aspx?id=62
Thank you for your talk and very useful advice for us on buying insurance.
1. Seminar Talk - Exercise 3. Earn interest 4% per annum, How much is the total contribution plus interest over 35 years? (Factor to be used is 73.65) Question: a) How to get 73.65 ? b) How to get 1,272,672?
Reply
Read this FAQ:
http://tankinlian.com/admin/file.aspx?id=307
3. Mr.Tan, you have the best price for those PA and Term plan with less than $500.
Could you give me some insurance company ? I will find out and compare the price to less than $1,000. with insured 1million. From my record, I have asked some insurance companies and agents, they quoted me the price were more than $2,000. with insured 1 million.
Reply:
Read this FAQ:
http://tankinlian.com/admin/file.aspx?id=116
http://tankinlian.com/Admin/File.aspx?id=62
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)