Distress with an investment linked policy

A consumer approached me for advice. He invested his CPF savings and regular savings in an investment-linked policy sold to him by a friend. After some time, he found that the value of his savings had depleted by nearly 40 percent. He was concerned and approached me for advice - should he terminate his policy. The friend who sold him the policy had since left the insurance company.

He showed me the names of several funds that he had invested in. He had bought a recurring single premium policy, I told him that the loss could be due to the following factors:

- expenses deducted from the savings to pay commission to the agent
- high annual fees deducted from the fund
- decline in the market.

I am not familiar with the charges that are taken away from each recurring single premium, nor the annual fees deducted from the fund, and for the insurance coverage. But the deduction seemed to be quite high.

I had advised consumers many times to avoid investment-linked policies that have high deductions. I advised them to attend the financial planning workshop and the life insurance talk organised by FISCA. Many consumers did not heed my advice, and went to invest in the wrong products, causing them to lose many tens of thousand dollars. It is a very painful experience.

To attend the talk, you should register now at http://easyapps.sg/assn/Org/Event.aspx?id=5