Distribution cost of life insurance policy

Dear Mr. Tan,

I read your survey about "life insurance policy". I bought a policy a few months ago, and the agent did not tell me about the distribution cost. I am now aware about it, after reading the survey results. I feel cheated that such a high cost (representing nearly two years of my savings) was not brough to my attention, although it is printed in the many pages of the benefit illustration. Can I seek a recourse now?

REPLY

It is the duty of the insurance agent to disclose to you about the distribution cost of the life insurance policy that you have bought. 

If it is not brought to your attention, I suggest that you should make a complaint to the insurance company and request that the policy be cancelled for a full refund. If the company does not agree, you can lodge a complaint with FIDReC (www.fidrec.org.sg).

You should look at the amount of the distribution cost. If it is a few hundred dollars, it is a fair remuneration to the insurance agents, in which case, you should not make the complaint. However, if it is $1,000 or more, you can make the complaint.

Survey - Life Insurance policy

If you have bought a life insurance policy (i.e. whole, life, endowment, investment linked, or variation) during the past two years, you can participate in this survey. 

Read the survey results.

Results - Where to live

Survey results

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What are your views on these issues affecting our society?

Survey

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Survey: Democracy

Ho Cheow Seng wishes to help me to educate people about values and character. He has written this article about democracy.

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Participate in this 

survey.

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Give your views on budget 2009

How do you feel about the budget 2009?

Participate in the survey

Read the survey results.

Survey results.

The average rating from 95 respondents are:

a) The budget is good for business (rating 3.78)

b) The general election will be called in 2009 (rating 2.97)

c)  The average rating for the other questions are lower than 2.66. 

A rating of 3.0 is neutral. A rating below 3 indicates that more people disagree with the statement, compared to those who agree.  

On the whole, the respondents are less confident about the benefit of the budget for the people, in saving jobs, in spurring economic recovery or helping the unemployed. There is also a negative level of confidence in the leaders.

The ratings are similar across age groups. The employed have a slightyly higher level of confidence, compared to business and the unemployed/retired.

From Financial Times

Sometimes dubbed the world’s most socialist country, Japan never went in for the CEO cult. On average, big company executives earn about three times as much as the rank-and-file – comfortably within the four-fold ideal espoused by Plato two and a half millennia ago.

That is also a far more modest gap than the 39 times differential prevailing among FTSE 350 board members and employees, as measured by research house IDS. It is not even in the same universe as the US, where the left-leaning Institute for Policy Studies reckons CEOs take home 344 times more than the average worker.