Insurance

[Sugar]

I am thinking of getting life policy or term for my baby.

 

Are there any insurance company that i should "stay" away from?

 

Someone told me to go for NTUC as they are the most reliable. Any truth?

[Pentium]

They are assorted policies that are suitable for babies.

Most impt get a hospitalisation plan for baby first. young kids prone to be sick.

Term life or whole life - depends as whether you want cash value or not. Some whole life plans is only slightly higher in premium, however, you have a good cash value after some time.

 

[Sugar]

They are assorted policies that are suitable for babies.

Most impt get a hospitalisation plan for baby first. young kids prone to be sick.

Term life or whole life - depends as whether you want cash value or not. Some whole life plans is only slightly higher in premium, however, you have a good cash value after some time.

 

yea thanks.

 

Actually i am interested in the insurance company and their reputation.

[Stratovarius]

yea thanks.

 

Actually i am interested in the insurance company and their reputation.

IMHO, it's the agents or advisors who you should be careful of. Some will try to hardsell you, some will disappear after you sign the dotted line and some will slow in responing your request when you need their help. Ask around to see if your friends has any recomendations for you.

[Pentium]

yea thanks.

 

Actually i am interested in the insurance company and their reputation.

 

 

If you want a quote , kindly contact me. check your PM.

I can briefly advise on the various insurance companies strengths or weakness. I am not a tied insurance agent , so I do not hard sell any particular company.

Can give u a comparison btw different companies in terms of premium and features.

[Shull]

I am thinking of getting life policy or term for my baby.

 

Are there any insurance company that i should "stay" away from?

 

Someone told me to go for NTUC as they are the most reliable. Any truth?

 

My advice for life insurance.. cover yourself first.. if *touch wood* anything happen to you, at least your family have a sum of money to tide through the initial period..

[Sabian]

Term or life?

 

Shd be looking at hospital and medical coverage if it's for kids.

 

And keep investment element separate from insurance.

[Pentium]

From my opinion:

 

Hospital plans - NTUC fast in claims

aviva is free for kids if husband & wife get mid range plans

 

 

Term Life -

get the cheapest for most bang for the buck as term life is a no brainer policy (Either dead or alive).

But some companies only offer up to age 65, some to 99. It depends how long duration. Underwriting is often very sticky and strict.

 

Whole life-

Each insurer has their own strength.

NTUC falls in the mid range to upper quartile. Can read on vivolife from income.com.sg (1.25x for 1st 15 years)

My own preference is Tokio Marine for kids- as got 4x cover till age 70 yrs old. (ie. if buy $100k cover, u get $400k if any events happen)

 

Reputation wise- NTUC income is very strong as partial govt owned. The rest are commercial entities, have to look at track records (ie. any bonus cutting, S&P ratings etc)

Edited September 19, 2012 by Pentium

[Darryn]

Term or life?

 

Shd be looking at hospital and medical coverage if it's for kids.

 

And keep investment element separate from insurance.

 

Absolutely - DO NOT mix the two.

 

A good guide for life insurance is 10x annual salary - if like that, then family will be ok if anything should happen to you.

 

For investment - buy a specialist investment policy - you will be better off this way. Think of it this way - when you buy car insurance, do you combine it with "buy new car savings" or do you do the two separately?

 

[Incidentalsingaporean]

They are assorted policies that are suitable for babies.

Most impt get a hospitalisation plan for baby first. young kids prone to be sick.

Term life or whole life - depends as whether you want cash value or not. Some whole life plans is only slightly higher in premium, however, you have a good cash value after some time.

 

you from which company?

[Kyrios]

Absolutely - DO NOT mix the two.

 

A good guide for life insurance is 10x annual salary - if like that, then family will be ok if anything should happen to you.

 

For investment - buy a specialist investment policy - you will be better off this way. Think of it this way - when you buy car insurance, do you combine it with "buy new car savings" or do you do the two separately?

 

Why huh? Got a couple of ILPs leh...

[Iisterry]

Why huh? Got a couple of ILPs leh...

 

Because... the flow of money when you purchase ILPS look like this. Customer -> Sales Staff -> Management -> Company -> Brokerage -> Fund Managers -> Insurer's Manager -> Insurance Agent -> You. There is also conversion charges when your money gets converted to their units.

 

It is almost guaranteed to lose money regardless. If underlying security goes up by 10%, you gain 5%. If underlying security drops by 10%, you lose 15%. Heads you lose, Tails they win.

 

Insurance should be an expense, not an asset (ever since estate tax was abolished). Insurance costs generally runs at 0.X%. Meaning to insure $1, you should be looking at an expense of less than 1c.

 

There is no point getting a life insurance on the baby's life as the baby has no dependent. You should be getting life insurance on the breadwinner instead and name your spouse or children as the beneficiary so it does not take ages for them to get the money after the payout is credited to your Estate.

 

You can look into H&S, CI for your baby and depreciating term life insurance on the breadwinner (and CI/H&S/Disability for the breadwinner). No ILP, No Whole Life, No Endowment, No XXX Structured Plans (whatever fancy names it can come up with).

 

Those policies that tout to be free or self sustaining after a given years is essentially because the sum of the future cashflows from the premium you paid is sufficient to cover the premiums thereafter. You can DIY instead of paying them a few extra percentage points.

 

It is like a product which goes like this.

- $5k in car insurance premium for 10 years.

- Thereafter your car insurance will be free for life so long as you do not cross a certain threshold of claims amount/accident within the 10 years.

 

Sounds good? No it doesn't. At 5% return on $50,000, interests generate is $2,500. More than sufficient to cover an average driver since they already have 10 years to determine your style.

[Yattokame]

Because... the flow of money when you purchase ILPS look like this. Customer -> Sales Staff -> Management -> Company -> Brokerage -> Fund Managers -> Insurer's Manager -> Insurance Agent -> You. There is also conversion charges when your money gets converted to their units.

 

It is almost guaranteed to lose money regardless. If underlying security goes up by 10%, you gain 5%. If underlying security drops by 10%, you lose 15%. Heads you lose, Tails they win.

 

Insurance should be an expense, not an asset (ever since estate tax was abolished). Insurance costs generally runs at 0.X%. Meaning to insure $1, you should be looking at an expense of less than 1c.

 

There is no point getting a life insurance on the baby's life as the baby has no dependent. You should be getting life insurance on the breadwinner instead and name your spouse or children as the beneficiary so it does not take ages for them to get the money after the payout is credited to your Estate.

 

You can look into H&S, CI for your baby and depreciating term life insurance on the breadwinner (and CI/H&S/Disability for the breadwinner). No ILP, No Whole Life, No Endowment, No XXX Structured Plans (whatever fancy names it can come up with).

 

Those policies that tout to be free or self sustaining after a given years is essentially because the sum of the future cashflows from the premium you paid is sufficient to cover the premiums thereafter. You can DIY instead of paying them a few extra percentage points.

 

It is like a product which goes like this.

- $5k in car insurance premium for 10 years.

- Thereafter your car insurance will be free for life so long as you do not cross a certain threshold of claims amount/accident within the 10 years.

 

Sounds good? No it doesn't. At 5% return on $50,000, interests generate is $2,500. More than sufficient to cover an average driver since they already have 10 years to determine your style.

 

 

absolutely well said. Medical for the kids (have a pair of toddlers myself, and my son was hospitalized two months ago) and life insurance + medical for breadwinners. or maybe throw in mortgage protection.

 

be careful of those who cross sell things to you like endowment or ILP.

[Mllcg]

are there hospital insurance that covers u for anything with no claim cap?

 

or do all companies have hospital/medical caps?

[Sabian]

be careful of those who cross sell things to you like endowment or ILP.

whole life as well.

 

[Pentium]

are there hospital insurance that covers u for anything with no claim cap?

 

or do all companies have hospital/medical caps?

 

 

Most insurance companies will have caps per year or lifetime.

But generally, the claim limits are pretty high. If 1-2 million still cannot recover, most likely its terminal or incurable.

 

However, there are some insurance Hospital plans that do not restrict to which hospital. Hospitals in USA such as John Hopkin etc also covered. But the premium is very high (5 figures per year)

[Pentium]

Because... the flow of money when you purchase ILPS look like this. Customer -> Sales Staff -> Management -> Company -> Brokerage -> Fund Managers -> Insurer's Manager -> Insurance Agent -> You. There is also conversion charges when your money gets converted to their units.

 

It is almost guaranteed to lose money regardless. If underlying security goes up by 10%, you gain 5%. If underlying security drops by 10%, you lose 15%. Heads you lose, Tails they win.

 

Insurance should be an expense, not an asset (ever since estate tax was abolished). Insurance costs generally runs at 0.X%. Meaning to insure $1, you should be looking at an expense of less than 1c.

 

There is no point getting a life insurance on the baby's life as the baby has no dependent. You should be getting life insurance on the breadwinner instead and name your spouse or children as the beneficiary so it does not take ages for them to get the money after the payout is credited to your Estate.

 

You can look into H&S, CI for your baby and depreciating term life insurance on the breadwinner (and CI/H&S/Disability for the breadwinner). No ILP, No Whole Life, No Endowment, No XXX Structured Plans (whatever fancy names it can come up with).

 

Those policies that tout to be free or self sustaining after a given years is essentially because the sum of the future cashflows from the premium you paid is sufficient to cover the premiums thereafter. You can DIY instead of paying them a few extra percentage points.

 

It is like a product which goes like this.

- $5k in car insurance premium for 10 years.

- Thereafter your car insurance will be free for life so long as you do not cross a certain threshold of claims amount/accident within the 10 years.

 

Sounds good? No it doesn't. At 5% return on $50,000, interests generate is $2,500. More than sufficient to cover an average driver since they already have 10 years to determine your style.

 

 

ILPs are good for those with medical condition, where they cannot buy any term insurance or whole life plans. they are usually more lenient as the charges are higher.

 

Unless you are very savy in investments, and can generate consistent returns of more than 5% p.a, you are better off not buying whole life or endowment plans. However, if you have little budget , eg $50 a mth, there is not much investment options in the market. You may then need insurance companies to pool your money to invest as well as manage the risk.

 

Term insurance is very good and cheap. The unfortunate part is that there is no cash value. If you are sick, or financially tied and miss one payment; the insurer will lapse the policy and relook at your current medical condition before extending the same plan back to you. Application is usually very strict as the risk is very high for the insurance companies.

 

But in singapore, not many people interested to buy term insurance as its pay and pay. if you dont die, then there is no money back. Whole life plan is one option that can give you back your money and some returns over time. Only 1 insurance company till todate, has not ever cut their bonuses before since they set up shop here and they have consistently paid out whatever they had promised in their printout. I cannot promise if they will not change their strategy in the future, but for the past 50-60 years, they had paid out what was projected irregardless of good or bad times.

[Darryn]

My reasoning is similar but not so chim

 

1. Life insurance is to take care of your dependents if the unthinkable happens. If buy a specific life policy you can specify how long you want it (eg: maybe till age 55 at which point it becomes too expensive, or you don't have dependents anymore)

2. On a life insurance policy, the charges and commissions will be lesser - and by the same token, you remove the life part from your retirement, you will save yourself needless commissions

3. From what I know, investment linked programmes tend to attract multiple commissions at multiple times, as opposed to whole life, which is a one time commission thing.

4. If buy whole life, it can be very much more affordable for a decent amount of coverage than for a comparable coverage under investment linked. From what I remember last time, I got a quote for $750k of coverage up to age 50, the premium was only about $200 per month or something similarly palatable.

 

Intinsicially the two are for very different purposes. Buy one at a time to get the best deal.

 

I have an inflation indexed policy on my life, for which I pay premiums monthly, but don't have any investment schemes.