Insurance Cheat People?

Refer to the link about a real-life case: http://blog.thestar.com.my/permalink.asp?id=34871&cat=1

So, what conclusion you can get from this issue?

Hey, I'm Insurance Agent, yes, but I'm not here defending anyone or defending the industry as a whole. What's our rights, we need to find out, and if we are right, do not feel fear to fight for our rights... Well, there's why lawyers are for... Lawyer's job is to fight for us..

But, let me back to discuss what an Insurance Agent's job are..

Insurance Agent, like me, are here to explain and create awareness for the Public who feels that Insurance Companies have taken advantages on them..

One of the commentor, yeesang, even posted this...

Firstly, I have never trusted a second-hand car dealer or its salesmen.

Secondly, I have never trusted any insurance company and its salesmen too."

This is so....SAD...

Yes, I use the word sad because if yeesang didn't trust insurance at all, I can most certainly be sure that he/she don't have any insurance policies, and if my assumption is right, then who is ultimately going to pay his/her medical bills?

Now, let me highlight what the complaint is all about by reposting the whole text here:-

Yes, some insurance policies are so strict that they tantamount to cheating the customers.

There are some policies where the penalty for early cancellation is so severe you get practically zero.

My wife bought three policies without understanding fully the conditions. She was lured into promises of high surrender value but in actual fact she not only does not earn any form of interest but the so-called bonus rewards end up as a smoke screen. How come?

This is because when she wants to opt out after 10 years she has to forfeit a lump sum of her premium payments.

That is how your insurance agents earn their fat commissions!  - By bobocheah, 11-Apr-2011

He mentioned that someone lured his wife into believing that the surrender value is high!!

Wait a moment, you purchase a savings endowment plan because you want to get high surrender value???

How wrong is that?

We purchase endowment plan because we want to ensure that our retirement needs are taken care of, because we want to build up a cash pile to be ready when we are old, and to supplement as our 2nd EPF funds... and also because we know that if we are diagnosis with critical illness half-way during the accumulation periods, insurance companies will help us save and ensure that our retirement needs are well taken care of...

That should be our one and only aim when we sign on the dotted line for an Endowment Savings plan..

I always tell my prospects that, make sure the premium is something you are comfortable paying, as you will not be able to get back your capital if you are unable to continue the premium payment until the premium payment term.

So, to all those out there, can you go back and check on your policy document and find out what is the total premium payment term???

Don't just rely on your Insurance Agents telling you that you just need to pay for n years.

The n might be 5 years, 6 years, 8 years, 10 years... depending on your plan features...

To my horror, in fact, I found out that many irresponsible agents told their clients that n is 6 years, but actual term is whole life...

But why 6 years? Why the agent told its client only need to pay for 6 years?

Haha... Coincidentally, agent's commissions are for 6 years only..

After 6 years, agents don't get anymore commissions and that's why they don't bother whether you still pay for your policies, or whether your policy still inforce, because to them, even if your policies lapse, it would affects their persistency rates, and they had already earned full commissions from the policies..

So, as a conclusion, beware and always go through the policy documents when you received it from your agents. Remember, you have 15 days cooling off period to read through it and decide once more..

If you are unsure of anything, you can refer to your agent again, and if he/she can't go through the policies with you, most probably he/she is not good at his/her job, and probably, it's time to consider purchasing from others and cancel the policy.

Well, hope you learn something from this post, and feel free to share with me your own experiences and I'll share with you my views and probably some suggestions...

(",) Cheers!