DIYInsurance (Do It Your way Insurance) is Singapore’s First Life Insurance Comparison Web Portal launched in June 2014.
As its name suggests, you can now purchase insurance based on your own agenda and not the insurance agent’s agenda. Besides having the option to compare different kind of insurance plans across various insurers, they also rebate 30% of the commissions back to you. That’s an added bonus for making conscientious effort to take care of your own future financial needs!
Good news for every responsible adults out there!
DIYInsurance has unveiled a first-of-its-kind insurance packages last month to provide a more holistic cover to two groups of people that require protection the most — Baby and Young Working Adult.
For every parents, the birth of your baby signifies happiness and it also means assuming greater responsibility.
As parents, we want to give the best to our children. Besides giving them a memorable childhood, we want to give them a good education and adequate medical treatment if they fall ill or get injured.
The Child Protection Plan is an insurance package that protects your newborn from day one and it covers everything from child-related critical illnesses to death and disability. A complete hospitalization plan is also included to ensure that their hospital bill are taken care of.
Premium can be as affordable as less than $100 a month, depending on your needs. For more info, visit DIYInsurance here.
As responsible parents, we want our children’s education to be well taken care of and if your budget permits, the Baby Package also offers an Education Savings Plan that provides cash payout each time when your child reaches the next education milestone. Imagine how grateful your child will feel when they receive a cash payout of $2,000 each time they progress from Primary School to Secondary, and then to College?
An additional lump sum payment will be paid out when they turn 18, 19 and 20 (If your child is a girl) or 20, 21 and 22. (If your child is a boy)
Get rewarded for being responsible. You are entitled to cash rebates of around $300 for signing up for the Baby Package. A $50 shopping voucher will also be thrown in if you sign up for both the Child Protection Plan and the Education Savings Plan.
Enquire more about the package on DIYInsurace’s website here.
* Nobody like being shortchanged, and they understand that. DIYInsurance has also launched the Price Beater option which guarantee to offer you the best insurance deals out there. Got a better quotes from other insurers? Contact them and they’ll beat the price you have been offered and in addition they will give you up to $50 in shopping vouchers to spend! [Until 31 Dec 2015]
Early this year, the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau conducted a study on 59 consumers as well as 30 professionals to define what financial well-being actually is. Through their in-depth interviews they found that your income does not matter; consumers can experience financial well-being or the lack of it because it is highly personal. Therefore, financial well-being is defined as having financial freedom of choice and financial security in the present and in the future.
FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE THE FINANCIAL WELL-BEING
a. Social and economic environment,
b. Personality and attitudes,
c. Decision context,
d. Knowledge and skills,
e. Available opportunities,
f. and Behavior.
Image Credits: pixabay.com (CC0 Public Domain)
FINANCIAL WELL-BEING’S FOUR ELEMENTS
1. PRESENT SECURITY
You are able to pay your bills on time and do not have to worry about having enough money. You manage your finances and not the other way around.
2. FUTURE SECURITY
You are prepared to handle any financial emergencies or shocks that when it strikes, you have sufficient insurance, savings, and support from your family and friends.
3. PRESENT FREEDOM OF CHOICE
You have control over your life because you have financial freedom. Taking holidays, going out for dinner, and being generous to your family are done as you wish.
4. FUTURE FREEDOM OF CHOICE
You have short-term and long-term financial goals and you know how to meet them.
Image Credits: pixabay.com (CC0 Public Domain)
WAYS TO BOOST YOUR FINANCIAL WELL-BEING
1. EARN IT
Many people cut expenses but only a few examine ways to increase income. In the event of job loss, it is still important to do whatever it takes to provide for yourself and your family.
2. PROTECT IT
Do research (e.g., from newspapers, Internet, and financial experts) to ensure that all your monetary efforts are not wasted.
3. MANAGE IT
After you retire, the bottom line is not how much you make but how much you keep.
4. GROW IT
With careful financial planning, money will grow even in a slower economy.
5. ENJOY IT
A comprehensive plan will allow you to go for vacations, new car, and so much more. With this, you can transfer some funds to your heirs or to charitable causes.
Take each day as an opportunity to work towards improving your financial well-being!
Some of us are hesitant or skeptical toward Financial Consultants. To increase your knowledge on this subject, what do Financial Consultants actually do on a daily basis?
In general, Financial Consultants are professionals who guide their clients to manage their money, investment options, and asset relocation. But, what they do is far more complex than that. A career as a Financial Consultant gets to enjoy the flexible working hours and the privilege to indulge on the job incentives (e.g., Free Trip to Australia). Thus, the freedom will help them spend more time with their treasured family and friends. It can not only be challenging as they face a lot of rejection but also rewarding as they see their clients improving their monetary lifestyle. There is a job growth in this field as long as you go through continuous training with determination and openness.
Especially in large companies such as Prudential, HSBC, etc., Financial Consultants are:
a. Financial Planners
b. Dependable Advisors
c. Monetary Coaches, and
d. Financial Solutions Provider.
Financial planning entails creating the client’s financial goals by determining the shortage and the actual financial situation. Then, trusted advisory includes managing cash flow and developing money management strategies. While, Monetary coaching entails guiding clients to save more and to motivate them to avoid procrastination. Lastly, Providing Financial Solutions includes offering affordable solutions and options to achieve one’s financial goals.
Financial Consultants are more than just insurance salesmen because they organize your finances after identifying their financial needs and providing them with valid options. All these are given within a practical timeframe. Furthermore, the relationship established with you does not end after the “sale” is done. Financial Consultants are responsible for regular follow-ups to ensure that your needs are taken cared of. In short, they are committed before and after sales.
Image Credits: State Farm via Flickr with CC License
An insurance resource that exists for one sole purpose: to empower you to make informed decisions about your insurance purchases based on no one’s agenda except your own.
Here’s how they stood out from the rest:
30% Commission Rebates
In addition to promotions, you will receive 30% commission rebates back in cash when you purchase any product through DIYInsurance for greater cost savings to you. Learn more about commissions rebate here.
Independence
All staff from DIYInsurance are paid a fixed salary and do not participate in sales-based compensation or incentives of any kind. Not being remunerated on a commission-basis means DIYInsurance is independent and are able to focus on doing our best to fulfill your needs. There is no hard-selling and no over-selling.
DIYInsurance Rating
The DIYInsurance rating system helps you find the product which is of the best value that suits your needs. The Specialist Consulting Group with expertise insurance knowledge, compiles, analyses, compares, updates and research products distributed by insurance companies based on features and price. Based on the product’s value, it is converted to the number of stars as displayed in the comparison platform.
While i love the amazing skyline from Victoria Peak, what got me excited were not the insta-worthy photos i took or the dim sum i gobbled down at Lung King Heen.
It was the fact that i actually travel for free.
Free? Does it means that i won a free trip to Hong Kong or had my travel sponsored by a company?
Good guess, but nope!
Well, the trick here is about planning my own finances. I couldn’t have included Hong Kong into the list of places to visit without exceeding the budget i set aside for this year.
A few years ago when i was still a student, i didn’t care too much about my own finances since i was spending within my means. Like many others, I had my money stashed away in a POSB’s saving account. Who care about interest rates when we hardly have five figures in our possession? The returns were pittance that it hardly warrant any extra attention.
My attitude changed when i had friends who were boasting about how much money they were making. I told myself i wanted to be like them — to be rich, in the shortest amount of time.
It seems then that the only way is to investventure gamble into the stocks market. I had no idea where to start until one day i was approached by a financial adviser when i was exiting the MRT station. And being a ambitious and impulsive young adult, i was persuaded into buying a saving plan that invests into the market with some kind of insurance cover that comes with it.
It felt good even though i had no idea what i was buying into – the feel good factor that i am now investing like an adult.
I call in to check on the policy every month, but apparently i was told that it is still in the early stage and had little or no cash value.
After a few months i gave up because it hardly grows and sadly i was told that if i were to terminate the plan, i would end up with almost nothing.
The change
From then on, I told myself that no one else can manage my own finances except myself. I need to take the responsibility or i will be the one suffering down the road.
I spend months reading up on books, forums, MoneySense and any resources that i could laid hands on. I begin to understand the importance of budgeting, investing and how to manage my own finances.
I started by switching my funds to a higher interest-bearing account such as the OCBC 360 where customers could potentially earn up to 3.25% as at 1 May 2015.
It was also then that i realized that previously i was holding on to an investment-linked plan which comes with high fee and charges. It is not cost-effective to achieve my goals and i had to take the hard decision to surrender and make a loss.
A better way that i learnt is to buy term insurance and invest the difference. Term insurance is cheap and affordable although it does not have cash value. But the difference i could potentially save could be put into better investment vehicle such as the low cost fund that tracks the Straits Time Index (STI) which has a historical return of around 8 per cent in the long run.
I was introduced to the online platform DIYInsurance — a portal which allows me to compare the different term insurance plans out there. What appeals to me is that they rebate 30% of the commission back to the customer and at the same time still make an effort to go through the planning process, making sure that the person is on the right track.
They have a live chat system where i can ask any questions on how to use the online platform, as well as clarifying with the client services manager on the semantics of insurance definition. It was fuss free and it beats the inconvenience of holding on to the line when you call in to financial institutions for enquiries.
If you are wondering how much money i save using the DIY method, i have done up some numbers for comparison.
(Click to enlarge)
As you can see, i was previously paying $300 a month for a $200K cover on death and disability and a $50K rider on critical illnesses. If the funds grow at 4%, it will take me 20 years to break even and 35 years to make a small profit of $15K. (calculate the ROI)
If i were to employ the alternative strategy of buying term and investing the difference, i’d be merely paying $100 a month for a $500K cover on death, disability and $300K on critical illnesses. The other $100 will be channeled to a low cost fund, and assuming it grows at the same rate, my portfolio would be sitting at a value of $35K after 20 years or $88K after 35 years. (note that i’m contributing 2/3 of what i’d have otherwise contributed to the ILP and i have pegged its growth at 4% for comparison purposes)
As a result, i managed to put away $100 a month into my travel funds and this adds up to a significant amount of $1,200 a year. A sum that is sufficient for me to pay for the return air ticket to Hong Kong which including hotel and shopping expenses incurred during the trip. I am also getting $400 worth of commission rebates from DIYInsurance which i can either re-invest or spend it on my next trip. (I have re-invested it)
In conclusion
By taking charge of my own finances, i am now enjoying a higher returns of 2.25% (excluding the 1% bonus to insure or invest) from the money sitting in the bank as well as future incoming funds. I have also manage to cut down on unnecessary fee and charges slapped on expensive insurance products by switching to a more affordable term cover and investing in a low cost funds.
I have lost some money in the investment linked product but at the same time i have took home valuable knowledge and wisdom of managing my own finances, and as a result, created more wealth from it.
Well, perhaps a road trip to Australia next?
(Article contributed by Cheryl, a Marketing Executive working in Singapore.)
MoneyDigest
Anna Agoncillo
