Insurance agents, do you ever feel bad for selling what your clients don't need just for the commissions? Imagine if the client was your loved one, will heart pain right?

Hi anon,

Do you want to hear my experience? My mom wanted an endowment plan for my brother to fund his education but got sold a whole life CI policy instead, by my aunt's agent. And she was rightfully pissed with it after she eventually discovered that no funds would be maturing to pay school fees when my brother entered university. But she just didn't understand how insurance works; which meant she didn't know what she bought. And neither did my aunt know what was sold to my mom by her agent.

When my grandfather died, his estate was split amongst my mom and her siblings, and the same agent decended upon them to sell whole life CI and a ton of single premium endowments, to the extent that the insurer had to call my family to clarify the source of funds (since we're not well off, so suddenly pumping a ton of money into policies must have triggered their anti money laundering alarms). On top of that, the bank sold my uncle a savings plan with a surrender value lower than the premiums paid. My grandfather would have turned in his grave. Actually, he probably did. Sigh.

When I stepped into the industry years later, imagine to my horror finding out that my mom didn't even upgrade her Shield Plan to at least an 'A' ward, let alone her Eldershield coverage amount. And my aunt didn't upgrade her Eldershield either. That agent was fully capable of doing it since she worked for a company that provided Eldershield supplement plans, but I have no idea why she didn't do it. So my mom and aunt couldn't really get a lot of coverage for their age (they're in their 60s now). If only this was settled 10 years ago, their payouts would be better if something happened to them.

Why protection wasn't settled first for my mom and aunt before wealth accumulation, I'll never know. No one in my family is talking to my aunt's agent any more. You talk about your mom kena 'victim'; I've seen my whole family gone through this. The best part? I apparently have an endowment policy in my name (using my late grandfather's estate funds) and the client signature is not mine. Fantastic. (I was in my 20s when he passed on, and more than capable of signing a policy in my own name)

All I know is, this is not something that I want my clients to go through. For such a thing to happen to my family is once too many. So it's all too easy to relate to your question, and I'm always remembered of what happened to my family, and what could have been.

How can we bridge this gap? I believe financial literacy is the key. Even a very basic understanding of insurance policies will ensure that you know what you need, and you'll be able to tell if someone is pulling a fast one on you. And from my end, my job is to give the best advice. That way, my conscience will always be clear, and it is ultimately up to the client to take action (which linked to the last point here)

This question a bit rigged. The agents here likely won't do that. And the agents who do it won't be here, neither will they answer your question if they were.

But the moral of the story is, get an agent you know well and you trust. Not sure, ask around or read up or get second opinion. I don't understand why people see doctor, must get second third fourth fifth opinion, but don't apply similar principles to other aspects of life. Finally, remember that ultimately you buy the policy and you lugi, also not your agent lugi/xim tia for you.

I have nothing against agents though. There are plenty of good ones around. We just need to ask and find.

Feel your pain though. My parent similar situation as your mom. What's worse? The agent is our relative.​​​