Leopard Origins

Let me narrate a story.

One day, my aunt came to me, asking for help with her insurance policies. I thought it was strange that she knew i had some proficiency in this. So I probed a little and found out she was facing problems with her finances which led to the deterioration of her health. I agreed to help her out, careful not to over promise for i had neither experience nor qualifications.

So i went to my Aunt's house one morning. It surprised me to see another lady there. Somebody closer to my age than my aunt. This lady was well dressed and professional in her short white dress. She introduced herself as S who was an agent who managed some of my Aunt's policies. While my Aunt was gathering her documents, i spoke to S trying hard not to be smitten by her powdered and beautified face. You can't blame me for they were good in the art of making-up - both cosmetics and stories.

S handled the situation first and reviewed many of the documents that my Aunt brought out. She sounded perplexed and upset at the situation my Aunt found herself in. Way too many policies, way too many unnecessary insurance with premiums way too high for her income. Now, this sort of situation came as no surprise. I've read and even witnessed many such cases but to hit so close to home is another matter altogether. Not all products were sold to my Aunt from S and she only recently took over my Aunt as a client.

I was wary about S because she's an agent and she's pretty. As S was going through all the products, it was clear she was not the one responsible for the most toxic products sold to my Aunt. Her products while not ideal was actually providing some decent coverage. I can't speak the same for the rest. S's heart is as good as she looks.

Below i list the products that my Aunt had.

- A hospitalization plan
- 15year endowment plan (started in 2014)
- Single premium ILP
- Limited Whole Life (started before 2012)
- 5+5 Endowment plan (started in 2012)
- 5+5 Endowment plan (started in 2013)
- Annuity Plan with 8 years premium, to be paid out from Age 70

All the above for my Aunt who turned 55 in 2012 with take home income less than that of a diploma graduate. Her health is not that good and she has no dependents.

At this point, S and i were frantically trying to locate the receipts and passbook details for the accounts to gather the full picture. Observant readers will note that 55 is the age of the withdrawal of CPF funds. It was clearly the case where extra money was suddenly available and you became the fattest prey to these unscrupulous wolves. My Aunt merely wanted to place money into rolling Fixed Deposits.

As we went through all the fact-finding, it was clear what happened to the monies and we managed to piece together the timeline in which all of the above happened. S finally took her leave after doing the paperwork her client requested for. I stayed on and planned for my Aunt her best course of action.

The 2 5+5 Endowment plans were sold to my Aunt by a bank sales staff named I. Initially, i was angry at I. She was probably only focused on hitting her own KPI when selling products to my Aunt. These two plans had annual premiums 10 times the amount my Aunt brings back home monthly. Just what is left for my Aunt's day to day sustenance is beyond my comprehension. She even had to withdraw more money from her CPF to fork out for these premiums. To make matters worse, my Aunt downgraded her hospitalization plan so that her overall cost is lower. Thinking in the shoes of my Aunt, she probably felt silly for making mistakes like this. Me getting angry will only make her feel worse.

Still, I won't wish I well though. I's LinkedIn profile has her looking worse than S and most probably her heart too. It's no wonder some people will never look good no matter what they do.

I thought of approaching the bank for a resolution. If that does not work, to go on to FIDREC. After more thoughts, this seems to me to be at the cost of the victim's well-being. Long story short, justice cannot always be served and if it does, it comes with a cost that cannot be compensated by dollars and cents. I eventually took over most of the outstanding premiums so that my Aunt can focus on getting well.

It has been 6 months since that fateful day i helped review the policies. We did eventually raise an issue with the bank but we didn't get the outcome we wanted. My Aunt seems to prefer not to push through with her case. The only consolation for her now is that she knows she isn't alone in this.

All i can do now is to hope she doesn't need her money until the plans mature.