5/31/2008

Tan Kin Lian speaking his mind

Tan Kin Lian has developed a new speak your mind culture in cyberspace. He spoke about things he knows best, insurance. And he went one step further by taking on NTUC Income on the changes in the payout of insurance bonus. He was unhappy when the payout formula was changed and policy holders will be getting less than when he was in charge. He ran a protest in cyberspace and would have taken the issue to the NTUC Income AGM. Fireworks were expected. Then, pssssst.... He was invited for tea by Lim Boon Heng and Matthias Yao. As reported in the ST, 'Mr Lim told him that his committee would ensure that Income's policyholders would continue to get good value, while Mr Yao said the restructure was designed to improve Income's solvency position.' Wow, if the payout formula was not changed, Income's solvency will not improve. Matthias added, 'those who terminate their policies this year would not be in any worse off position compared with the previous bonus structure.' What about those who did not terminate their policies this year? Should they all scramble to terminate their policies so that they will not be worst off? Anyway, 'Chairman Ng Kee Choe called the restructure a "very carefully considered decision" and one in the best interests of policyholders.' Was the old bonus structure carefully considered?

7 comments:

  1. Amazing! NTUC Income's solvency is at stake and we know nothing about it until now. I thought of signing his petition, but somehow I sense something like this will happen. This is Singapore guys and a 'city of possibilities' indeed!

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  2. ntuc is not having insolvency problem. the change is only to improve it's solvency situation.

    how that be when they are getting 7.8% average returns over the years.

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  3. Right, it is in the footsteps of NKF and our Government, ie to accumulate more reserves and in the end not really benefitting the policyholders whose funds are used to generate those reserves. Sounds quite like NKF asking for more and more donations but keeping the money as reserves instead of taking care of the patients. Or the Government accumulating reserves to help troubled foreign banks instead of helping its own citizens. Great minds think alike!

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  4. not quite like nkf. this run profits will benefit the shareholders who are actually the workers. not bad. but of course it will benefit those who can claim the right to big bonuses.

    i am wonder since when he left Income and if the 7.8% were earned during part of his tenure.

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  5. He retired from NTUC income on 28th February, 2007 as stated in his blog.

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  6. omg! he was still the ceo and he did not know!

    two possibilities, 1) he did not read the financial reports submitted to him or 2) they did not submit to him. ok maybe other possibilities like they submitted to him, but still he got no time to read them or for some other reasons he just did not know.

    oh, maybe he read but could not understand or forgot.

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  7. The man is a qualified actuarer and he was the CEO of NTUC income for a long time. The man is also a hands-on guy who took it upon himself to reply to questions on matters of insurance in the press. To say that he did not read the reports over the years as a CEO is a rather lame excuse. I believe the second possibility is more likely because NTUC is, well, something more like a government controlled entity, just like GIC and Temasek. The motto is: Outsider smoke cigar.

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