This week we caught up with Insurance agents from Melaka. In this feature, they give us the inside story of how they would normally approach customers and what you can expect when dealing with them.
Here is what they have to say.
Pang is a licensed financial planner who specializes in a wide variety of services, from insurance to investment planning, From risk management to estate planning and from tax planning to business succession planning.
She aims to represent your interest and will help you find a solution to your financial issues.
Customer Review (Example)
An Interview With Pang
What is your best recommendation of an insurance product to your customer?
It usually depends on the customer needs. What is the purpose of their intentions to purchase? Is it for self-protection, is it to get protection for the family, or is it for only health purposes? No two customers are the same.
Do you have a life principle that you live by when interacting with customers?
I think it’s important that I compile information about my customers. It can be in many different ways and the way I approach them about the information is equally as important. Because not everybody is open to sharing their personal information. They may be reluctant at times but it’s my job to make them comfortable in sharing those details with me and eventually help them.
We know that at times speaking to an insurance agent can be a drag. But Muhammad proves that to be wrong. When we spoke to Muhammad, he was a pleasant person to chat with.
He is always willing to share his honest feedback and definitely willing to advise you constructively about insurance.
Muhammad is a full-time medical advisor and a General Takaful Ejen representing Syarikat Takaful Malaysia Berhad, Takaful IKHLAS Berhad, and Etiqa Takaful Berhad.
Customer Review (Example)
An Interview With Muhammad
What is your best recommendation for an insurance product to your customer?
Typically I would ask customers their purpose for taking up insurance. Is it for self, for family or is it for health purposes or are they looking for insurance hibah?
As much as the purpose of taking up insurance is important, it helps to know how much they can or are willing to commit because with that information I’m able to make the right proposal that suits them.
It’s crucial to know those facts because, in the future, liabilities may change and can be different over time. In a way, this is part of a relationship building.
Do you have a life principle that you live by when interacting with customers?
I always believe that you must be willing and open to get to know your clients. Get to know their financial background and their current life state.
A cheerful and friendly person. It’s apparent in her photo too. Mazween offers Takaful plans consisting of medical card, child education, investment, protection, hibah including Badal Haji.
Currently, Mazween represents Takaful Ikhlas.
Customer Review (Example)
An Interview With Mazween
What is your best recommendation of an insurance product to your customer?
I prefer exploring my customer needs. Some may be looking for medical card in that particular time of their lives while others are looking for investment plan. Whatever that need may be, I’ll do my best to fit them.
Do you have a life principle that you live by when interacting with customers?
Get to know the person first. Everybody has different needs. Some may tell me that they want an insurance with living benefits and cash value while others are specifically looking for something that can take care of their family’s future well-being.
Based in Ayer Keroh, Syawalludin is an insurance agent who strives to provide the best investment plans.
As a graduate from University Utara Malaysia (UUM), Syawalludin represents Takaful Ikhlas offering a range of insurance policies such as medical, critical illness, protection, retirement, financial planning, savings, and investments.
Customer Review (Example)
An Interview With Syawalludin
What is your best recommendation of an insurance product to your customer?
I’d like to think that I can only offer my clients something they can truly afford. And that is why I find it so important to ask them about their most comfortable budget. If you ask me, it very much depends on their financial status.
Do you have a life principle that you live by when interacting with customers?
Always ensure to understand them and get to know them. It’s part of the fact-finding exercise.
The post Top Insurance Agents In Melaka You Should Know About appeared first on iBanding Making better decisions.
]]>Why do some insurance agent become successful while others flounder?
Their habits.
It’s their little distinctive routines, methodology, and philosophies that drive their daily activities, which eventually morphs them to become highly effective insurance agents.
It’s their hunger, being available in all kinds of shapes and ways to their clients, genuinely care and always looking to help clients, willing to fail because failing means success in progress, having a sales pipeline that is fueled by activity and not hope, focus and perseverance.
This week, we take a look at insurance agents hailing from East Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak. All of which have these great qualities in them and each are successful in their own field.
Based in Kota Kinabalu, Tommy represents AIA, AIA Takaful, and AIG, Tommy offers various insurance products ranging from life insurance to conventional insurance to investment and retirement plans.
Customer Review (Example)
An Interview With Tommy
What is your best recommendation of an insurance product to your customer?
It truly depends on the client’s need. I mostly offer life and health insurance.
Do you have a life motto that you live by when interacting with customers?
Any questions that my clients have, I’ll make sure to do my best to answer them. That would be my utmost priority. Because at the end of the day, the more my clients know the better.
Working with Jay & Jay Services LLP, Jayden provides all sorts of insurance solution ranging from General, Motor, Life Takaful Insurance and business insurance. Currently, he represents Zurich Takaful, MPI Generali, and Zurich Insurance Malaysia.
Customer Review (Example)
An Interview With Jayden
What is your best recommendation of an insurance product to your customer?
I don’t think I can pinpoint anything specific because it really depends on my client’s need. In order for me to know what they truly need, I make sure to run thorough customer analysis or see if there are current issues that I can address in relations to their current insurance status.
Only then I will proceed to propose a solution accordingly.
Do you have a life motto that you live by when interacting with customers?
My customers’ insurance needs always come first.
Nadiah is considered as a trustworthy and an approachable person by her customers. Based in Sandakan, Nadiah aims to always provide the best services to her clients. As an insurance agent, she specializes in Motor and Life Takaful.
Customer Review (Example)
An Interview With Nadiah
What is your best recommendation of an insurance product to your customer?
Definitely educational plan and medical plan. Many people think that their personal savings are sufficient when in fact it is nowhere near enough or sustainable, especially for their future wellbeing.
Do you have a life motto that you live by when interacting with customers?
I try to build lifetime relationships with my clients. Even though some may not want to hear my take on insurance, they would still be willing to maintain their relationship with me.
That I think is important first and foremost. You never know when the day comes, when they would turn to me for insurance advise.
Based in Kuching, Romeo is dubbed as a very helpful individual and is always keeping his customers updated on their policies. As an insurance agent, he offers all types of insurance solutions from RHB Insurance, Prudential Assurance, and Takaful.
Customer Review (Example)
An Interview With Romeo
What is your best recommendation of an insurance product to your customer?
My product recommendations are focused towards life insurance and medical card.
Do you have a life motto that you live by when interacting with customers?
As an insurance agent, I believe that getting to know my customers and understanding them as individuals is very important. It’s always good to understand what they truly need first.
If I set my goals on selling, selling and closing, I’m setting myself for early failure. It means I’m not someone who wants what’s best for my customers when that is essentially what all agents should aim to do.
The post Top Insurance Agent In Sabah and Sarawak You Didn’t Know About appeared first on iBanding Making better decisions.
]]>For our third top agent feature article, four individuals in iBanding Agent Directory have been identified as top insurance agents in the state of Pahang. In this agent directory, you will find a list of individual agents and agencies that offer general and life takaful and conventional insurance.
Two of the agents are from Kuantan and the other two, from Bentong and Mentakab respectively.
These agents continue to do a great job at bringing awareness and educating the public about the importance of insurance and risk management in their communities. We then take a look at customers’ feedback as well as how high the customers rate their services.
Here are the top 4 insurance agents from Pahang.
Ahmad is a full-time insurance agent with 6 years of experience. He is a certified Islamic Wealth Planner and specializes in life and general insurance. For life insurance, he offers PruBSN Takaful Life insurance and Prudential Life insurance.
Some positive attributes that shine through to his customers, are his abilities to promptly help manage his customers’ claim submissions and his consistency in following up with his clients when there are issues.
Ahmad has an impressive number of customer reviews to his name and is obviously a force to be reckoned with.
Customer Review (Example)
An Interview With Ahmad
What is your best recommendation for an insurance product to your customer?
It depends on what the customer needs. Everybody has different needs. I will spend about 15 to 30 minutes to find out (fact-finding) what my customer really needs. After which, I will tell them what type of coverage and why they need that particular kind of coverage.
Do you have a life motto that you live by when interacting with customers?
Always approach my customers with honesty and transparency. This is to avoid any misleading. On that note, my clients are my friends too. So the job gets done easier and pleasantly.
Fauziah has 6 years of experience with PruBSN Takaful servicing customers with the SAR Group Agency. As an insurance agent, she specializes in medical card as well as Haji and Umrah cover.
Customer Review (Example)
An Interview With Fauziah
What is your best recommendation for an insurance product to your customer?
My main focus is medical card. Additionally, I also offer medical plus accidental coverage for those who are looking to perform their Hajj and Umrah. But ultimately my recommendations depend on the customer’s affordability as well as his needs.
At times some may not be able to afford both medical card and coverage during Hajj and Umrah while others can. This way I’ll know if I need to customize a plan and eventually quote them accordingly. Not everyone has the same needs.
Do you have a life motto that you live by when interacting with customers?
First and foremost, I will always ensure that my customers understand the concept of insurance. The only reason why many people don’t last long in making insurance payment is that they don’t truly understand the concept of a particular coverage. They know they need it but they don’t understand it. That eventually causes them to discontinue payment for their insurance policy.
The other thing I make a point to provide is tip-top service. At times people can get upset just because I don’t call to say hello. I suppose everyone appreciates some kind of interaction. This interaction is even more crucial after I’ve sold a policy. It is a mean of courtesy and a sort of assurance that “my agent has my back”.
Abdul Shahid specializes in addressing the need for life protection as well as medical card. Other services that he offers are estate planning, financial, investment planning as well as retirement plans.
Abdul Shahid is considered as an approachable agent by some of his customers. He helps his customers by ensuring fast response to any issues that his customers face. As an insurance agent, he strives to ensure that his customers are always well taken care of and will always make a point to call or visit them.
Customer Review (Example)
An Interview With Shahid
What is your best recommendation for an insurance product to your customer?
These days almost everyone has a medical card. If you ask them what type of insurance they have, commonly, they will tell me they already have a medical card and that they don’t need another one. They either bought the medical card by themselves or they have a medical card provided by their employers. For most Malaysians, it is essentially a priority and to me that’s fair.
But more often than not, they forget that they also need wealth protection or an income replacement plan. They need to realize that if they lose the ability to function due to a major accident, they may not be able to work and continue paying off their assets and liabilities. Their family and their next generation might suffer financially too. That’s where I come in. I encourage them to add income replacement plans on top of their medical card plan.
Do you have a life motto that you live by when interacting with customers?
Everybody needs an income replacement policy. Even though some may feel that it is not necessary, I’ll encourage and give them a reason why they should. It’s so they can avoid unnecessary future financial burden to not only themselves but to their loved once too.
Based in Mentakab, Juliana represents Jamilah Agency and offers Great Eastern Takaful Insurance products. One of her main goals is to reach to as many people especially in the Malay and Muslim community and to help get as many people insured with takaful.
Customer Review (Example)
An Interview With Juliana
What is your best recommendation for an insurance product to your customer?
90% of my customers are from the Malay community who are mostly very business driven. Most times they focus a lot on their business and have no income protection at all because they don’t see the need. The other 10% are mostly professionals with a steady income. So it really depends on my client needs.
I do a lot of facts finding on my customers, especially the business-driven group because most times they are not sure what type of cover or insurance plan they should get. It’s my job to find out what they truly need and so it can coincide with their business focused lifestyle. It takes time too as I need to educate them more than I do with the professional group.
Do you have a life motto that you live by when interacting with customers?
I aim to help more Malays and Muslims get protected with takaful. In addition to that, I will always strive to provide the best service in the east coast region.
I also want to help people understand more about why they also need to protect their wealth and assets. It is important for their future financial well being.
The post Top Insurance Agent In Pahang You Didn’t Know About appeared first on iBanding Making better decisions.
]]>The post You Shouldn’t Buy Insurance Unless… appeared first on iBanding Making better decisions.
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You Shouldn’t Buy Insurance Unless Your Agent Has Answered These 8 Questions
1. My company/ employer offers group insurance. Do I still need to buy additional protection for myself?
In general, group health plans offered to employees have limited coverage. The features that you would like to be included in a health plan may not be present. Such as a certain illness that you are at risk for due to family history.
Employers negotiate with the insurance providers and select the most cost effective plan. So you may find that the group health plan insufficient. Furthermore, you lose the coverage once you leave the company. Or when the company decides to cut back on expenses and cancels or downgrades its group health plan. Therefore, we highly recommend that you own your own health insurance plan that caters well to your specific need.
2. I already have life insurance, do I still need health insurance?
They have very different purposes. Life insurance is to ensure that your family and dependents left behind are able to maintain their lifestyle in your absence. Although it may offer some protection against illnesses, the coverage may be somewhat limited.
The main objective of health insurance is to cover you against medical and hospital expenses. This cost includes hospital charges, surgery, prescribed medications, actual treatment charges, follow up appointments and consultations. More on health insurance here.
Although one may not need life insurance (for easy infographic, read here) but everyone should own a health plan, considering the rising cost of medical care and the fact that contingencies can strike any time.
3. What is the ideal age for me to buy insurance?
Although there is no right age to purchase insurance, buying early does have its advantages.
Insurance is about managing risk. Purchasing life and health insurance at a young age means lower risk at making a claim due to death or illnesses. This will entitle you to a lower premium.
These risks are higher as you age, making it costlier for you to purchase an insurance plan. Furthermore, insurance companies will reject your application if you are already suffering from a certain disease.
Another advantage of buying early is that once you have already purchased a plan, the insurer can no longer add exclusions to your policy for any illness that you may be diagnosed with later, while being insured by them.
4. I have an insurance plan. But will the premium increase every year?
This is perhaps one of the most critical information you should obtain from your agent before purchasing a plan! Too many customers are unaware of this bit of fact making them blame their agents when they find that their premium costs more the following year.
Be aware that some policies have a fixed premium rate throughout the length of the policy, while others may offer an increasing premium rate. Increasing Term Insurance is a good example where sum insured increases every year, which causes premium to also increase accordingly.
Many people just want to have a life plan that they know they will be paying a fixed premium every month without any surprises. So make you clarify this with your agent first!
5. What will happen if I don’t pay the premium?
The relationship you will be having with your insurance policies are likely long term. So make sure you are ready financially before committing. A default in payment (failure to pay) may mean losing your coverage altogether. Ouch.
Policies may not lapse (become invalid) immediately after failing to make your monthly/ yearly payment. Some policies offer a certain number of grace period.
So make sure that you truly understand the terms. Ask your agent about it and make him point to the find prints!
6. What will happen if I decide to cancel my policy?
As said above, insurance is a long-term commitment. Do not go into it unless you are truly ready. Avoid having to cancel your policy especially if you have already had it for years. However, if you are unable to avoid from doing so, here’s what you need to know.
It really depends on what type of policy you are cancelling. Some policies accumulate cash value over time, in which case, you may be able to cover some of your premiums with the plan’s cash value. Other policies however, you get nothing.
Cancelling a policy almost always guarantees that you lose more in premium no matter how much return you may gain from it. So make sure your agent explains the consequences clearly and thoroughly.
7. What if I don’t make any insurance claim against my motor and health policies?
Well then good for you! Because although you have all the right plans in place, you should still wish that you don’t ever need to use it. Imagine you going on a gloomy day with an umbrella. Just because you are well prepared, does not mean you wish for the rain to fall. Even so, your agent should explain to you the benefits of not making a claim against your policy – if any.
Some policies offer a reward system such as the No Claims Discount (NCD) if no claim is made throughout the length of the policy. This is common for motor insurance and you can save a lot of money from it – up to 55% of your premium in fact. So learn about it here.
8. What will happen if my existing agent no longer works for the same insurance company?
Here’s an important question many neglect to ask. Agents come and go. Some don’t leave the industry for good but choose to move to a different insurance company. So what happens when yours no longer represents the company you purchased your plans from?
A good agent would probably let you know beforehand. However, in such a situation, insurance company will usually notify you of the news via an official letter. The letter should also consist of the name and contact details of your newly appointed agent.
If you choose to stay with this new agent that was selected for you, or if you know of some other agent representing the same company whom you are more comfortable with, you can request to switch.
The post You Shouldn’t Buy Insurance Unless… appeared first on iBanding Making better decisions.
]]>An insurance agent has independence and often gets to help clients solve problems. It takes a certain type of person to thrive in this ever-changing and fast-paced industry.
For that very reason, we’ve decided to feature top agents in the nation and share with you their successes and who they are as insurance professionals.
Last month, we featured top insurance agents in Kuala Lumpur. This week, we will be featuring the best insurance agents from Penang.
#1 Adeline Ong (30 reviews)
Based in Penang, Adeline is an agent who is able to help you find any type of insurance that will fit you. She is also a certified Registered Financial Planner and has a Certificate of the Malaysian Insurance Institute.
When asked what motivates her? “Helping others! When I get to close or appeal a claim on behalf of my customers. To see the smiles on their faces – that’s PRICELESS! I can go home with a big smile knowing I have done my job, knowing my customers are happy”.
Customer Review (Example)
An interview with Adeline
What is your best recommendation of an insurance product to your customer?
It truly depends on individual needs. It’s not right for me to recommend something my customer doesn’t need.
Do you have a life motto that you live by when interacting with customers?
I always ensure that I get to know my customers first. It’s important that I do some fact finding on my customer.
Ahmad Azim has over 10 years of experience in the insurance business. As a unit sales manager, he offers insurance plans from Syarikat Takaful Malaysia.
Some of his customers consider him as someone who is always smiling, a very talented person and have an impressive positive outlook on things.
Along with his likable personality, he strives to deliver the utmost satisfactory level of insurance services.
Customer Review (Example)
An interview with Ahmad
What is your best recommendation of an insurance product to your customer?
Well, it depends on their needs. I need to conduct some kind of fact-finding before I can offer them an insurance product. If they have specific needs that’s what I will need to evaluate on and eventually propose to them a suitable insurance plan.
Do you have a life motto that you live by when interacting with customers?
Before proposing anything, I need to know what they truly need before I can propose something. Every prospect has different requirement and I must be able to acknowledge that.
So the motto I live by is— understand your customers before delivering a proposal.
Azlizam aims to help more people to own a family takaful plan. It is so families can afford to pay for high medical costs. Representing AIA and AIA Public Takaful, Azlizam offers insurance solutions ranging from medical, critical illness, protection to savings and investment plans.
His customers feel lucky to have Azlizam as an agent who is not only dedicated but as someone who cares about his customer’s wellbeing.
Customer Review (Example)
An interview with Azlizam
What is your best recommendation of an insurance product to your customer?
Typically when someone says they have enough medical coverage, they usually mean they have enough medical coverage provided by their employers. Often times they find it to be sufficient when in fact it’s actually not enough.
That’s when I would recommend to them a medical coverage. I also introduce income protection plan to them.
Do you have a life motto that you live by when interacting with customers?
Creating rapport first and foremost. Before I offer anything I’ll try to understand them as a person and if possible their background so I can easily offer them the type of medical coverage I can offer.
If the customer is open enough, they sometimes allow me to add them as my Facebook friends.
Based in Kepala Batas, Pulau Pinang, Ariff is highly regarded as someone who is understanding, reliable, intelligent and is always committed to providing outstanding services to his customers.
Currently, Ariff represents Syarikat Takaful Malaysia. As an agent, Ariff offers various types of general and life insurance. In addition, he offers financial, investment and retirement plans.
Ariff speaks both Bahasa Malaysia and English. So, you can definitely look forward to a great and perhaps fruitful conversations with him.
Customer Review (Example)
An interview with Ariff
What is your best recommendation of an insurance product to your customer?
Takaful is first and foremost coverage that takes care of life and dependents. Then comes medicard and savings. Takaful is one product I highly recommend to my customers.
Do you have a life motto that you live by when interacting with customers?
I stick to this one quote. I don’t wait for my luck. I set my own luck. Awareness is the very fundamental of takaful and anytime my customers get discouraged by insurance as a whole, it’s my job to clear their doubts.
Mior has been in the Takaful business for nearly 2 years. As an insurance agent, he specializes in family takaful.
“I was ‘tested’ by God with a sickness. People said we don’t really need Takaful because we have government hospital to go to if we’re sick. My goodness, they could have never been so wrong. This perception of Takaful really needs to be changed, and I want to be the one to change it.”
Customer Review (Example)
An interview with Mior
What is your best recommendation of an insurance product to your customer?
My usual approach is to calculate the needs of comprehensive takaful coverage using the income protection method. I always recommend the life takaful first, the medical comes later. If the client can afford more, then by all means, take the medical.
Do you have a life motto that you live by when interacting with customers?
Yes. for me, educating the customer is more important than selling the product. If you sell the product according to what they want, you win the sale. But maybe only for short period of time. But if you educate the client on WHY takaful is a need, then it will last longer. After all, takaful penetration in Malaysia is only 18%.
The post The Best Insurance Agent From Penang You Didn’t Know About appeared first on iBanding Making better decisions.
]]>The post Agent Spotlight: Henry Ooi appeared first on iBanding Making better decisions.
]]>Klik di sini untuk versi Melayu
Agent Spotlight is a special monthly column where we feature Malaysia’s best insurance agents registered on iBanding’s agent directory who have delivered exceptional service to their customers. We share their background stories and ask for advice on how Malaysians can better protect themselves with insurance.
This month we interviewed Henry Ooi from Perlis. He shares with us his story, what made him choose this career path and what are the most common mistakes Malaysians make with regards to insurance and claims.
Name: Henry Ooi
Location: Perlis
This month we spoke to Mr. Henry Ooi, a 30 year old agent from Kangar, Perlis. A soft spoken and polite individual, Henry was in the middle of a blood donation when we called him the first time. Henry, who has been in this industry for a year, describes himself as an optimistic person, always helpful and a good listener, which we feel are important attributes to have as an insurance agent. Below is our conversation with him.
iBanding: Hi Henry. Thank you for joining us. Can you tell our readers a little bit about yourself?
Henry: Hi, thank you for having me. I graduated from Universiti Sains Malaysia with a Bachelor in Management. I majored in Marketing. And my past employment experiences were in the banking industry as a Mortgage Specialist and Personal Banker for a total of 3 years.
iBanding: And how long have you been in the insurance industry now?
Henry: I’m quite new still. Only for a year. And I found out it’s a great industry.
iBanding: That’s great to hear. What do you like best about it?
Henry: I love being in this industry as its not only a career, its a good learning platform from A-Z. I can learn about some medical term, how to create asset for people, how to educate people on protection, and most importantly, I can help families to avoid financial disasters if ever anything bad were to happen to them.
Henry proudly showing us his achievements, testament to his love for the job.
iBanding: What made you leave the banking industry and chose insurance as your career instead?
Henry: First, it’s the flexible working time. It suits me better. And second, I like that I get to help others in getting the protection they need. For me, I feel the satisfaction when I manage to create awareness and educate clients on the importance of insurance protection and asset creation. I don’t consider myself an agent, I treat this career as my own business, my own path. While at the same time, I get to develope it and generate wealth for myself as well.
iBanding: What do you mainly focus on in insurance?
Henry: Investment link plans. I mostly focus on basic protection and wealth accumulation for my clients.
iBanding: Is there a reason why you chose to focus on this type of protection?
Henry: I chose this because while it gives protection to clients, it also helps to generate some cash value for them. We understand that sometimes we will face some financial difficulties, the cash value can help to temporarily resolve these problems. It’s like killing two birds with one stones.
iBanding: In your opinion, what are the biggest mistakes Malaysians make when buying insurance?
Henry: Most clients I met, they don’t know what insurance products they have purchased or even why they purchased them. Some tell me they buy because they want to support their relatives or friends who are agents.
Some tell me they just want a minimum plan, do not want to commit to a plan with high premium. Actually most of us do not understand what insurance means. We have to suit the protection to our liability and commitment, our objective as well as the well-being of our family.
iBanding: What are the principles in life that you live by?
Henry: My life – my choice. Just do whatever we can, and don’t make excuses. If we choose to succeed, then we have to commit to it. If we choose to lay back, don’t blame anyone when we’re faced with difficulties later.
iBanding: Would you share with us the most challenging situation you have to overcome as an insurance agent?
Henry: To break through my own psychological barriers. Sometimes our mind will influence our actions. We feel afraid when we want to go in a “cold market”, we fear of rejection, fear of objection.
iBanding: What are the biggest problems or challenges you face as an agent at the moment?
Henry: So far, to educate and change prospects’ mindset on the importance of insurance as a protection.
iBanding: Finally, where do you think the insurance industry is heading next year? And where do you think it is heading 5 years from now?
Henry: It will be a booming industry as compared to previous years, Malaysian are aware of the importance of insurance. Heading to 5 years, insurance will become easy-reach and every family will have insurance.
Sorotan Ejen
Sorotan Ejen memaparkan ejen-ejen Takaful & insurans terbaik yang berdaftar di dalam direktori ejen kami. Mereka dipilih atas kesediaan mereka dalam sentiasa memberikan perkhidmatan yang luar biasa kepada pelanggan-pelanggan mereka.
Bulan ini kami menemubual Henry Ooi dari Perlis. Beliau berkongsi cerita beliau bersama kami, apa yang membuat beliau memutuskan untuk menjadi ejen insurans dan apa yang rakyat Malaysia patut perhatikan dalam polisi insurans mereka.
Nama: Henry Ooi
Lokasi: Perlis
Bulan ini kami berbual bersama Mr. Henry Ooi, ejen muda berusia 30 tahun yang berasal dari Kangar, Perlis. Seorang yang sangat sopan-santun, Henry sedang sibuk menderma darah ketika kami menelefonnya buat pertama kali. Henry yang baru setahun menceburkan diri di dalam industri ini menyifatkan dirinya sebagai seorang yang positif, sentiasa membantu dan pendengar yang baik (good listener), yang mana kami rasa sifat-sifat yang amat diperlukan sebagai seorang ejen. Sertai kami dalam temubual kami bersama beliau.
iBanding: Hai Henry. Sudi ceritakan sedikit tentang latar belakang anda bersama pembaca kami?
Henry : Hai, terima kasih kerana sudi berbual bersama saya. Sedikit tentang saya. Saya graduan Universiti Sains Malaysia dengan ijazah Bachelor in Management jurusan pemasaran. Sebelum ini saya bekerja di bidang pembankan sebagai Mortgage Specialist dan Personal Banker selama 3 tahun.
iBanding: Sudah berapa lama anda di bidang insurans ini?
Henry: Saya sudah berada di bidang ini selama setahun. Masih dikira baru tetapi saya dapati ianya industri yang sangat saya sukai.
iBanding: Apa yang membuatkannya industri ini begitu menarik bagi anda?
Henry: Saya sangat suka industri ini sebab saya tidak rasakan ianya satu pekerjaan tapi sebagai satu platform pembelajaran dari A hinggalah ke Z. Saya dapat belajar sedikit sebanyak tentang istilah-istilah perubatan, bagaimana untuk menjana aset untuk pelanggan, cara untuk mendidik pengguna tentang perlindungan dan yang paling penting, saya dapat membantu orang ramai untuk elakkan diri dari bencana kewangan jika berlakunya sesuatu musibah.
Pencapaian Henry di bidang ini menjadi bukti betapa beliau gemarkan pekerjaannya sebagai seorang ejen.
iBanding: Apa pula yang membuatkan anda tinggalkan industri pembankan dan sertai industri insurans ini?
Henry: Pertama sekali, waktu kerja yang lebih fleksibel. Ianya lebih sesuai dengan saya. Kedua, saya suka sebab saya dapat bantu orang ramai dapatkan perlindungan yang mereka perlukan. Bagi saya, kepuasan datang dari keberkesanan saya dalam menyedarkan prospek dan pelanggan tentang pentingnya perlindungan insurans.
Sebenarnya bagi saya, saya tidak anggap diri saya sebagai ejen. Sebaliknya, saya anggap karier ini sebagai perniagaan saya, perjalanan saya. Dan pada masa yang sama, saya dapat membangunkannya dan menjana pendapatan bagi diri saya.
iBanding: Apakah kepakaran anda di bidang insurans ini?
Henry: Kepakaran dan fokus saya adalah pada perlindungan insurans berkaitan pelaburan.
iBanding: Apa pula sebab anda pilih untuk fokus pada perlindungan jenis ini?
Henry: Sebabnya ia bukan sekadar menyediakan perlindungan kepada pelanggan tetapi juga membantu mereka dengan mengumpul nilai tunai untuk mereka. Kita semua terima hakikat bahawa kadang kala kita menghadapi waktu-waktu susah, jadi nilai tunai ini dapat sedikit sebanyak membantu.
iBanding: Pada pendapat anda, apakah kesilapan yang sering dilakukan pengguna Malaysia dalam perihal insurans?
Henry: Kebanyakan pelanggan yang saya temui, tidak tahu pun polisi apa yang mereka ada atau apa sebab mereka membelinya. Sesetengah dari mereka beritahu saya, sebab mereka beli sesuatu pelan ialah untuk membantu saudara-mara atau rakan mereka yang bekerja sebagai ejen.
Ramai yang kata mereka cuma hendakkan perlindungan minima, tidak mahu komit dengan premium yang tinggi. Sebenarnya ramai di antara kita yang faham erti sebenar insurans. Kita sebenarnya perlu padankan perlindungan dengan liabiliti dan komitmen kita, matlamat kita dan juga kepentingan keluarga kita.
iBanding: Apa pula prinsip hidup yang dipegang?
Henry: Kehidupan saya – pilihan saya. Lakukan apa saja dengan terbaik, tanpa apa-apa alasan. Jikalau kita pilih untuk berjaya, perlulah komited. Kalau kita pilih untuk sambil lewa, jangan pulak salahkan orang lain nanti kalau sudah dalam kesusahan.
iBanding: Sudi kongsi bersama kami situasi paling mencabar diri anda sebagai seorang ejen?
Henry: Usaha untuk merobohkan benteng psikologi sendiri. Pemikiran kita selalunya mempengaruhi tindakan kita. Kita rasa takut untuk memasuki “cold market”, sesuatu zone tidak kita kenali. Kita takut akan rejection, akan penolakan.
iBanding: Apakah pula masalah terbesar yang anda hadapi buat masa ini?
Henry: Buat masa ini, untuk menyedarkan orang ramai dan mengubah mindset prospek tentang kepentingan insurans sebagai perlindungan.
iBanding: Pada pandangan anda, ke manakah arah tuju industri ini tahun hadapan dan bagaimana pula bagi 5 tahun akan datang?
Henry: Ia akan pesat maju berbanding tahun-tahun sebelumnya. Rakyat Malaysian semakin sedar akan kepentingan insurans. Dalam 5 tahun akan datang, insurans akan menjadi sesuatu yang sangat mudah untuk diperolehi. Setiap keluarga akan memilikinya.
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]]>The post Agent Spotlight: Salasiah Mohamed appeared first on iBanding Making better decisions.
]]>Klik di sini untuk versi Melayu
Agent Spotlight is a special column where we feature Malaysian insurance agents who have delivered exceptional service to their customers. We share their background stories and ask for advice on how Malaysians can protect themselves better against accidents and illness.
This month we interviewed Salasiah from Kuala Lumpur. She shares with us her story, what made her decide to become a insurance agent and what Malaysians should watch out in their insurance policies.
Name: Salasiah Mohamed
Location: Kuala Lumpur
iBanding: Tell us a little bit about your background?
Salasiah:I worked in the airline industry as a flight attendant for 6 years with Malaysia Airlines. After resigning from the airline industry, I started my own landscaping business. I was doing well until I had to stop my business and had to spend most of my time with my daughter, who was having a severe hearing loss. While attending to my special needs daughter, I was also involved in a voluntary job as a teacher to special needs children at the same school where my daughter attended.
iBanding: How long have you been in the insurance industry?
Salasiah:I have been in the insurance industry for almost 2 years now. I still have a long way to go in this industry.
iBanding: What is your insurance specialty and your focus in insurance?
Salasiah:I am focusing on Takaful insurance and my specialty is medical insurance and life protections.
iBanding: What made you choose insurance as your career?
Salasiah:I love communicating with people and I want to ensure that they are fully protected by Takaful for a better future for them and their beloved family. Should anything bad happen to them, at least they have the fund to continue their normal lives with their beloved family.
iBanding: In your opinion, what are the biggest mistakes Malaysians make in buying insurance?
Salasiah: The biggest mistake is that they don’t really know the basic and medical coverage they are getting from the insurance company and they prefer buying a cheaper plan. Once they bought the insurance, they think they have sufficient coverage or protection. Most Malaysians are under-insured because the lack of awareness about the needs of insurance coverage.
iBanding: For car insurance, what are the most common mistakes Malaysians make during an accident?
Salasiah: I think, it is that they don’t go straight to the police station to make a report on the incident.
iBanding: What is your secret of success?
Salasiah:I am on my way to be a successful insurance agent. I just love being an insurance agent and I am really committed doing this great job. I believe the secret of success is to love what you are doing, fully committed and to be disciplined, those are the most important keys and the road to be a successful person.
iBanding: What is the most challenging situation you have to overcome as an insurance agent?
Salasiah: The most challenging situation that I have to overcome as an insurance agent is trying to instill the importance of insurance / Takaful in people, especially at this current economic situation.
iBanding: What are the biggest problems or challenges you face as an agent at the moment?
Salasiah: It is to educate people of the importance of insurance / Takaful and to get protections as a basic need in life because most people still prefer having a good investment rather than getting a solid medical protections.
iBanding: Where do you think the insurance industry is heading next year? Where do you think it is heading 5 years from now?
Salasiah: With the current economic situations, I think the insurance industry will grow from slow to moderate pace because people are getting more aware of the importance of medical protections. In 5 years from now, the insurance industry will head to a higher growth as the increasing of the awareness and also aligned with the economic growth.
Sorotan Ejen
Sorotan Agen memaparkan ejen-ejen Takaful & Insurans yang sentiasa memberikan perkhidmatan yang luar biasa kepada pelanggan-pelanggan mereka. Kami kongsikan kisah latar belakang mereka dan minta nasihat bagaimana rakyat Malaysia boleh melindungi diri dengan lebih baik dengan insurans dan takaful di dalam kes-kes kemalangan dan penyakit.
Bulan ini kami menemubual Salasiah Mohamed dari Kuala Lumpur. Beliau berkongsi cerita beliau dengan kami, apa yang membuat beliau memutuskan untuk menjadi ejen insurans dan apa yang rakyat Malaysia patut perhatikan dalam polisi insurans mereka.
Nama: Salasiah Mohamed
Lokasi: Kuala Lumpur
iBanding: Ceritakan sedikit tentang latar belakang Puan.
Salasiah: Saya pernah bekerja dengan Malaysia Airlines sebagai pramugari selama 6 tahun. Setelah saya berhenti dari situ saya membuka syarikat landskap sendiri. Bisnes berjalan lancar sehinggalah saya terpaksa berhenti untuk menjaga anak perempuan saya yang mengalami kehilangan pendengaran. Sementara menjaga anak saya, saya juga bekerja sebagai guru secara sukarela di sekolah khas yang ditandang oleh anak saya.
iBanding: Sudah berapa lamakah Puan berkecimpung di dalam industri Takaful ini?
Salasiah: Sudah hampir 2 tahun, masih jauh lagi perjalanan dalam industri ini.
iBanding: Apakah kepakaran dan fokus Puan?
Salasiah: Fokus saya terhadap perlindungan perubatan dan takaful hayat.
iBanding: Mengapa Puan memilih insurans sebagai kerjaya?
Salasiah: I suka berkomunikasi dengan orang ramai. Dan saya ingin pastikan mereka dilindungi Takaful untuk kepentingan masa hadapan mereka dan keluarga mereka. Jika sesuatu yang tidak diingini menimpa mereka, sekurang-kurangnya keluarga mereka dapat meneruskan kehidupan mereka.
iBanding: Apakah kesilapan terbesar dilakukan oleh pengguna Malaysia dalam membeli insurans?
Salasiah: Kesilapan terbesar yang pengguna lakukan ialah mereka tidak faham asas takaful dan jenis perlindungan yang mereka miliki. Mereka juga gemar membeli pelan yang murah. Setelah itu mereka bertanggapan perlindungan mereka mamadai. Kebanyakan pengguna Malaysia adalah dibawah perlindungan sebenar disebabkan oleh kurangnya kesedaran mengenai insurans dan takaful.
iBanding: Bagi insurans kenderaan, apakah kesilapan lazim rakyat Malaysia terutamanya ketika kemalangan?
Salasiah: Bagi saya, mereka selalu melakukan kesilapan di mana mereka tidak pergi terus ke balai polis untuk membuat laporan kemalangan.
iBanding: Apakah rahsia kerjaya anda?
Salasiah: Saya masih dalam perjalanan bakal menjadi ejen insurans yang berjaya. Saya amat gemar sekali dengan kerjaya ini dan saya sangat komited melakukannya dengan baik. Bagi saya rahsia kejayaan bagi sesuatu pekerjaan perlulah betul-betul menggemari pekerjaan itu, komited dengan sepenuh hati dan berdisiplin. Itu kunci kejayaan dan jalan bagi seseorang yang berjaya.
iBanding: Apakah situasi yang paling mencabar pernah anda hadapi sebagai ejen insurans?
Salasiah: Keadaan yang paling mencabar saya hadapi sebagai ejen insurans ialah dalam menyakinkan pelanggan pentingnya insurans dan Takaful, terutama sekali dalam keadaan ekonomi yang sedia ada.
iBanding: Apakah cabaran terbesar yang Puan hadapi sebagai ejen hari ini?
Salasiah: Menyedarkan pengguna tentang kepentingan insurans dan Takaful dan meyakinkan mereka agar mendapatkan perlindungan sebagai asas keperluan. Ramai yang masih utamakan pelaburan dan abaikan perlindungan perubatan.
iBanding: Ke mana Puan rasa arah tuju industri insurans tahun hadapan? Dan bagaimana pula arah tujunya 5 tahun dari sekarang.
Salasiah: Dengan keadaan ekonomi sekarang, saya rasa industri takaful dan insurans akan mengalami peningkatan kerana ramai semakin sedar kepentingannya terutama perlindungan perubatan. 5 tahun dari sekarang pula, industri ini akan mengalami peningkatan yang lebih tinggi sejajar dengan perkembangan ekonomi.
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]]>The post 5 Agents Shared the Most Common Insurance Mistakes Malaysians Make appeared first on iBanding Making better decisions.
]]>We spoke to 5 insurance and takaful agents from our monthly Agent Spotlight columns to find out what they think are the most common mistakes Malaysians generally make when it comes to insurance. This is what they had to say.
5 Agents Shared the Most Common Insurance Mistakes Malaysians Make
1. They fail to follow procedure
“The biggest mistake people make is that they do not follow proper procedure and they end up paying for medical bills out of their pocket. One example is that when people get sick, they go directly to the specialist who then conducts tests. When the specialist finds that there is nothing serious or when they cannot find any suitable diagnosis to confirm, the client need to bare the outpatient cost which could go up to as high as RM 700 to RM 1500.” – Sunny Shahros
2. They procrastinate in buying insurance
“There are several mistakes that we tend to make. The most prominent one would be putting buying insurance off till later time, which is a big no-no cause you’ll never know when illness or tragedy will strike.”.” – Samuel Raj
“They like to procrastinate. If you can predict when accidents happen, then by all means delay it. The fact is that you don’t know what’s going to happen.” – Yap Ean Mei
3. Relying on non-panel workshops
“The most common mistake during an accident is that the person brings their car to a non-panel workshop for repair. Bringing the car to a non-panel workshop creates a lot of problems causing longer process time. It is important to bring the car to a panel workshop after the accident.” – Mior Muhamad Hafiz
“Always go to your panel insurer for repair works. Never let these ‘call man’ which rush to the scene of the accident (faster than emergency responses sometime) persuade you to do otherwise. Call the hotline and I am sure most CSRs will be happy to assist you.” – Samuel Raj
4. Now knowing what they buy
“A lot of people who are insured do not know what they are paying for. They don’t know how much they are covered for. Sometimes it is quite frustrating. They want to terminate their insurance because they don’t know how much they are covered.” – Yap Ean Mei
“They buy without knowing what they are buying. It is important that when you buy insurance, you fully understand what insurance you have and what it covers. Your agent needs to explain all the important details of the insurance to the customer. Many times it is not enough.” – Fadzil Razab
5. Ignorance
“The biggest mistake is that people do not buy takaful/ insurance because they ignore it. Most of them say, “I’m busy, I don’t have time, my company have provided for me, let me ask my wife” and so on. Many people say they do not have enough money. But the middle and lower income people are the most in need of insurance. Because what happens if you are sick? Medical cost can be an expense that can ruin a family financially. In the past 10 years medical cost have increased between 100% to 200%. It is wiser to pay a small amount regularly on insurance, thus the huge medical costs can be covered.” – Sunny Shahros
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]]>The post 3 Biggest Misconceptions About Takaful Insurance appeared first on iBanding Making better decisions.
]]>This is inaccurate, however, and continues to be one of the most common misconceptions about Takaful insurance. Read on to find out what are some of the biggest misconceptions Malaysians generally have about Takaful:
3 Biggest Misconceptions About Takaful Insurance
Misconception #1: Takaful insurance is only for Muslims
The truth: To sign up for a Takaful insurance plan, there is no requirement for one to be Muslim.
While Takaful insurance is indeed compliant with Islamic financial laws, it is not limited only to Muslims. Anybody can sign up for a Takaful plan!
Takaful is the shariah-compliant alternative to conventional insurance, and it is characterised by the elimination of several prohibited elements in Islam including:
- riba (interest)
- maysir (speculation)
- gharar (excessive uncertainty)
The core principle of Takaful is that it promotes fairness, and the prohibition of the above elements is to ensure all parties (policyholders and insurance provider) share the risk and benefits equally. Takaful respects all parties involved in the plan. The objective is to avoid such situations where one party suffers losses.
For example:
- A policyholder starts an insurance plan, gets into an accident the month after, and receives a large pay-out after only one month of paying premium (viewed as a loss to the insurance company)
- A policyholder pays for protection against accidents but does not meet a single accident throughout the policy period (viewed as a loss to the policyholder)
Evidently, this ethical concept of risk-sharing does not necessarily apply to only one particular religion, but is relatable to anybody regardless of race and religion. Thus, this is why Takaful insurance is not a Muslims-only benefit and can be enjoyed by everyone.
Takaful insurance is open to policyholders of all races and religions.
Misconception #2: The purpose of Takaful differs from conventional insurance.
The truth: While the way it manages risk may be different, the end goal of Takaful insurance is still the same as conventional insurance – to protect policyholders in the event that something unfortunate occurs.
In conventional insurance, a policyholder purchases a plan and the insurance provider invests the premiums received for profit. This is how the provider is able to provide a pay-out of the sum assured in the event of death, critical illness, accidents and such.
Takaful, on the other hand, functions as a co-operative system, where a group of participants pool a sum of money together. In the event of death, critical illnesses, accidents and such, the pool of money is used to reimburse the affected participant.
Both conventional and Takaful insurance are geared towards protecting policyholders from losses due to unforeseen events.
Misconception #3: One form of insurance is better than the other.
The truth: Both forms of insurance come with their own set of characteristics. It is up to the policyholder to decide whether conventional or Takaful suits them better.
Profit maximization is the main priority for conventional insurance providers. By investing premiums received from policyholders, a conventional insurance plan is able to offer a contractually-guaranteed positive return to policyholders. However, do note that the channels invested in may not be shariah-compliant.
A positive return is not guaranteed for Takaful policyholders, however. Doing so is similar to receiving interest, which is one of the prohibited elements. However, Takaful insurance is rooted in moral values and encourages business conducts to be done with good faith, fairness and transparency.
While conventional insurance aims for profit maximisation,
Takaful strives to sustain operations.
Additionally, Takaful contracts generally specify how and when profits or bonus units will be distributed, if any. As Takaful plans are geared towards sustaining operations rather than maximising profit, the option to give back to society by contributing profits received to charity is made available.
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The post 3 Biggest Misconceptions About Takaful Insurance appeared first on iBanding Making better decisions.
]]>The post Agent Spotlight: Ean Mei Yap appeared first on iBanding Making better decisions.
]]>About Agent Spotlight
Klik di sini untuk versi Melayu
Agent Spotlight is a special column where we feature Malaysian insurance agents who have delivered exceptional service to their customers. We share their background stories and ask for advice on how Malaysians can protect themselves better against accidents and illness.
This month we interviewed Ean Mei Yap from Petaling Jaya. She shares with us her story, what made her decide to become a insurance agent and what Malaysians should watch out in their insurance policies.
Name: Ean Mei Yap
Location: Petaling Jaya, Selangor
1. iBanding: Please tell us your background.
Yap: I was in the construction industry for the past 13 years since I’ve graduated. At that time the construction industry was booming. What we have been taught is that once you graduated, you should find a job in the same field as what you have studied, then you would just earn your way up and climb the corporate ladder.
That was what I did. After 13 years in the industry, I knew my age was catching up, and realized that I was doing the same thing in and out every day. I have constructed everything, high rise, shop offices, shopping malls etc. I have basically experienced everything in the construction industry. I was thinking why not change industries.
I like to do work that involves planning. When I was working in construction I did a lot of planning. Mostly planning for master schedule because I was a Project Manager. I wanted to be involved in planning. At the same time my insurance agent left, so I had no one as my insurance agent. My agency leader came and told me that she would take over. The second time we met, she asked about my job. She started to get to know me even more. I told her my job was quite successful but it can be stressful, especially when construction project is delayed or faces issues.
I did earn a lot, however, to me a job has its limit. Once you have reached your limit and can’t go further, you’ll feel stagnant. As a lady I wouldn’t want to relocate overseas, like Dubai, London or elsewhere. I am so comfortable in my safe zone. I’m just stagnant there. Then, my leader suggested that I should try to work in the insurance industry. I wasn’t really into the idea as I thought I was not a good salesperson. She reassured me that an insurance agent shouldn’t think like a salesperson, but instead share what insurance is about and how insurance can help. I finally gave in and agreed to try it out part time. I passed the exam and my leader got me contracted.
2. iBanding: Do you specialize in a specific insurance type?
Yap: Well as a life insurance agent we cover life as well as medical. I cover general insurance too, personal accident, travel insurance and motor insurance. But when you say specialty, I do a lot of Financial and Estate planning.
3. iBanding: What is Financial and Estate planning?
Yap: Estate planning is when people plan for their inheritance. Will writing is one form of it. I prefer to use insurance to do the planning. It is also known as legacy planning. For example, let’s say that there’s a rich man who has 3 sons. He wants to buy a house for each sons for one million. I would ask him if he would like to get a life insurance instead of buying houses for each of his sons. Buying a house is not simple. You would have to pay stamp duty, down payment, settle loan, involve lawyers and so on. I would then suggest him to get life insurance cover for 3 million and pay a fraction of it in premium. There would be no down payment or anything else. It is less complicated and more flexible. When the time comes, his sons will get a million each, since the rich man have put them as beneficiaries. This is the fastest way to distribute the estate.
4. iBanding: So this would be a whole life or a term life insurance?
Yap: Whole life and term life are old plans, now it is all investment-linked. They cover you up to 100 years old. For example, let’s say you get the plan up to 80 years old. There are 70, 80 and 100 years old plans. By the time you reached 80 years old or have surpassed it, you won’t get the 3 million. The 3 million is the death benefit. You may get around 70% of your premium paid when it matures. Of course the earlier you buy the plan, the lower the premium you are paying.
Before I propose any plan to them, I would do fact finding about the client, find out what are his or her needs. Why does he/she need the insurance? What is it for? I don’t push the product the moment I meet a client. I first ask a few questions, do some fact finding, and see their needs. Maybe that person already has life coverage, but doesn’t have critical illness coverage.
For instance, if your critical illness coverage is RM 20,000 but your life cover is a million ringgits, it is not balance and so it is not worth the coverage. It is better if these coverage are balanced, or the critical illness coverage is enough to cover the medical expenses, let’s say cancer. This is where I need to interview and do a plan for the clients. I don’t have the need to close a case immediately, because people will sense your urgency. Your purpose is to meet, get this person to be your friend, then he/she will know who you are, what you do, what is your expertise and to let he/she feel comfortable.
5. iBanding: What made you choose insurance as your career?
Yap: Probably it’s because I like to share. Sharing is caring. One more thing is that the corporate life is stressful. After you reached a certain stage, you would want to do something different. In my opinion, when you are in the corporate life, you will not have much time for yourself. I have a few friends that like to do charity as well. Insurance is more like paying it forward. When you find someone with not enough insurance, you will try to get them covered. If you managed to get that person covered, you are actually helping their family and themselves to secure their family’s future.
Frankly, I don’t read the newspapers anymore. It has been so many years because there are no real happy stuff. You will read an article like they’ll need donations for a surgery etc. That’s because they don’t have insurance. How much can you help? I don’t have RM200,000 or 2 million to help. The only way for me to help is by creating awareness. If you can’t afford a RM200 per month plan, at least take a RM100 per month insurance plan. It is not much, but at least you are covered first. Then you slowly top it up to better coverage when your client has increment in their salary and is better off.
I do reviews every year. I meet my clients every year and check on them, try to convince them to review and gradually increase the amount of coverage. We want to make insurance sustainable. My mission is just to go out and get everyone covered. This is because Malaysia’s insurance penetration rate is only 54%. Within that 54%, there are those who are underinsured with coverage of below RM50,000 sum insured.
46% of Malaysia’s population has zero coverage. Our government stated that by 2020, the nation should get at least 75% penetration rate for insurance. It is up to every insurance agent, regardless of which company, to get everyone covered and to create awareness.
There was one incident that happened to my friend’s relative that also made me pursue this industry. It took her 20 years to save up RM300,000 cash. One unfortunate day, she discovered that she had breast cancer and had to use up the RM300,000 in one year. It is so heartbreaking. She had no insurance. If she had an insurance, she would still have her savings.
6. iBanding: What are the biggest mistakes Malaysians make in buying insurance?
Yap: Procrastination and not knowing what they buy.
Procrastination
They like to procrastinate. If you can predict when accidents happen, then by all means delay it. The fact is that you don’t know what’s going to happen. They will compare the prices. Insurance companies are now going for price war but not Prudential. Prudential may not be the cheapest, but our value is there. It’s like our motto saying “Always listening, always understanding”. Metaphorically speaking we all drive cars, but why does some choose to drive Mercedes, Honda or Proton? Because it is all about the value, in terms of comfort, quality and so on. The same goes for insurance. Therefore, it is wise to choose the company that gives you better value as your insurance provider.
Not knowing what they buy
A lot of people who are insured do not know what they are paying for. They don’t know how much they are covered. Sometimes it is quite frustrating. They want to cut or terminate their insurance because they don’t know how much they are covered. When I do fact finding, I would tell the client to bring out all of their policy. My strength is policy review. Regardless from which company, I will do a summary for the client on what is their coverage and how much they will be paying and I will tell them what are their current expenses.
For example, let’s say your coverage now is RM30,000, it won’t be enough. A surgery alone costs about RM80,000. That other RM50,000 has to come out from your own pocket. This is when I will come up with a plan for you. In addition, you can have two medical cards. Once you have finished one limit, you can transfer the limit to the other card, so you can use both. It depends, it can also be consolidated. It works the same. I would not force my clients, it is their choice. Since they are paying for it, they are the ones to decide whether to consolidate or have two separate policies.
7. iBanding: For car insurance, what are the most common mistakes Malaysians make during an accident?
Yap: Usually people will panic when accidents happen. Of course that’s normal, they get terrified. But what makes it bad is that they will not remember the motor assist number. They’ll call their friends or whoever and call for a tow truck. There is an extra cost already. I would always tell myself and my clients to save important numbers or download apps. Whenever you need a tow truck, just click on an app, the towing is free too.
Thank you very much Yap for the time and wisdom you have shared with us.
If you have any question or would like to know more about Yap, you can check out his agent listing.
Sorotan Ejen
Sorotan Agen memaparkan ejen-ejen Takaful & Insurans yang sentiasa memberikan perkhidmatan yang luar biasa kepada pelanggan-pelanggan mereka. Kami kongsikan kisah latar belakang mereka dan minta nasihat bagaimana rakyat Malaysia boleh melindungi diri dengan lebih baik dengan insurans dan takaful di dalam kes-kes kemalangan dan penyakit.
Bulan ini kami menemubual Ean Mei Yap dari Petaling Jaya. Beliau berkongsi cerita beliau dengan kami, apa yang membuat beliau memutuskan untuk menjadi ejen insurans dan apa yang rakyat Malaysia patut perhatikan dalam polisi insurans mereka.
Nama: Ean Mei Yap
Lokasi: Petaling Jaya
1. iBanding: Ceritakan sedikit tentang latar belakang anda.
Yap: Saya bekerja di industri pembinaan selama 13 tahun setelah habis belajar. Masa tu industri pembinaan sedang berkembang. Selama ini kita diajar, bahawa setelah habis belajar kita kena cari kerja di bidang yang kita pelajari. Dan lepas itu, kita perlu usaha dalam mendaki tangga korporat di situ.
Itu lah yang saya lakukan. Tapi setelah 13 tahun saya sedar usia saya sedang meningkat, dan sedar bahawa saya hanya melakukan benda yang sama setiap hari. Saya sudahpun bina segalanya, dari bangunan mencapai langit ke rumah kedai, ke kompleks membeli-belah. Saya telah punyai segala pengalaman yang perlu dilalui di bidang pembinaan. Saya mula fikir untuk bertukar bidang.
Saya suka bidang perancangan. Semasa di bidang pembinaan saya banyak terlibat dalam membuat perancangan. Sebagai pengurus projek saya banyak buat master schedule. Jadi saya ingin tetap terlibat dalam pengurusan perancangan. Pada masa itu ejen insurans saja berhenti sebagai ejen dan diganti oleh ejensi leader. Kali kedia kami berjumpa, dia mula bertanya tentang kerja saya dan mula mengenali saya lebih mendalam. Saya bagitahu bahawa kerjaya saya agak berjaya tetapi ianya banyak memberi tekanan. Terutama sekali jika projek pembinaan tergendala atau mempunyai masalah.
Memang pendapatan saya lumayan, tapi kerja perlu ada batasannya. Setelah kita mencecah satu peringkat umur dan kita sedar kita sudah tak boleh ke mana lagi, kita akan rasa tersangkut. Sebagai seorang wanita saya pula tidak mahu dipindahkan ke luar negara seperti Dubai atau London. Saya tidaklah muda lagi dan saya pula selesa di tempat saya. Jadi saya memang rasa saya sudah tersangkut.
Kemudian ejensi leader itu cadangkan saya agar mencuba bidang insurans. Mulanya saya tidak rasakan ianya idea yang bagus sebab saya tidak rasa saya ni seorang jurujual yang bagus. Dia beritahu saya bahawa ejen insurans tidak perlu berfikiran seperti jurujual tetapi fokusnya pada berkongsi ilmu tentang kepentingan insurans dan bagaimana ia dapat membantu orang ramai. Akhirnya saya setuju untuk mencuba secara part-time. Saya lulus ujian dan saya telah ikat kontrak bersama ejensi leader saya.
2. iBanding: Apakah pengkhususan anda dalam bidang insurans ini?
Yap: Sebagai ejen insurans hayat, kami menjual kedua-dua insurans hayat dan perubatan. Tetapi saya juga menjual insurans am, polisi kemalangan peribadi, insurans perjalanan dan insurans motor. Tetapi kalau nak kira pengkhususan, saja lebih fokus pada pengurusan kewangan dan hartanah.
3. iBanding: Terangkan sedikit tentang pengurusan kewangan dan hartanah.
Yap: Ianya lebih kepada pengurusan pewarisan, seperti wasiat. I lebih gemar menggunakan insurans untuk merancangkannnya. Ia juga dikenali sebagai perancangan legasi. Contohnya, katakan seorang kaya mempunyai 3 orang anak lelaki. Dia ingin beli rumah kepada setiap orang anaknya yang bernilai RM 1 juta sebuah. Saya akan bertanyakan sama ada dia ingin membelikan insuran hayat sebalik membeli rumah. Pembelian rumah tidak mudah, anda perlu bayar duti setem, down payment, libatkan peguam, bayar balik pinjaman dan sebagainya. Saya akan nasihatka agar dia membeli insurans hayat bernilai RM 3 juta dan bayar hanya sebahagian darinya dalam bentuk premium. Tiada down payment atau bayaran muka dan sebagainya. Ia lebih mudah dan fleksibel. Apabila tiba masanya, anak-anak beliau akan mendapat 1 juta setiap orang jika orang kaya itu telah meletakkan mereka sebagai pewaris. Ini cara paling cepat untuk membahagikan harta.
4. iBanding: Jadi adakah ini polisi seumur hidup atau bertempoh?
Yap: Polisi seumur hidup dan bertempoh adalah pelan lama, sekarang ini semuanya investment-linked, atau polisi berkaitan pelaburan. Ianya melindungi kamu sehingga umur 100 tahun. Terdapat pelan 70, 80 dan 100 tahun. Katakan kamu ambil pelan 80 tahun. Apabila kamu cecah usia 80 tahun, kamu tak dapat 3 juta itu sebab ianya manfaat kematian. Kamu akan dapat sekurang-kurangnya 70% daripada premium yang kamu telah bayar apabila ianya matang. Dan semestinya, lebih awal kamu beli pelan tersebut, lebih murah premiumnya.
Sebelum saya mencadangkan produk, saya selalunya akan buat kajian fakta dahulu bagi pelanggan saya untuk memahami keperluan mereka. Kenapa mereka perlukan insurans? Apa tujuannya? Saya tidak akan terus mengesyorkan sesuatu produk apabila berjumpa prospek. Saya bertanyakan beberapa soalan dahulu. Mungkin beliau sudah ada polisi hayat, tetapi tidak memiliki pelan perubatan.
Contohnya jika perlindungan perubatan kamu adalah RM 20,000 tetapi perlindungan pelan hayat ialah 1 juta, ianya tidak sekata. Lebih baik jika perlindungan kamu lebih seimbang, jika perlindungan perubatan kamu cukup untuk menampung kos rawatan penyakit seperti kanser katakan. Maka di sini saya perlu betul-betul memahami keperluan pelanggan dan buat perancangan untuk mereka. Saya tidak tergesa-gesa buat sales, orang selalunya boleh rasakan kedesakan kita. Bagi saya, tujuannya ialah untuk bertemu prospek, mengenali mereka, dan biar mereka juga mengenali kita supaya mereka tahu siapa kita dan apa yang kita lakukan untuk mereka, kepakaran kita supaya mereka boleh selesa dengan kita.
5. iBanding: Mengapa anda memutuskan untuk menjadi ejen insurans?
Yap: Mungkin sebab saya suka berekongsi. Bak kata orang, sharing is caring. Juga sebab kehidupan di dunia korporat banyak memberi stress. Setelah kita mencecah sesuatu peringkat, kita mula ingin mencuba sesuatu yang berlainan. Bagi saya, bila di dunia korporat, kita tak punya banyak masa untuk diri sendiri. Saya ada beberapa kawan yang suka melakukan aktiviti jariah. Saya merasakan insurans begitu juga. Apabila kita bertemu seseorang yang tidak memiliki perlindungan secukupnya, kita bantu dia untuk dapatkan perlindungan secukupnya. Jika berjaya, kita sebenarnya membantu beliau dan keluarga beliau mengukuhkan kewangan keluarga mereka di masa hadapan.
Saya sudah lama tak membaca suratkhabar kerana ianya tak membawa apa-apa berita gembira. Kita sering baca berita tentang mereka yang perlukan sumbangan dana untuk pembedahan dan sebagainya. Ianya sebab mereka tiada insurans. Berapa banyak yang kita dapat sumbangkan? Saya tak memiliki RM 200,000 atau RM 2 juta untuk membantu. Hanya satu cara saya boleh membantu iaitu dengan memberi kesedaran. Kalau kita tak mampu dapatkan pelan RM 200 sebulan, sekurang-kurangnya dapatkan pelan RM 100. Ianya dapat juga beri sedikit perlindungan. Kemudian tambah perlahan-lahan apabila dapat pendapatan lebih.
Saya lakukan penyemakan setiap tahun untuk pelanggan saya. Saya periksa kedudukan mereka dan jika perlu nasihatkan mereka agar menambahkan jumlah perlindungan mereka perlahan-lahan. Kita ingin insurans menjadi mampan. Misi saya ialah untuk keluar ke sana dan dapatkan perlindungan untuk semua. Ini kerana kadar penembusan insurans in Malaysia hanya pada 54%. Dalam 54% itu pula ada yang tidak mempunyai perlindungan yang mencukupi, di mana perlindungan kurang RM50,000.
46% rakyat Malaysia tidak mempunyai perlindungan. Kerajaan kita telah mengumumkan menjelang 2020, kita sepatutnya mencapai sekurang-kurangnya 75% kadar penembusan insurans. Jadi terpulanglah pada ejen, tidak kira apa juga syarikat, untuk mendapatkan perlindungan dan melahirkan kesedaran bagi seramai mungkin penduduk Malaysia.
Terdapat suatu pengalaman yang dialami oleh rakan saya yang juga membuatkan saya bertukar ke bidang ini. Rakan saya menabung selama 20 tahun untuk mendapatkan simpanan sebanyak RM 300,000. Satu hari dia disahkan menghidap penyakit kanser payudara dan menghabiskan RM 300,00 dalam masa satu tahun. Amat menyedihkan. DIa tidak memiliki insurans. Jika tidak, pasti dia masih mempunyai simpanannya hari ini.
6. iBanding: Pada pendapat anda, apakah kesilapan terbesar rakyat Malaysia lakukan yang melibatkan insurans?
Yap: Mereka berlengah-lengah dan mereka juga tidak tahu apa yang perlu dibeli.
Mereka suka berlengah. Kalau kita boleh menentukan masa depan, tak kisahlah berbuat demikian. Tapi hakikatnya kita tak tahu apa yang akan berlaku. Pelanggan akan buat perbandingan harga. Syarikat insurans sedang melalui perang harga sesama mereka, tetapi tidak Prudential. Prudential memang bukan yang termurah walau bagaimanapun nilainya amat baik. Seperti motto kami yang berbunyi: Sentiasa mendengar. Sentiasa memahami. Contohnya kita semua memandu kenderaan, tapi kenapa ada yang memilih Mercedes dan ada pula yang memilih Honda atau Proton? Semuanya disebabkan oleh nilainya kepada kita, dari segi keselesaan, kualiti dan sebagainya. Jadi ianya lebih bijak jika kita memilih syarikat insurans yang menawarkan nilai yang lebih.
Ramai yang mempunyai insurans tidak pula tahu apa yang dilindungi oleh polisi mereka. Adakalanya ianya amat mengecewakan. Mereka ingin menamatkan polisi mereka kerana mereka tidak tahu jumlah perlindungan polisi mereka. Bila saya melakukan pencarian fakta, saya akan meminta pelanggan untuk keluarkan polisi mereka. Kelebihan saya ialah dalam membuat penyemakan. Tidak kira polisi dari mana syarikat sekali pun. Saya akan buatkan kesimpulan bagi pelanggan tentang jumlah perlindungan mereka, berapa jumlah yang mereka perlu bayar dan saya akan beritahu mereka apakah kos mereka sekarang.
Contohnya, katakan lah perlindungan kamu ialah RM 30,000. Itu tidak memadai. Pembedahan saja berjumlah RM80,000. Selebih RM 50,000 itu kamu kena tanggung sendiri. Di sinilah saya akan mencadangkan pelan untuk kamu. Kamu juga boleh memiliki dua kad perubatan. Jika satu telah mencapai hadnya, kamu boleh guna yang satu lagi. Atau kedua-duanya boleh digabungkan. Jadi kamu boleh menggunakan kedua-duanya. Saya tak memaksa pelanggan saya. Itu pilihan mereka. Kerana merekalah yang membayar untuk polisi mereka, mereka boleh memutuskan untuk menggabungkan atau untuk memiliki 2 polisi berasingan.
7. iBanding: Bagi polisi kenderaan, apakah kesilapan yang paling biasa dilakukan rakyat Malaysia semasa kemalangan?
Yap: Selalunya mereka akan panik apabila berelaku kemalangan. Itu biasa, mereka jadi cemas. Tapi apa yang buruknya ialah mereka terus lupa nombor bantuan kemalangan. Sebaliknya mereka menelefon rakan dan perkhidmatan tow truck. Ini kos tambahan kepada mereka. Saya sering ingatkan diri dan pelanggan saya untuk simpan nombor penting dalam phone atau download app. Bila saja perlukan tow truck, klik saja di app, perkhidmatannya percuma.
Kami berterima kasih kepada Yap kerana sudi luangkan masa bersama kami. Jika anda ingin menghubungi beliau untuk keterangan lanjut atau nasihat tentang insurans, sila ziarahi profil beliau di direktori ejen kami.
The post Agent Spotlight: Ean Mei Yap appeared first on iBanding Making better decisions.
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