Tan Kin Lian - Investment Journey Change to terminal bonus
Dear Mr. Tan,

I have a Maxgrowth Enhance endowment due 21 Nov 2023. I placed $10K for 5 years and on the 10th year maturity which is 21 Nov 2023. I was told that I would expect 2+% when I took up the plan.

Recently, I received a notice that I will received $55156.37 which is about 1% for the maturity. However, the Bonus statement ended 31 Dec 2022 shows I would received $61945,

The short fall is that they withheld the terminal bonus due to their funds performance issue.

My questions : Is there anything I can do to claim back this terminal bonus? Is this a common practice in endowment? Is there an Insurance agency where I can lodge a complaint? 

Reply by Tan Kin Lian 
On maturity, you will receive the sum assured, the vested bonus (declared yearly) and the terminal bonus (declared on maturity).

The insurance company has the contractual right to change the terminal bonus on maturity, due to poor performance of the investment fund. 

You can ask them to justify that the insurance fund had indeed performed badly. 
You can ask for the actuary's report that recommended the reduction or cancellation of the terminal bonus. 

If they do not give you a reply, you can lodge a complaint to the Monetary Authority of Singapore 
Email: webmaster@mas.gov.sg

General comment by Tan Kin Lian 

This insurance policy has a bad feature. If the investment performance is bad, the insurance company reduces or cancels the terminal bonus. However, if the performance is better than expected, the policyholder does not know if the insurance company had increased the terminal bonus fairly. 


 

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