For those who’re a savvy client however dislike having to cope with insurance coverage brokers who attempt to arduous promote or affect you in direction of getting sure merchandise that aren’t nice for you and your loved ones, then try Planner Bee. Except for permitting you to handle your (and your loved ones’s) insurance coverage insurance policies multi function place, it presents a brand new mannequin of shopping for insurance coverage – the place you and your wants come first, and the agent servicing comes solely on the finish AFTER you’ve made your resolution. Can expertise take away the commissions bias that’s inherent within the trade? I’m actually hopeful, however you possibly can learn on to determine for your self!
what you need to purchase, and head on-line to check quotes on varied on-line aggregators. Then, you uncover that you just’ve run into a number of points:
- Most on-line aggregators provide quotes from solely a restricted variety of insurers, or product varieties (e.g. pet insurance coverage is just not frequent, just a few portals have it)
- When you know what you need, you want to communicate with somebody to ask questions and make clear your issues earlier than you commit, particularly to a long-term plan like life or medical health insurance
- You attempt to name up your insurance coverage agent buddy for it, solely to grasp that they’re unable to get you quotes from insurers like AIA, Nice Jap or Prudential.
- Typically, your agent is unavailable and doesn’t reply…which makes you surprise, what’s going to occur if you want them throughout claims then? Who do you go to in the event that they’re the one contact you could have for that coverage?
The state of the insurance coverage market right this moment
The insurance coverage trade is fraught with conflicts of curiosity, which frequently implies that customers have little to no clue as as to whether their insurance coverage agent is recommending them one of the best coverage that meets their wants, or one that’s higher for the agent’s earnings. From totally different commissions charges abroad journeys for pushing sure merchandise, these incentive buildings are sometimes not made recognized to the patron, making it even more durable for them to evaluate what is really driving their agent’s suggestions.
I’ve met dozens of insurance coverage brokers, and most fail to actually impress me sufficient to earn my belief. For those who do, I’ve saved them shut through the years, utilizing their suggestions as a second (typically third) opinion to assist validate whether or not my resolution is right.
The tell-tale indicators normally seem when your agent is fast to suggest you entire life insurance coverage, investment-linked plans (ILPs) or endowment insurance policies spanning over 20 or 30 years. It’s a undeniable fact that time period life insurance coverage is a much more cost-effective approach to defend towards mortality for many customers*, whereas investment-linked plans with their excessive charges will hardly enable you to to beat the market and most endowment plans have barely saved up with market returns.
*See a case examine of when the opposite argument (entire life over time period life) would possibly maintain true right here, corresponding to when somebody does NOT need to purchase time period and make investments the remaining.
After my current article about how insurance coverage brokers are compensated in Singapore, the staff at Planner Bee reached out to me to share their answer to this downside. As an award-winning fintech app helmed by a staff from insurance coverage and wealth administration backgrounds, Planner Bee was designed to assist customers make knowledgeable selections primarily based on their wants slightly than an agent’s commissions.
And the reality is, until your insurance coverage wants are advanced, you may be higher off planning for your self, so to get rid of all these potential conflicts of curiosity within the first place! That is what I’ve personally carried out for the final decade, and I like to recommend that you just take possession of managing your individual insurance coverage insurance policies for your self on this method too.
However as a DIY insurance coverage planner, the place do you go to make sure that you’re heading in the right direction?
Discover and handle your insurance coverage insurance policies in a single place
Enter Planner Bee, a cellular private monetary software designed by Singaporeans to cater particularly to the wants of insurance coverage patrons right here. Powered by their very own proprietary engine, the app’s dashboard was additionally among the many first in Singapore to supply customers a one-stop overview of their varied insurance coverage insurance policies throughout a number of insurers.
You need to use it to handle not simply your individual insurance policies, but in addition that of your loved ones. In a single look, you’ll have the ability to observe:
- What plans you (and your loved ones) have
- The protection provided by every, and in complete
- The premiums and renewal (cost) dates for every coverage
I beforehand advisable the Autumn app for this goal to lots of you, however after Commonplace Chartered Financial institution determined to place the brakes on that mission earlier this 12 months, I’ve been searching for another answer – and located it in Planner Bee.
As soon as I had manually keyed within the particulars of my insurance policies (and my whole household’s), I may now see and handle all of them throughout the app.
And with instruments corresponding to an insurance coverage wants calculator, you’ll be guided on determining the overall insurance coverage protection you want and whether or not your current insurance policies adequately defend you.
As soon as what gaps you have to fill, you possibly can then navigate their market to check throughout insurers and insurance policies. Planner Bee sources merchandise and quotes from throughout 29 insurers in a single place, which saves you effort and time because you not want to go to a number of suppliers individually. Whether or not you want a private accident plan or a maternity cowl, it is possible for you to to check the advantages throughout totally different plans and insurers in a single view.
As the prices of premiums for a similar plan fluctuate at totally different instances primarily based on the insurers’ reductions, your age and gender, it’s typically troublesome for customers to check simply. Even brokers from FAs that distribute merchandise from a number of insurers can have a tricky time getting these quotes for you, since insurers corresponding to Nice Jap and Prudential sometimes don’t open up distribution channels with these businesses as a way to defend their very own tied brokers.
You will get round this by requesting for a personalised quote from Planner Bee; merely submit your particulars, sum of protection wanted and your annual price range for premiums.
Powered by its proprietary advice engine, you can too enter your insurance coverage wants and let the Planner Bee platform make personalised and brand-agnostic insurance coverage options for you, making it simpler so that you can discover the precise coverage with out bias.
Which means whether or not you’re searching for medical health insurance to cowl medical prices or life insurance coverage for household safety, Planner Bee brings all the pieces underneath one roof, making it a simple, one-stop store in your insurance coverage wants.
Are you able to belief Planner Bee?
Planner Bee was based by Ms. Cherie Wang, who’s a licensed Chartered Monetary Guide (ChFC) and Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU) who has ranked within the high 5% of monetary advisors globally for greater than 10 years.
However regardless of her achievements, Cherie acknowledged a persistent flaw within the system: many monetary advisors in Singapore sometimes function primarily based on commissions, which creates potential conflicts of curiosity. One other problem she confronted was that whereas working in an company, she and her colleagues didn’t all the time have entry to one of the best merchandise inside their distribution community to supply to shoppers.
Many purchasers additionally sought her assist in managing their whole portfolios, together with insurance policies she didn’t have direct entry to. With over 20 insurers in Singapore, manually evaluating merchandise throughout the board every time was impractical, and it grew to become evident that her shoppers wanted a extra clear and environment friendly approach to handle their insurance coverage portfolios.
This realisation drove her to work on Planner Bee, which was based with 2 important objectives:
- To assist folks handle their general funds in a single place.
- To supply an unbiased platform for needs-based monetary product comparability.
As their staff is just not affiliated with any insurance coverage firm, their objective is to help you in planning and buying insurance policies from a number of insurers with none bias or choice in direction of a selected firm.
At this time, Planner Bee combines the comfort of a market with monetary calculators, an academic library, and personalised steering from licensed advisors that can assist you get lined with confidence. The monetary planning software now connects to 42 monetary establishments so you possibly can consolidate your banking transactions, insurance coverage insurance policies, and funding portfolios multi function place.
Tip: Bear in mind to all the time ask your advisor for his or her MAS Consultant Quantity, so you possibly can test that they're licensed to deal with your case. Planner Bee gives these to the patron, upon request.
In contrast to aggregators that merely listing insurance coverage merchandise, Planner Bee goes one step additional to supply instruments to assist DIY customers consider their very own insurance coverage wants and presents personalised quotations primarily based on these wants.
Your premiums are the identical when shopping for by Planner Bee or immediately from the insurance coverage suppliers.
And do you have to ever really feel caught or confused, you can too choose to seek the advice of a human advisor by their on-line session characteristic.
The app additionally categorises your insurance coverage insurance policies for you, so that you bear in mind what you’ve purchased and have already got lined. It additionally reminds you (through electronic mail and WhatsApp) when your renewal dates are nearing, so that you don’t have to fret about any insurance policies lapsing!
How Planner Bee solves for conflicts of curiosity
As an alternative of leaving the suggestions as much as particular person insurance coverage brokers, who could every push for various insurance policies for various causes, Planner Bee opts for a mannequin the place your quotations supplied are pushed by the client’s necessities slightly than which insurer is presently paying the very best commissions for closing or giving an incentive journey on.
How does expertise take away the bias? Most citation methods right this moment require a human agent to key in particulars and choose the coverage that they want to get quotes for. In distinction, the citation methods at Planner Bee doesn't consider commissions (because it doesn't have the knowledge within the system within the first place for it to be biased), and gives quotations solely primarily based on buyer’s necessities, price range and advantages or wants.
To present you full visibility and management over your selections, Planner Bee’s citation system kinds insurance policies by its profit options and premium charges. This basically guidelines out any biases that may favour insurance policies delivering larger commissions, serving to to make sure that clients are getting one of the best worth for his or her cash.
Get your questions on any coverage answered by scheduling a Zoom name, or ship messages through WhatsApp to debate the supplied quotations. When you’ve determined to buy, a video name (through Zoom) will probably be organized with a salaried licensed advisor, who will clarify the phrases and situations and confirm if the insurance policies chosen really match your wants, so you should purchase with a peace of thoughts.
Who ought to use Planner Bee?
For those who already handle your individual insurance coverage insurance policies and also you’re merely searching for quotes and help with out having to cope with an agent arduous promoting you, then you’ll love the Planner Bee expertise.
You get full management over your individual shopping for expertise with out the affect of any agent bias, but nonetheless have entry to ask the Planner Bee staff if you have to make clear any phrases or issues on the insurance policies you’re analyzing.
Except for its fashionable digital insurance coverage planning interface for customers, a core good thing about Planner Bee is that it presents entry to over 500 insurance coverage merchandise throughout 29 insurers.
That is arduous – or near unattainable – for many brokers or businesses to copy. It’s a well-known reality which you can solely get Prudential insurance policies from a Prudential agent, as an example, which is why most on-line comparability portals or aggregators will not be in a position to pull quotes for you from a model with solely tied brokers both.
No tied agent or impartial monetary advisory group has entry to that many, nor can a single human go for ample product coaching on to grow to be an skilled in so many various merchandise. That’s the reason Planner Bee pulls from the energy of their staff as one, with totally different folks specialising in their very own strengths, model(s) or product portfolio. They mix the information and expertise to information the expertise interface and quotations, however the licensed advisor is just assigned on the finish after the patron has determined which product or insurer they want to go together with.
So should you’re comfy with utilizing on-line instruments and need to save effort and time evaluating insurance policies from varied insurers, the app presents a seamless means so that you can handle your well being and life insurance coverage wants – not only for your self, however in your whole household.
You need to use their insurance coverage wants calculator or the cellular app to analyse your current protection:
However whereas savvy insurance coverage patrons will discover the app and instruments helpful, Planner Bee will probably be much less appropriate for people who find themselves clueless on their insurance coverage wants, or should you’re uncertain on even the kind and performance that every insurance coverage coverage performs in our life.
In such a state of affairs, you’ll most likely be higher off with an in-person session with an insurance coverage agent, who can sit down to coach you and advise you primarily based on their suggestions.
Sponsored Message from Planner Bee:
purchase insurance coverage through Planner Bee
One of the simplest ways to make use of Planner Bee could be to gauge your individual monetary wants first and examine to see which coverage’s advantages would serve you greatest.
Then, get a personalised quote through their on-line type which you’ll obtain through electronic mail.
For those who want, you could request for an obligation-free session on-line or through a telephone name to run by the totally different choices.
When you’ve determined in your alternative of plan, you possibly can apply for a scheduled name to undergo any questions you could have and e-sign the digital kinds to use for the insurance policies that you just want.
As soon as your plan is accredited, you’ll get a affirmation from the Planner Bee staff through electronic mail and WhatsApp.
Within the occasion that you have to make any claims, you possibly can merely attain out to the identical WhatsApp quantity or electronic mail in your comfort, and their devoted customer support staff will help you along with your claims or servicing issues.
Try Planner Bee for your self right here.
To get a reduction, quote DISCOUNTPLEASE to get the next presents:
- Built-in Protect plans: $50 cashback in your first 12 months premium
- Time period Life plans: 15% low cost in your first 12 months premium
- Complete Life plans: 10% low cost in your first 12 months premium
Reductions legitimate throughout the subsequent 12 months.
Disclosure: This publish was written in partnership with Planner Bee Pte Ltd.
