I was brought up in a typical Chinese family.
My parents believed in the Taoist-Buddhist way of life.
Visiting temples and offering joss-sticks were part and parcel of my formative years.

At the same time, there was an increasing Western influence on society as I was growing up.
Naturally, a wide-eyed Chinese kid like me was confused.
I could not understand the whole concept of Christmas.

But when I saw my first Santa Claus, a warm feeling of familiarity permeated my body.
Without restraint, I ran over and hugged the plump figure.
As he handed me a gift, I uttered,

“Xie Xie, Cai Shen Ye (Thank you, God of Wealth).”

Despite the immediate laughers of my family and their subsequent explanations, I was still secretly convinced that I was right.
Santa Claus was actually the God of Wealth in different red costumes.
I tried to peek under the robes of Santa whenever I had the chance, looking for gold ingots.
What a silly boy I was!

Looks like I may not be the only one confused.

Thankfully, my conviction about Santa was inconsequential to the latter stages of my life.
Most misbeliefs tend to be.
But when it comes to insurance, certain false beliefs can turn out to be life-altering.

Let’s take a look at some common misconceptions about life insurance, shall we?

 Insurance is an investment.

You have to pay a premium for insurance.
Investments require payment too.
But make no mistake – they are as different as day and night.

The purpose of insurance is to create a safety net when bad things such as death, illness or disability occur.
On the other hand, investments are supposed to help you grow your wealth for retirement.
Even with such polarised intents, it is not difficult to find people who are convinced that they are the same thing.

The reason for the confusion is obvious.
The protection element of insurance is often bundled with the saving/investment units and sold as a singular product.
Whole life, endowment and ILPs are the backbone of the life insurance industry and thus, the lines between insurance and investment are blurred.

Given the conservative nature of insurance plans, it is customary for financial advisors to advise clients to include them as part of their financial planning.
After all, life insurance is relatively safe when compared to equities, futures and other derivatives.
One needs a balance to have a solid, well-rounded financial plan.

Never easy to get it right.

Therefore it is not optimal to plan your retirement future, utilising solely insurance.
With modest returns of usually less than 5%, insurance is not an investment and therefore should not be treated as such.
On the other hand, an investment-only approach will place you in a vulnerable position if calamity strikes.

If you have this wrong concept about insurance, it is not too late to start reviewing your financial plans.
Get going and don’t let it ruin your fiscal future.

CPF insurance scheme is good enough.

Admittedly we have a good insurance system in Singapore.
The government has formulated a series of insurance products that could be paid for by our enforced savings in CPF board.
DPS, Eldershield, Medishield Life are some protection policies that can be purchased with your hard earned CPF monies.

Even if you buy every single one of them, the protection value is grossly insufficient.
We have said our piece about the inadequacy of Medishield Life here.
A fully integrated Medishield plan, preferably with a rider will do a much better job.

DPS provides a basic cover of $46,000.
Even with some extreme scrimping, most families cannot survive a year on just that sum.

A basic Eldershield pays $300, monthly, for a maximum of 60 instalments.
It is definitely insufficient for even subsistence living.
The recent increase of Public Assistance allowance to $500/month demonstrates this point.

These words will haunt him for a long time.

Should you be relying solely on your CPF for your protection, think again.

You can get insurance at any time.

You want to save on premiums by not getting insurance when you are young.
After all, the chances of dying before the age of 40 for a Singaporean resident is less than 1%.
As a betting man, you would like your chances of surviving the early years.
Insurance can wait.

You have assumed wrong!
In the world of life insurance, the topic of pre-existing (preX) conditions is taboo.

Before you reach the age of 40, it is not uncommon to experience certain health scares.
Yes, your survival rate is rather high, given the quality of medical treatment available here.
However, this becomes part of your preX conditions.

This is where technology will work in favour and against you.
In this digital world, your medical history can be traced easily.
No hospital stores your information in metal cabinets anymore.
Your medical history can be accessed easily via the intranet.

How the hell did those nurses find the right record in the old days?

It helps doctors find out about your allergies and medical records when you are unconscious and in need of emergency procedures.
However, it also makes it easy for insurers to get information about your preX conditions.

This trend is not going to reverse anytime soon.
Insurance companies have never wished and will never wish to insure customers with adverse risk.
That is what you are if you have preX conditions.

Buy early, buy now.
Don’t let the insurers turn you down when you need it the most.

 Insurance is expensive.

Your colleague had been humble-bragging about how his insurance plan is making him bankrupt.
You consulted with a financial advisor on your ideal financial protection portfolio and got a shock when you saw the final figure of the premium.
Obviously, you cannot afford insurance with your measly pay and sky-high expenses.

The amount of cash that people think insurance will cost.

Not true.
Insurance cost less than your daily dose of Starbucks.
Find out and compare life insurance prices here and see for yourself.

Still too costly?
Let us help you find some group-buy discounts.

Concluding words

Some misconceptions are harmless.
But those about insurance are not.

If you miss out on getting yourself insured, you put your retirement plans at risk.
Your loved ones may be affected too.
Financial dreams may be shattered.

Never let these false beliefs destroy your financial safety net and retirement plans.
Not even Santa Claus can help you if you do not take action today.
After all, he may just be too busy in the non-peak period, moonlighting as the God of Wealth!

www.ClearlySurely.com aims to eradicate the knowledge gap between consumers and Life Insurance. Our Vision is that one day, every Man, Woman, and Child will be properly insured.