Detecting Cancer From Blood Test

Every year, thousands of Americans undergo routine screening to catch cancer in its early stages, while it’s still treatable. But these routine tests can be painful and invasive, and doctors only regularly screen for five of some of the most common types of cancer.

So for decades, scientists have been working on ways to screen for cancers using a simple blood draw rather than a painful biopsy or invasive test. These so-called "blood biopsy" tests are closer than ever to dramatically improving the way doctors screen for cancer.

Galleri, a new blood test by health care company GRAIL, is one of the most advanced blood biopsy tests. It works by looking for fragments of DNA in a person’s blood that indicate the presence of more than 50 types of cancer.

Less than two thirds of Americans get screened for colon cancer, which often involves an invasive procedure called a colonoscopy. A simple blood biopsy such as Galleri may improve current cancer screening due to ease of use. But despite the recent advancements, many doctors say there’s a long way to go -- and some say there are reasons to wait for more research to be done.

The Galleri test, though promising, is not yet FDA approved. It still needs to undergo more testing to show it can produce reliable results every time. A common refrain in cancer treatment is "earlier is better": that the earlier a cancer can be found, the treatment is often more successful. However, sometimes it can be difficult to tell the difference between an early cancer and a non-cancerous growth.

A final diagnosis often involves an invasive procedure, such as a needle biopsy or surgery in order to remove tissue. These procedures are not without risk, and any screening tool, such as the Galleri test, should reduce the number of unnecessary procedures by not flagging non-cancers as cancers.

That’s why some in the medical community have hesitation about the utility of a blood biopsy capable of detecting only a few cancer cells, as it may accidentally detect a non-cancer as a cancer.

But at the very least, Galleri could provide an early warning system, so doctors could monitor patients and treat them if it becomes necessary. Although Galleri is still not FDA approved, the test can be prescribed by any physician in the United States. Because it’s not covered by insurance, it costs $949 out of pocket.

Motor Insurance - Interest Free Installments

About 1.7 million civil servants especially those from the B40 group can now purchase or renew their vehicle insurance with interest-free instalments through MyezyCover scheme. The Syariah-compliant scheme was implemented with a RM100 million funding by the Social Security Organisation (Socso), MyAngkasa Amanah Bhd (MAAB) and A Tech Insure Sdn Bhd (ATECH).

The Scheme is targeted at civil servants especially the B40 before being extended to government and private sector retirees to enable them to buy motor insurance via monthly instalments, or four-month payments or in one payment. However those who make a one-payment purchase would receive a 10 per cent discount with payment via salary deduction by Angkasa.

DBKL Officers Cooperative Belly-up

The Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) officers’ cooperative is facing a liquidity crisis. Unproductive investments made by the board management has left its coffers empty, leaving retired members who want to withdraw their funds in the lurch.

The matter only came to light after several senior DBKL employees, who retired last year, went to the cooperative office in Cheras to apply to withdraw their funds, only to be told that it was not possible as there was no money. Upon further checks, officers who had retired in 2018 were also yet to get their monies.

Cooperative members have since set up a group to find more details about the missing funds because of a lack of information from the management board. The cooperative had not held its annual general meeting for several years, ostensibly because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Failed investments - Former cooperative chairman who helmed KPPDBKL from 2008 to 2009, claimed there was RM5mil in the cooperative coffers when he was in charge. Business was good then but later, the cooperative invested in housing projects in Kajang, and purchased land in Selangor and shoplots in Kuala Lumpur.

Several members intended to lodge a report with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC). Reports have already been lodged with the Cooperative Commission of Malaysia (SKM). Members want the authorities to investigate the committee members responsible for managing the cooperative funds.

Liquidity crisis - The ooperative which has 1,015 members, was facing liquidity constraints that made it difficult for it to meet financial obligations. Due to several past investments that did not bring in any profit or revenue, it has been difficult for the cooperative to meet its running costs. Due diligence was carried out to evaluate the assets and liabilities and certain activities sustaining on bank loans were not viable. Payments have to be delayed until we settle cash flow issues.

Snake Bite Insurance Fraud

Five men in India’s Maharashtra state were arrested for allegedly killing a mentally unstable man using a snake bite in order to fake the mastermind’s death and claim US$5 million (SG$6.7 million) in insurance money.

Prabhakar Waghchoure, 54, and his four accomplices were arrested for allegedly conspiring to kill the 50-year-old mentally ill victim and pass off the corpse as Waghchoure’s. The accomplices were identified as Sandip Talekar, Harshad Lahamage, Harish Kulal and Prashant Choudhary.

According to Manoj Patil, police superintendent of Ahmednagar district in Maharashtra, Waghchoure lived with his family in the US for 20 years and held a life insurance policy worth $5 million from an American insurer.

After returning to India in January, Waghchoure allegedly hatched the conspiracy with the accomplices, promising them a cut of the money. The group then allegedly acquired a venomous snake and had it bite the victim. After the victim died, the suspects posed as his relatives and registered the body as Waghchoure’s. They even performed funeral rites for the victim as proof of death.

They sent the death certificate and other documents to the US, where Waghchoure’s son filed the claim. However, the insurer grew suspicious, as Waghchoure had already tried to commit fraud in the past.

The insurer’s investigators contacted Indian police, which then launched in investigation and uncovered the conspiracy, leading to the arrest of the five suspects.

Travel Insurance Fraud SIngapore

A Singaporean woman was found guilty of defrauding 12 insurers of SG$30,900 through numerous false travel insurance claims for delayed baggage, despite not going on holidays.
Wendy Tan Phaik Sim, 46, filed the claims under the names of her daughter and husband. To fool the insurers, she forged letters confirming baggage delay.

Tan was sentenced to one year and two months of imprisonment after pleading guilty to five out of 20 counts of cheating, with the remaining charges taken into consideration in sentencing.

The fraudulent claims, the report said, were filed between April 25 and Dec. 2, 2018. In November 2017, Tan took a trip to South Korea via Cathay Pacific Airways and encountered a delay in her baggage. Using the genuine letter and itinerary from the airline as templates, Tan created fictitious flight details and baggage tag numbers and submitted them with claims to various insurers, even though she, her husband and her daughter did not make any trips. In some instances where the family did go abroad, Tan submitted false claims even though no baggage delay happened.

The husband and the daughter were not aware that their names were being used in the scheme.

The 12 insurers were MSIG Insurance Singapore, United Overseas Insurance, AXA Singapore, FWD Singapore, AIG Asia Pacific Insurance, Great Eastern General Insurance, Aviva, Direct Asia Insurance Singapore, ERGO Insurance, NTUC Income, Chubb Singapore and Sompo Singapore.

An employee from Sompo was the first to notice something amiss in Tan’s claim, which used her husband’s name. The employee checked the company’s records and found several claims under the same name. Upon consulting with other insurers, it was discovered that least 12 travel insurance claims were filed under Tan’s or her husband’s name since 2017. Upon confirmation with airlines that no such baggage delays occurred, the representative reported Tan to the police and the scheme unravelled.

Tan and her sister eventually returned the full sum to the 12 insurers.

80% Insurance Buyers Prefer Physical Policy Document

Over 80 per cent of insurance buyers still prefer a physical copy of their insurance document despite rapid digitization. With the contribution of insurance to GDP having risen sharply in the last one year, it is important to also make buyers feel safe about their investment. 

Most companies still ask for the original paper document while processing the claim. The insurance regulator must consider restoring section 4 and mandating issuing physical copies of the policy document at the earliest in the interest of buyers. As an insurance policy is a contract between the insurance company and the insured individual, nearly 82 per cent of the buyers preferred a physical copy over the digital.

About 56 per cent of the respondents were in the age-group of 18-40 years, 28 per cent in the 41-60 years, and 14 per cent of the respondents were 60 years and above. The policy certificate contains critical details of the insurance cover laying out the benefits, terms and conditions, the procedure to file for a claim if needed, and the contact details of the insurer. 

Close to 80 per cent of the survey participants feel that during the time of claim or an emergency, a hard copy of the policy issued by the insurance company would be preferable. Incidentally, while several insurance companies decided to 'Go Green' by either discarding the physical copies of insurance policies completely or making it optional, even before the pandemic, many insurers believe that the same insurance companies ask them for a physical copy while claiming for the policy amount. 

The companies not only ask for the physical copy of the insurance policy but also other necessary documents, it added. As per regulation 4 of IRDAI (issuance of e-insurance policies) Regulations, 2016, an insurer has to issue both physical and electronic insurance certificates to policyholders. However, as an interim measure in view of the COVID-19 pandemic, IRDAI had allowed insurers to issue only electronic.

Life Premium Expected To Increase

Several insurers have applied to IRDAI seeking permission to raise premiums while others are negotiating with reinsurers to limit the increase. Getting a life insurance cover will be dearer by 20-30% in 2022 as large insurance companies are expected to raise premium charges. While smaller insurance companies have less bargaining power, larger insurers are still negotiating with reinsurers to keep price hikes minimum.

Increase Premiums - will translate into higher profitability or insurers but are also expected to impact the demand for such financial products. It is expected that reinsurers will look to cover increased losses due to higher claims which is likely to raise premiums by 20-40%.

The insurance hikes will be affected across offline and online policies and it will be the first time in over six years that online market will witness a change. The price rise has been talked about for six months but now looks unavoidable. Higher Covid claims hit reinsurers as a result of which prices have increased.

Some insurers are still negotiating with reinsurers as the surge in claims due to Covid is now over and companies have made profits despite high number of claims. People are buying term plans more now due to increased awareness but increasing prices could hurt this demand.

Increase of 20% to 30 % Expected - Getting a life insurance cover will be dearer by 20-30% in 2022 as large insurance companies are expected to raise premium charges. Increased premiums will translate into higher profitability or insurers but are also expected to impact the demand for such financial products. It is expected that reinsurers will look to cover increased losses due to higher claims which is likely to raise premiums by 20-40%.

The insurance hikes will be affected across offline and online policies and it will be the first time in over six years that online market will witness a change. 

Group Insurance - Premiums have already risen by 300% to 1000% for corporate group policies mainly due to pandemic claims. This is owing to the current pandemic scenario where there has been an increased incidence of claims experiences for various insurance and insurance support has been minimal on the group side of the business. The reinsurance rates are high leading to insurance term life rates being high.

Terminal Illness Life Insurance

Certain life insurance policies will pay out the amount of cover provided by your policy immediately if you’re diagnosed with a terminal illness. A terminal illness is one from which, according to a doctor, the sufferer will never recover and that is likely to cause their death within 12 months of diagnosis.

Terminal illness benefit payouts are meant to make it easier for a policyholder to make plans for their families and loved ones, as well as provide funds for use in their remaining months of life. Once paid, a life insurance policy with terminal illness benefit will make no further payouts after the policyholder’s death - it merely brings forward the payout that would have been made after their death.

Terminal illness benefit is not the same as critical illness cover. The latter is meant to support a policyholder diagnosed with a serious illness that will affect their quality of life, but which won’t directly result in their death.

Making claims - Examples of the kind of conditions that might qualify for a terminal illness benefit payout include Parkinson’s disease, dementia and advanced cancers. However, each life insurer has different criteria for payouts.

Making a terminal illness benefit claim requires providing proof of your diagnosis to your insurer’s chief medical officer. The insurer needs to be satisfied that your death will occur within a given period following your claim - typically 12 months.

If a policyholder doesn’t die within the agreed timeframe after successfully making a claim, they won’t owe anything back to the insurer - but neither will they receive any payouts from the policy after their eventual death.

Some terminal illness benefit claims are turned down if they’re made in the final months of a life insurance policy’s term, that is, the policy is scheduled to end before the policyholder is expected to die.

If you’re diagnosed with a terminal illness and your life insurance cover does provide terminal illness benefit, you’re not obliged to make a claim. You can wait, if you prefer, for the policy to pay out as normal after your death.

However, terminal illness benefit can make things easier in your final months - particularly if you’re unable to work and need your income to pay your mortgage, rent or other commitments. Any money spent during this time will of course mean there’s less to leave behind after you’re gone.

If your life insurance policy is arranged on a ‘decreasing’ basis - that is, it is scheduled to pay out less with each passing year - then your terminal illness benefit will decrease at the same rate. With joint life insurance policies arranged for a couple, insurers will usually only pay terminal illness benefit once, usually as and when the first diagnosis is made.

Bullying Agents In Life Insurance

Agents in life insurance industry suffers the worst bullying in a toxic environment. While not everyone believes micromanaging is a form of bullying, it undoubtedly has a negative impact on one’s mental health, work performance, and confidence. Several experts believes micromanaging is a form of bullying because it’s about seeking control. As such, agents feel disenfranchised, humiliated, belittled and their mental health deteriorates.

Both bullying and micromanaging take a mental toll on the target. Here are some of the ways victims suffer:

• Health issues such as depression, anxiety, sleep problems and fatigue
• Increased stress that affects all areas of their lives
• Deteriorating self-esteem and confidence
• Lack of motivation
• Fear of losing their job, being demoted or retaliated against

Regardless if micromanaging is intentional or not, it’s defeating, disempowering and frustrating. Unfortunately, micromanaging is common in the workplace as a result of poor leadership and it wreaks havoc on everyone involved. 

Micromanagers often resort to bullying tactics with the belief that it makes workers more productive, but it’s because they don’t know how to manage their team effectively. Oftentimes, these bosses view burnout as the price for productivity. A survey conducted revealed

• 79% of agents had experienced micromanagement
• 71% said micromanagement interfered with their job performance
• 85% reported their morale was negatively impacted
• 69% considered changing jobs due to micromanagement
• 36% actually changed jobs

Diminishes Agent Confidence And Motivation - Micromanagers focus on mistakes and weaknesses rather than highlighting achievements and efforts. No matter how hard an agent works, they never feel like their work is good enough. This makes agents feel humiliated, destroys their confidence and motivation, and leads them to become disconnected. Micromanaging is abusive because it negatively impacts the mental health of those on the receiving end. Some experts describe micromanagement as “a result of agents being stripped of their duties and indirectly told that they’re not good enough and can’t be trusted.

A consequence of micromanaging is that employees believe they’re not competent and their skills aren’t valuable. Micromanaging leads to a decline in performance, self-confidence or physical health for the person being controlled, it’s not healthy. Furthermore, it disrupts productivity by preventing people from working independently as well as collaboratively.

It Creates An Unhealthy And Toxic Environment - Too often, micromanaging is justified as perfectionism when really it’s a form of manipulation to control others. It creates a codependent relationship where the agent is fearful to do anything without their boss’s approval. Intentional or not, it produces an intimidating environment within the workplace causing agents to become incompetent.

Micromanagement is a form of dictatorship where you don’t get to question ways and methods, but instead have to comply with everything the manager wants without question. Similar to bullying, micromanagement is due to an imbalance of power. Micromanagers believe over-controlling is an effective way to produce a desired result when really it’s a form of intimidation. This is undoubtedly a symptom of a toxic workplace.

The Micromanagement Survival Guide, defines the six typical behaviors of a micromanager:

• Dictates, controls and manipulates others’ time. While micromanagers guard their own time, they’re notorious for disrespecting others by perpetuating crises, mismanaging meetings and trying to manage others calendars
• Controls the process of how work gets done by dismissing others’ knowledge, experiences and ideas
• Uses their power of authority to control others
• Requires frequent and unnecessary status updates and reports
• Bottlenecks processes due to making everyone seek their approval before moving forward
• Unable to delegate; when they do, they hover or pull it back at the first sign of trouble

Devalues Agents Skills, Abilities And Expertise - The key to hiring is to hire people you trust and giving them the freedom to utilize their skills and abilities to carry out tasks and make decisions. The worst thing a manager can do is waste time peering over the shoulder of others, telling them what to do or waiting for something to go wrong. 

Not only does this jeopardize growth, but it prevents people from taking risks, asking questions and thinking creatively which decreases innovation and leads to burnout. It’s only a matter of time before even the most talented and driven employees begin looking elsewhere.

1 Million Malaysian Owes RM9 billion PTPTN Loan

Almost a million borrowers under the National Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN) owe a cumulative total of RM9bil in study loans. 

As of Sept 30 this year, about 2.4mil borrowers have completed their studies and should have begun repaying their loans amounting to RM24.6bil. Of this, some 77.5% have started repaying their loans with 800,000 borrowers having completed their loan repayments.

About 400,000 are consistently repaying their loans according to the repayment schedule while 400,000 are repaying but not consistent in their repayments. A total of RM15.5bil has been repaid.

PTPTN was offering a 12% discount for borrowers who repay at least 50% of their loan amount. There is also a 10% discount for borrowers who agreed to repay their loans by way of monthly salary deductions. PTPTN has made it easier for borrowers to repay their loans online and not only through counters.

Legal action against errant borrowers will only be instituted as a last resort after exhausting all other avenues to recoup outstanding loans.

69% Patient on Kidney Dialysis Are Diabetes

Approximately 69 per cent of new patients on dialysis suffer from Type 2 diabetes. This is a worrying trend as more Malaysians are being diagnosed with this chronic disease. In Malaysia, according to the 2019 National Health and Morbidity Survey (NHMS), conducted by the Ministry of Health (MOH), the prevalence of diabetes in adults has increased from 13.4 per cent in 2015 to 18.3 per cent in 2019.

High blood sugar (blood glucose) can damage blood vessels in the kidneys. When damaged, the kidneys will not work as well. Many patients with diabetes will also develop high blood pressure which can also damage the kidneys. However, with care, the progression to Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) in diabetes patients can be delayed.

As the kidney is one of the most affected organs in diabetics, it is advisable for them to go for regular scheduled blood and urine tests to monitor the kidney function. With regular monitoring of kidneys in patients with diabetes, the progression to CKD can be managed or delayed.

A percentage of those with CKD will eventually progress to kidney failure or End Stage Kidney Disease (ESKD), and require either a kidney transplant or dialysis. Dialysis treatments and management of kidney failure have improved greatly over the years. Kidney failure patients these days having a much better quality of life compared to years before. Dialysis patients can enjoy more independence and flexibility with home dialysis or peritoneal dialysis, which allows the patient to take charge of their lives and plan their dialysis treatment routine.

What is important now is creating awareness among Malaysians, so that necessary lifestyle changes can be adopted, as early interventions can promote better outcomes. All Malaysians should go for regular check-ups with their GP to be up to date on their health status.

Diabetes and Hypertension Linked To Covid Mortality

Most people who died from Covid-19 in Malaysia suffered from diabetes and hypertension, said the health ministry. As at Oct 28, 37.3 per cent of Covid-19 fatalities this year had a background of diabetes - about four in 10 deaths. It was a small drop from last year, when 38.8 per cent of deaths involved diabetics. 

Globally, we know that people living with non-communicable diseases are at higher risk of more serious infections and Covid-19 deaths. This is especially more so for people living with diabetes, particularly if their condition is poorly controlled. 

When a diabetes patient was infected with Covid-19, there were potentially more severe effects including inflammation. Nearly one in five adults or an estimated 3.9 million individuals are living with diabetes in Malaysia. About half of them were unaware that they had this disease.

The prevalence of diabetes among younger individuals aged between 18 and 40 has doubled over the past 15 years. Increase in diabetes in the younger age groups, mainly due to childhood obesity. The rising number of diabetics mean a heavier burden of the disease and its complications: heart disease, stroke, blindness, chronic kidney disease and lower limb amputation, among others.

As for hypertension, it is one of the main non-communicable diseases in Malaysia, affecting three in 10 adults in the country. This is an estimated 6.4 million people, according to the National Health and Morbidity Survey 2019.

Insurable Interest Life Insurance

If you want to buy life insurance for another person, you must first prove you have an insurable interest in their life. Insurable interest means you will face a significant emotional, financial or other type of loss that will negatively impact you upon the insured’s death. The insured also has to consent to the purchase, which is usually done by signing a form attesting to the life insurance company they are aware someone is purchasing the policy on their life.

What is insurable interest in life insurance - Even if you can afford to, you cannot take out a life insurance policy on anyone you choose. When it comes to taking out a life insurance contract on someone other than yourself, life insurers require you to first prove you have an insurable interest in the insured person. To have insurable interest most typically means you are financially dependent or would have financial hardship if the insured person were to pass away.

For example, a married couple have two children. Both spouses work, but the wife only works part-time, so she can also take care of the children. Husband takes out a life insurance policy on wife’s life because he can prove that losing wife would cause him financial hardship. He would either have to quit his job, take on different hours or hire someone to care for the children while he worked. The same would be true if wife took out a life insurance contract on husband’s life. The death benefit would help wife and the children maintain their lifestyle up to the policy’s limits without husband’s financial assistance, while allowing wife time to adjust to depending on just her income alone.

Insurable interest & relationship - is most common in immediate family relationships, though other relationships can qualify as insurable interest:

• Spouse
• Children (adopted or natural)
• Grandparents and grandchildren
• Siblings
• Corporations and business partnerships

What is proof of insurable interest - proof of insurable interest is part of the initial life insurance application. Insurable interest and consent of the insured person (if different from the policyholder) is a requirement before a life insurance company can approve and issue a life insurance contract. This can be done in person by verifying the identity and relationship of the policyholder and insured person. A phone interview may also be conducted between the life insurance company and the person buying insurance or the person listed as the life insurance beneficiary. 

If you purchase a life insurance policy, the policyholder and insured, insurable interest automatically exists for you and your beneficiaries. In a direct relationship, either through blood, marriage or adoption decree, insurable interest is generally easy to prove based on the relationship status. In a business partnership, such as a corporation purchasing a life insurance policy on a key officer, a business contract or other form of proof that the company will experience financial hardship and loss upon the insured’s death is needed.

What if you do not have insurable interest - If you do not have an insurable interest in the insured person, you cannot buy a life insurance policy. Proving insurable interest also requires consent and acknowledgement from the insured person that the policy owner wants to take out a life insurance contract on their behalf. This prevents someone from taking out a life insurance policy on someone without their knowledge.

When you are both the policy owner and insured, insurable interest is absolute for both the insured person and the chosen beneficiary. If the insured does not designate a beneficiary, anyone seeking the insured’s death benefit will also have to prove insurable interest when the insured person passes away. These safeguards are in place to prevent life insurance company insolvency from death benefit payouts and increases in the cost of the life insurance. 

Sometimes, insurable interest cannot be proven. For instance, you would not be able to take out a life insurance policy on your elderly neighbor just because they are sick and may die soon if you cannot prove you would face financial hardship after they pass. Similarly, while your spouse has an insurable interest in your life and can take out a life insurance policy with your consent, they cannot name their best friend as the beneficiary, since they will not face financial loss upon your death.

Can you buy life insurance on a parent without their consent - You can buy life insurance on a parent, but not without their consent. Life insurance on a parent is worth considering if you will incur costs — whether for medical bills, funeral expenses or other costs — you cannot afford when they pass. You can use the life insurance death benefit to pay for various expenses.

Can you buy life insurance on your child’s mother or father - If you can prove insurable interest and have consent from your child’s parent, you can buy life insurance on your child’s mother or father. If your co-parent provides alimony or child support payments, that could prove insurable interest for an ex-spouse. If you or your child would experience financial hardship because their other parent passes away, this also demonstrates insurable interest.

When must insurable interest exist in life insurance - When buying life insurance, insurable interest must exist at the time the life insurance policy is purchased. If the policyholder and insured person are different, both the policyholder and named beneficiary must have an insurable interest and prove financial loss and hardship if the insured were to pass away.

Unvaccinated To Foot Own Medical Bills

People who are unvaccinated by choice and come down with Covid-19 will have to foot their own medical bills from Dec 8, 2021. The change comes as those who are unvaccinated make up the majority of patients who require intensive inpatient care and disproportionately contribute to the strain on Singapore's healthcare resources.

The Government currently foots the full Covid-19 medical bills of all Singaporeans, permanent residents (PRs) and long-term pass holders, other than for those who tested positive or had onset of Covid-19 symptoms within 14 days of arrival in Singapore after overseas travel.

The new billing measure applies only to those who choose not to be vaccinated despite being medically eligible, and who are admitted to hospitals and Covid-19 treatment facilities on or after Dec 8.

Billing will still be based on our current subsidy framework, subject to MediSave use and MediShield Life claims, so it will still be highly supported and highly subsidized. Those who are ineligible for vaccination, such as children under 12 years old, and those who cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons will continue to have their bills fully covered by the Government.

It noted that the Government's current measure to fully cover Covid-19 medical bills for Singaporeans, PRs and long-term pass holders, apart from those who travelled recently, was to avoid financial concerns adding to public uncertainty when Covid-19 was an emergent and unfamiliar disease.

This approach for Covid-19 bills will continue for the majority of the population here who are vaccinated until the coronavirus situation is more stable. Meanwhile, individuals who are partially vaccinated will not be charged for Covid-19 bills until Dec 31, to allow them time to complete their full regimen of jabs. After this deadline, they will have to foot their own medical bills if they catch Covid-19.

This means that from Jan 1, only Singaporeans, PRs or long-term pass holders who are fully vaccinated and have not recently travelled will have their Covid-19 medical bills fully paid for by the Government.

The task force said that Covid-19 patients who choose not to be vaccinated may still tap regular healthcare financing arrangements to pay for their bills where applicable. Singapore citizens and PRs may access regular government subsidies and MediShield Life or Integrated Shield plans, while long-term pass holders may tap their usual financing such as private insurance.

Young Workers - Claim Increases On Covid Pandemic

The wave of COVID-19 cases that swept over the United States starting in July stunned U.S life insurers, by increasing the number of deaths of working-age people far over what the companies had predicted.

The surge had an especially big effect in the South. The deaths in the third quarter were three times what we expected. U.S. deaths in the age group between 35 and 54 tripled, from a percentage perspective and most are younger workers.

Because of the age shift, the average life insurance claim per COVID-19-related death has increased to $60,000, from $55,000 in the second quarter. COVID-19 now appears to be leading to an increase in absence and short-term disability claims as well as an increase in life insurance claims.

Vaccines - Insurers believe one of the drivers affecting Prudential’s U.S. life insurance claims is the share of claims coming from places where COVID-19 vaccination rates are lower. Vaccine mandates at large employers could help future earnings.

Unum has large operations in the United Kingdom. Unum executives said they believe that COVID-19 mortality was lower there than in the United States partly because the United Kingdom has an adult vaccination rate over 90%. It’s that vaccine piece that’s making the biggest difference in mortality, and also in hospitalizations. 

Earnings - Prudential, Unum and Voya all reported profits for the third quarter, in spite of the effects of COVID-19 on life and disability claims.

Prudential is reporting $1.53 billion in net income for the third quarter on $20 billion in revenue, up from $1.49 billion in net income on $13 billion in revenue in the third quarter of 2020. Prudential’s U.S. businesses are reporting $1.1 billion in adjusted operating income before income taxes for the latest quarter on $13 billion in revenue, up from $848 million in adjusted operating income on $6.5 billion in revenue for the year-earlier quarter.

Unum is reporting $329 million in net income for the latest quarter on $3 billion in revenue, up from $231 million in net income on $3 billion in revenue for the year-earlier quarter. Commission spending fell to $144 million, from $146 million, at the Unum US division but increased to $80.5 million, from $79.9 million, at Colonial Life.

Voya is reporting $142 million in net income for the latest quarter on $2 billion in revenue, compared with a $333 million net loss on $2.1 billion in revenue for the year-earlier quarter.

Indonesian Cybercrime On The Rise

Several Indonesian lost millions of rupiah after giving her banking credentials to someone claiming to be a customer service (CS) representative from Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI). 
The so-called CS representative contacted the resident after tagging BNI’s official Twitter account, @BNI, on the social media platform to complain about a problem with their mobile banking account.

The person then directed the customer to a WhatsApp chat and ended giving the 16-digit card number, as well as the three-digit card verification code (CVC) and a one-time password (OTP) sent to her phone. 

After realizing that they had been scammed, they went to check with a teller the next day and found that the bank could not trace or return the missing funds. The Bank inform them that even if they reported the incident, there was no guarantee they could get their money.

It is estimated that 2 million bank clients that cybercriminals have tried to lure into similar scams. The fraudsters impersonated at least seven large Indonesian financial institutions, according to a report. The company found that as of early March, 1,600 Twitter accounts were impersonating the seven banks, 2.5 times more than the 600 fake Twitter accounts recorded in January.

This scam campaign is consistent with a trend toward the use of multistage scams, which help fraudsters lure in their victims. They are successful because of the lack of comprehensive digital asset monitoring by financial institutions. Because of such attacks, banks risked losing their customers’ trust and that banks should carry out round-the-clock monitoring of the internet to promptly detect any fraud attempts.

Indonesian banks considered cybersecurity threats the biggest risk to the industry and that such threats would be the major risk for digital banking for the following two to three years.

AIA & Touch'n Go Wallet Strategic Partnership

Touch ‘n Go eWallet and AIA Malaysia kicked off their strategic partnership with the launch of their first product collaboration, WalletSafe. Touch ‘n Go Group (TNG Group), which is part of the financial services provider CIMB Group Holdings Bhd, and AIA Malaysia said WalletSafe, launched at an introductory price of RM1, is a six-month insurance plan that covers Touch ‘n Go eWallet users in the event of death caused by accident or Covid-19, paying up to 10 times the balance amount in their Touch ‘n Go eWallet (maximum RM25,000).

It also provides an additional protection for unauthorised transactions performed on their eWallet and GO+ accounts, up to RM25,000. All these additional coverages are on top of the Money-back Guarantee already covered by Touch ‘n Go eWallet for its verified users.

Bank Negara Malaysia’s Annual Report, e-wallet transactions have increased by 131% in 2020 amounting to 600 million transactions, compared with the 300 million transactions in 2019. Additionally, more merchants have also signed up to accept e-payments with Quick Response (QR) code payments. Touch n’ Go eWallet has already accepted over one million DuitNow QR merchant acceptance points.

Wedding Insurance

With high wedding costs these days, your ceremony and reception will likely be the most expensive event you and your partner will ever plan. Because so much money is on the line, buying wedding insurance could be a smart idea. But before you buy a policy, it's important to know what it will and won't cover.

What Is Wedding Insurance - Wedding insurance is a type of special event insurance that offers financial protection for issues related to your celebration. There are two main kinds:

1: Wedding liability insurance

Liability insurance will help you pay for property damage or injuries that occur during your event. For example, if a wedding guest enjoys the open bar too much and damages the venue's window, liability coverage could pay for its replacement or repair.

2: Wedding cancellation or postponement

Wedding cancellation or postponement insurance will reimburse you if the ceremony or reception needs to be cancelled or postponed due to circumstances beyond your control. For example, your policy could cover you if the ceremony was canceled because of extreme weather—such as a hurricane or severe snowstorm—illness, injury, or because a vendor went out of business.

Wedding Insurance Riders - Wedding insurance typically covers particular circumstances, but you can buy optional insurance riders to get additional coverage. Common riders that may be available include:

1: Military service

If you or your partner are in the military or active reserves and are called to duty, a military service rider would cover the costs of rescheduling your event.

2: Bridal gowns and tuxedos

If the store you bought your wedding gown or tuxedo from goes out of business—stranding you without your wedding clothes or deposit—this rider will help cover the cost of new clothes.

3: Honeymoon

If you have to cancel your honeymoon because of inclement weather or illness, a honeymoon rider could reimburse you for your travel fees. 2

What Doesn't Wedding Insurance Cover - Wedding insurance doesn't cover everything that might go wrong. While policy terms can vary by insurer, the following exclusions usually apply:

1: Cost

In general, cancellations or postponements due to cost aren't covered by wedding insurance. For instance, suppose you realize that the ceremony and reception have exceeded your budget, and you decide to scale back. In that case, your wedding insurance policy won’t reimburse you for lost deposits or other expenses.

2: Change of heart

If you or your partner change your mind about getting married, your policy typically won't cover the costs resulting from the wedding's cancellation.

3: Ordinary bad weather. Wedding insurance will only reimburse you for cancellations or postponements due to extreme weather conditions, meaning conditions so severe that you, your partner, or at least half of your guests can't reach the wedding venue. For more common weather conditions—such as rain on the day of your beach wedding—the policy won't reimburse you.

How Much Does Wedding Insurance Cost - The cost of wedding insurance depends on several factors:

• Your location
• The issuing insurer
• Coverage amounts
• Size of wedding
• Optional riders

In general, a basic cancellation and postponement policy will cost between $155 and $550. A general liability policy that provides up to $1 million in coverage for accidents or injuries costs around $185.

Does Wedding Insurance Cover Gifts - A basic wedding insurance policy doesn't typically cover lost or stolen gifts unless you add a wedding gift rider to your insurance plan when you buy it.

Does Wedding Insurance Cover Breakups - Unfortunately, wedding insurance typically doesn’t cover cancellations due to the couple splitting up.

The Bottom Line - A wedding insurance policy can help cover your costs if things go wrong on your big day. Although a policy can run several hundred dollars for a typical ceremony, given the cost of the average wedding today, it could be well worth the investment.

It's wise to start shopping for a wedding insurance policy as soon as you begin the planning process. Compare policies and rates from multiple companies, and be sure to read the exclusions and restrictions carefully because policies vary in what they will and won't cover.

Australia AMP Exits Life Insurance

Australia's AMP Ltd had agreed to sell its remaining 19% stake in Resolution Life's Australia business to the British company, marking the wealth manager's exit from life insurance. The stake sale will fetch AMP A$524 million ($389.28 million) and comes years after the Australian company agreed to offload its life insurance arm to Resolution Life at a discounted price of A$3 billion.

At the time, AMP had decided to receive some of the deal consideration in the form of a stake in the business. AMP said the sale would boost its available capital by A$459 million, ahead of plans to spin off its asset management arm's private markets business in the first half of next year.

Resolution Life and AMP have also agreed to settle other post-deal adjustments and claims that would see the Australian company make a net payment of A$141 million. AMP will take a A$65 million one-off hit in fiscal 2021 following the payment.

Effective Leadership & Team Building

Leadership broken down into its most basic and practical form can be defined as meeting the needs of people and developing them to their fullest potential. When employees don’t develop and have their needs met to do their jobs well, they experience low morale, they stop caring, and they stop trying.

To reverse the effects of bad leadership, when the rubber meets the road, these are five of the most common bad leadership behaviors I’ve encountered as an executive coach over the years.

NOT RECOGNIZING PEOPLE FOR DOING GOOD WORK - People who receive regular recognition and praise increase their individual productivity, increase engagement, and are more likely to stay with their organization. Additionally, they receive higher loyalty and satisfaction scores from customers and have better safety records and fewer accidents on the job.

DISRESPECTING EMPLOYEES - An alarming 72% of the surveyed population was treated in a rude or disrespectful manner by a boss. Additionally, nearly 70% of respondents were criticized in front of their peers, and 83% of them felt bad about it. Finally, and perhaps the worst case of all, an eye-popping 42% of bad leaders blamed others for their failures, which 84% of employees felt is unfair.

FAILURE TO COMMUNICATE EFFECTIVELY - Communication issues are common: Too much of it, not enough of it, wrong messages being sent. Whatever form it comes in, poor communication can affect work morale, disengage your employees, and dissatisfy your customers. Whatever the case, one thing should be crystal clear: Communication, whether interpersonal or organizational, is a necessity for success.

LACKING INTEGRITY - When questionable decisions for financial gain or personal benefit are made, employees know. And if they know, you’ve already lost the battle for respect. But if you lead by example and show integrity in your decision-making, it says a lot about you—the leader. Who you are as a person in relation to others will ultimately determine your level of success.

FAILURE TO GIVE ONGOING FEEDBACK AS PART OF THE MANAGER-EMPLOYEE RELATIONSHIP - Far too often, the typical annual performance review and its process don’t result in positive feedback. Generally, in this process, managers will bank views and perspectives until review time, dumping them all at once on the employee, thus leaving them dazed and confused, overwhelmed, and in some cases, irritated.

If we want our employees to grow, why are we waiting an entire year to offer them help? Feedback is about asking and receiving useful advice and insights on a continuous journey toward shared goals. It’s about building trusting relationships and knowing that help is there.

When we get it right, feedback lifts people up, helps them understand their strengths, and shows them pathways to achieve the next step in their career progression.