AXA Overseas Student Medical Insurance

AXA Affin General Insurance Bhd stands to earn up to RM42 million in gross premiums through an exclusive tie-up with Education Malaysia Global Services (EMGS) to provide insurance coverage packages for foreign students in Malaysia.

The general insurance company, which is 34%-owned by Affin Holdings Bhd, won an open tender against 13 other insurance companies, to provide insurance coverage for between 30,000 and 50,000 foreign students in the country. The students are expected to pay between RM500 and RM850 each in premiums per year.

Insurance company will provide three types of medical and health insurance for a maximum annual coverage of between RM20,000 and RM50,000 at lower than market price because EMGS does not derive any commission from the policies. There have been some complaints from insurance agents who are disgruntled about losing business due to the EMGS-AXA Affin tie-up. The arrangement is subject to review after three years from February this year when it was implemented.

Medical Exam For Life

When you apply for a life assurance policy, you select a desired and affordable sum assured. The sum assured is the amount of money payable to one or their dependants at the maturity date of the policy or on occurrence of the insured event, for example death, disability and diagnosis of a critical illness.

 

Depending on the amount of the sum assured, evidence of a medical examination will be required. The term ‘free cover limit’ is used by insurers to refer to the amount of the sum assured below which no medical evidence is required. In this case, only a fully-filled-out proposal form and the first premium are required to create a contract between yourself and the insurance company.

 

For all amounts above, it is standard practice to undergo some form of medical appraisal. People often think that this is some kind of brutal and grueling obstacle course insurance companies devise to weed out ‘undesirable’ clients. In truth, the exam you will receive is much like a standard physical at your doctor’s office, and in some cases, it may be a little less stressful.

 

The medical is used to find any underlying conditions that may or will shorten your life, or adversely affect your overall health. They often involve a blood test, used to check for conditions, both hereditary and acquired. Urine analysis is also applied to, among other things, detect possible illicit substances.

 

A physical body exam is also conducted, as is a blood pressure measurement. The results from the tests are used by an underwriter to set your insurance rating, and determine what your policy premium will be. Most likely, you will get a copy of the test results for your own records, and if there are further tests you need, a follow-up round of testing will be scheduled.

 

You don’t have to be an Olympic athlete, or a professional sportsman to qualify for a comprehensive life insurance policy. Therefore, the idea of being denied coverage because of your health should not prevent you from buying and benefiting from life insurance. For what it’s worth, it might just be that health check that ultimately determines your quality of life.

 

Worth considering, isn’t it?

Alliance Sold Off AIA AFG Takaful

Alliance Financial Group Bhd yesterday informed the Bursa in a filing that it is disposing its 30% interest in AIA AFG Takaful Bhd to American International Assurance Bhd (AIA) for RM45 million.
The joint venture conducts family takaful business and it has reportedly brought in more than 6,000 cases, with new premiums in the region of about RM20 million during its fi rst 10 months in 2011.

But, given the recent slew of insurance investments within Asia, the stake buy back by AIA could be considered a steal — seeing how it agreed to pay US$1.7 billion (RM5.23 billion) for ING Group NV’s Malaysia life insurance operations last October.

Financial Service Act (FSA)

The proposed Financial Service Act (FSA) and Islamic Financial Service Act (IFSA) will extend beyond commercial banks to have a huge impact on the insurance industry when officially enacted.

The insurance industry players had been having closed meetings and discussions with Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) on the matter whereby proposed provisions would include the requirement for composite players to convert into a single insurance business, the corporatisation of private Islamic financial services companies, the 50 per cent ownership cap on Financial Holding companies (FHCs).

Both the FSA and IFSA would entail stricter enforcement of group-wide risk and capital management on financial services, as well as greater regulatory control over financial areas such as shareholder control and core operations.

The research house noted that the proposed acts were passed by the Dewan Rakyat in November
2012 and might come into force as early as May 2013 once gazetted.

“The FSA will prohibit insurers to operate both life insurance (LI) and general insurance (GI) simultaneously. The same conditions apply to takaful companies with regards to simultaneous general and family takaful operations via the IFSA,” the report underscored.

As such, insurance and takaful companies holding composite licences would be directly affected. However, players would be given a five-year transition period to convert into single insurance businesses.

RHB Research opined that these new laws might lead the affected insurance and takaful players to the path of setting up entities to manage their GI and LI operations separately in order to retain the businesses.

The research house believed that the separation of insurance or takaful businesses under different
managements might result in stronger and sharper business focus and might promote industry growth in the long run.

It noted further that the new rules were in line with insurance laws globally, aimed at cutting down on instances where composite insurers diverted long-term life insurance investments to plug short-term cash flow gaps arising from general business claims.

Maximum 10% Insurance Ownership

Individual owners of insurance companies will have five years to comply with the 10-percent shareholdings limit of the yet-to-be gazetted Financial Services Act 2012 (FSA).

This was the “transitional requirement” stated in a briefing by Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) to insurers on the Act on Feb 6, 2013.

“Existing shareholders exceeding the limit shall take steps to comply within five years from the commencement date,” BNM said in its handout sighted by KiniBiz.

The Act is expected to commence on May 2, BNM said in the handout.

Among those who could be affected are Tune Insurance owners Tony Fernandes and Kamarudin Meranun - who collectively own 72 percent of the company - and Lonpac Insurance owner Teh Hong Piow who owns 44 percent of the company.

Section 92 of the Act states that individuals have a maximum permissible holding of 10 percent.

The Act appears silent on any grace period for the owners of banks.

Banks owned by individuals include Public Bank (24 percent owned by Teh), Hong Leong Bank (79 percent owned by Quek Leng Chan) and Ambank (17 percent owned by Azman Hashim).

Live A Good Life

Because none of us have many years to live, and we can't take along anything when we go, so we don't have to be too thrifty.

Spend the money that should be spent, enjoy what should be enjoyed, donate what you are able to donate, but don't leave all to your children or grandchildren, for you don't want them to become parasites who are waiting for the day you will die!!
Don't worry about what will happen after we are gone, because when we return to dust, we will feel nothing about praises or criticisms. The time to enjoy the worldly life and your hard earned wealth will be over!

Don't worry too much about your children, for children will have their own destiny and should find their own way.

Don't be your children's slave. Care for them, love them, give them gifts but also enjoy your money
while you can. Life should have more to it than working from the cradle to the grave!!
Don't expect too much from your children. Caring children, though caring, would be too busy with their jobs and commitments to render much help. Uncaring children may fight over your assets even when you are still alive,and wish for your early demise so they can inherit your properties and wealth.
Your children take for granted that they are rightful heirs to your wealth; but that you have no claims to their money. 50-year old like you, don't trade in your health for wealth by working yourself to an early grave anymore. Because your money may not be able to buy your health.

When to stop making money, and how much is enough (hundred, thousands,million, ten million)?
Out of thousand hectares of good farm land, you can consume only three quarts (of rice) daily; out of a thousand mansions, you only need eight square meters of space to rest at night.
So, as long as you have enough food and enough money to spend, that is good enough. You should live happily. Every family has its own problems. Just do not compare with others for fame and social status and see whose children are doing better, etc., but challenge others for happiness, health,
enjoyment, quality of life and longevity.

Don't worry about things that you can't change because it doesn't help and it may spoil your health.
You have to create your own well-being and find your own place of happiness. As long as you are in good mood and good health, think about happy things, do happy things daily and have fun in doing, then you will pass your time happily every day.
One day passes without happiness, you will lose one day. One day passes with happiness, and then you gain one day.

In good spirit, sickness will cure; in a happy spirit, sickness will cure faster; in high and happy spirits; sickness will never come. With good mood, suitable amount of exercise, always in the sun,
variety of foods, reasonable amount of vitamin and mineral intake, hopefully you will live another 20 or 30 years of healthy life of pleasure.
Above all, learn to cherish the goodness around... and FRIENDS. They all make you feel young and "wanted"... without them you are surely to feel lost!!

As I Mature