Symptoms Of Toxic Leadership

Recognizing that you might be a toxic leader is the first step toward change. Here are some signs to watch out for:

High Employee Turnover - If your team has a high turnover rate, it might be an indication of toxic leadership. Employees generally leave when they feel undervalued or mistreated. As of 2022, 70% of all U.S. employee turnover is voluntary.

Low Team Morale - A toxic leader often fosters an environment where employees feel constantly stressed and unhappy.

Poor Communication - These types of leaders often fail to communicate effectively. They may ignore suggestions, provide unclear instructions, or not communicate at all, leading to confusion and inefficiency.

Constant Blame Shifting - Toxic leaders rarely take responsibility for their actions, often deflecting blame onto their team members, which erodes trust and accountability.

Inconsistent Expectations - Unpredictable standards or frequently changing goals can create confusion and frustration within the team, leading to decreased performance and commitment.

Lack of Recognition - If the accomplishments and contributions of team members go unacknowledged, it can foster feelings of being unappreciated among employees, driving them to disengage.

Isolation of Employees - If team members feel excluded from important discussions or decision-making processes, it can lead to a culture of distrust and competition instead of collaboration.

Chiropractor Scammed Singapore Insurer

A chiropractor was taken to court on Tuesday (Jan 22) after he allegedly worked with two insurance agents to cheat Manulife Singapore of more than $14,000 by submitting bogus personal accident claims by 12 people who were covered by the insurer.

Shareholder of Chiropractic Focus Group Charles Loo Boon Ann, 29, is accused of committing the offences with Priscilla Tien Ling, 27, and Mike Chew Jun Yong, 36. Loo was charged with 17 counts of cheating while Tien faces 12 charges for similar offences. Chew was handed nine cheating charges.

The trio allegedly committed their offences between June 2017 and April last year and Manulife Singapore is said to have been duped into delivering the monies to the 12 insurance policy holders.

They allegedly received between $200 and $1,200 each. Tien's cases allegedly involved nine policy holders who received more than $8,000 in all. Five policy holders linked to Chew are said to have received about $7,000 in total.

In a statement on Monday, the police said the trio allegedly cheated the insurance firm through false personal accident claims for treatments received at Loo's clinics in Tampines and Tanjong Pagar. For each count of cheating, offenders can be jailed for up to 10 years and fined.

India Mulls Allowing 100% FDI For Insurance Company

The Indian government plans to introduce a significant overhaul of the insurance sector by allowing 100% foreign direct investment (FDI) in insurance companies. This proposal, part of the Insurance Amendment Bill, is expected to be presented during Parliament’s winter session. If implemented, the move could allow foreign insurers to operate independently in the Indian market.

The bill also aims to relax restrictions on insurance agents, permitting them to sell policies from multiple insurers rather than being tied to a single company.

India currently caps FDI in insurance companies at 74% while intermediaries face fewer restrictions. The market includes 24 life insurers, 26 general insurers, six standalone health insurers, and one reinsurer – General Insurance Corporation.

Raising The FDI Limit - to 100% aims to attract international insurers with the financial resources required to grow in a capital-intensive industry. The entry of such players is expected to complement existing domestic firms like SBI, ICICI, HDFC, and prominent conglomerates such as the Tata and Birla groups.

The proposed changes may also prompt foreign companies to reconsider their market strategies. For instance, Allianz, reportedly exploring an end to its partnership with Bajaj Finserv, could potentially enter the Indian market as an independent operator under the new framework.

Relaxing Restrictions On Agents - is another key element of the proposed reforms. Currently, agents often register family members to represent additional insurers, a practice that the new rules would legitimize. By allowing agents to sell products from multiple companies, the government hopes to streamline the market and enhance transparency.

India’s insurance penetration stands at approximately 4%, prompting calls for increased investment and structural reforms to grow the market.

To address this, IRDAI is exploring additional measures, including the introduction of composite licenses. This change would allow insurers to offer life and non-life policies through a single entity, potentially benefiting companies like Life Insurance Corporation of India, which is reportedly seeking to acquire a health insurer to diversify its offerings.

Further proposals include reducing solvency requirements to free up capital, which would enable insurers to expand their underwriting capacity.

Manulife Surpass Earnings Target

Manulife, Canada's biggest insurance company, is on track to surpass its earnings target in Asia, as a result of the launch of several innovative products that have been lapped up by wealthy customers and mainland visitors buying policies in Hong Kong.

The Toronto-based insurer's third-quarter results released last week showed a 17 per cent increase in core earnings - profits generated from its primary business activities - in Asia. The region was also the largest profit contributor, accounting for 44 per cent of the group's total earnings. This was up from 37 per cent last year and approaching its target of 50 per cent from Asia by 2027.

Hong Kong, its Asian headquarters, has been a driving force behind the stellar gains. Annualized premiums collected from insurance sales rose 173 per cent year on year to US$570 million in the third quarter, as a rising number of mainland visitors continue buying insurance cover in the city. Mainland visitors' purchases represented 30 per cent of the total, with the rest coming from locals.

In the first half of the year, the city received 21 million ­tourists, an increase of 64 per cent from a year ago, according to data published by the Hong Kong Tourism Board. Two-thirds of them were from the mainland. Manulife has a wide range of products that can fulfil the needs of mainland Chinese visitors in terms of life protection and medical and legacy planning.

The company has made policy sales through agents a priority, investing in the distribution channel and introducing a program called Manulife Pro for top-tier agents in Hong Kong to improve their productivity.

Other Key Markets In Asia-Pacific - China, Singapore, Japan, the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia - also reported strong sales following the launch of innovative products, customer apps and investment in call centre technology.

Manulife rolled out the new call centre technology in Japan in the third quarter to enable voice-to-text and other artificial intelligence solutions to reply to customers' inquiries. It also introduced new apps in Vietnam and Indonesia in the second quarter.

In May, the firm introduced a new product called Genesis, which provides flexible withdrawal options and estate-planning features. It also created an integrated high-net-worth platform in Hong Kong, Singapore and Bermuda to tap wealthy customers.

High-net-worth customers need insurance protection, medical coverage, wealth management, and estate planning. There are a lot of wealthy customers in Hong Kong, the Greater Bay Area and other parts of Asia, which are future growth engines for Manulife.

Manulife and others such as HSBC and UBS are all eyeing a bigger slice of the growing wealth management business in Hong Kong.

Assets under management in Hong Kong rose 2 per cent year on year to more than HK$31 trillion (US$4 trillion) at the end of 2023, according to data from the Securities and Futures Commission. Net fund inflows reached HK$390 billion, a year-on-year increase of over 3.4 times, thanks to the development of the family office business.

61% Malaysian Have Difficulty To Raise RM1,000 For Emergency

The financial knowledge of Malaysians has significantly improved since 2016 and is approaching the level of developed countries, however, there are still three challenges hindering further progress towards becoming a financially literate society.

Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) said this improvement in the knowledge level is reflected in the financial survey results of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) last year. Based on the OECD study for 2023, the financial literacy level of Malaysians has risen significantly, surpassing the global average and approaching the level of other developed countries.

Financial Capability and Inclusion Survey conducted by BNM recently identified three key financial challenges still faced by Malaysians: poor financial management, saving habits, and digital financial literacy.

61% Difficult To Come Up With RM1,000 For Emergency - remains a concerning issue, with the survey revealing that one in four Malaysians feels their debt is burdensome, while wide access to financial services such as having a deposit account does not translate into meaningful saving habits and usage. According to the same survey, 61 per cent of Malaysians would have difficulty to come up with RM1,000 in case of an emergency.

Low level of digital financial literacy was highlighted by the survey, with 15 per cent of the population, mostly teenagers, sharing their banking passwords. This practice exposes them to the increasing rate of online scams and being used as money mules.

Apex Court Rules For Claimant

The Federal Court has in a landmark decision ruled that a passenger travelling in a vehicle on work matters can recover compensation from the vehicle’s insurers for injuries suffered in the event of an accident - under Section 91(1)(b)(bb) of the Road Transport Act 1987 (RTA) protects third party accident victims who travel in an insured motor vehicle for work engagements.

A three-member bench which unanimously allowed an appeal by Chen Boon Kwee from a Court of Appeal ruling favouring Berjaya Sompo Insurance Berhad. Chen, a passenger in a Toyota Camry car owned by his wife, Tan Saw Kheng, and driven by Masri Tamin, sustained injuries in a road accident in 2015.

He obtained judgment against Masri and Tan in the Batu Pahat sessions court five years ago and sought to enforce it on Berjaya Sompo, the vehicle’s insurer under a third-party risk motor insurance policy.

Berjaya Sompo sought to disclaim liability for the judgment on grounds that the policy did not cover members of the vehicle owner’s household. The bench, chaired by Zabariah, also awarded Chen RM150,000 in costs.

Overturned Court Of Appeal Ruling - In its decision, the apex court also overturned the Court of Appeal’s ruling that an injured passenger who has already obtained judgment against an insured vehicle owner must bring a separate “recovery action” to enforce his claim against the vehicle’s insurer.

Chen was injured when the car he was in collided with a lorry on the Pagoh-Yong Peng highway. In 2019, the sessions court awarded him damages of RM200,000 after holding Masri solely responsible for the accident. The court also found Tan vicariously liable in her capacity as owner of the car.

The judgment was upheld by the High Court. Berjaya Sompo then filed a separate action in the High Court seeking a declaration that Chen was obliged to file a recovery suit to prove that he was covered under the policy before the judgment could be enforced on the company.

Both the High Court and the Court of Appeal found in the insurer’s favour, leading to the present appeal which saw the lower courts’ ruling overturned.

India Life Insurance Industry Crisis Ahead

The widespread financial irregularities and mismanagement plaguing our life insurance firms, which have put the entire industry at risk, are alarming. According to data from the Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority (IDRA), 31 out of 36 life insurers are yet to settle about 11 lakh policyholders' claims worth Tk 3,643 crore—with clients remaining uncertain as to when they will get their money back.

Mounting Problems - Experts say that poor investment decisions, high agent commissions, excessive management costs, and unhealthy competition are to blame for this. The situation has particularly worsened in recent years, with IDRA data showing that the claim settlement rate among life insurers dropped from 85 percent in 2020 to 72 percent in 2023. Moreover, of the 31 insurance companies with unsettled claims, nine have the worst settlement rates. 

For example, Fareast Islami Life recorded Tk 2,577 crore in claims but paid just Tk 32 crore. Similarly, Padma Islami Life paid only Tk 4 crore against Tk 226 crore in claims, Progressive Life Insurance settled Tk 6 crore of Tk 174 crore in claims, Sunflower Life Insurance settled Tk 2 crore of Tk 141 crore, and BAIRA Life Insurance paid Tk 2 crore of Tk 67 crore in claims.

According to the Insurance Act of 2010, claims must be settled within 90 days of submitting all required documentation after a policy matures. However, the fact that policyholders are struggling to get their money back for much longer is entirely unacceptable. Additionally, the amount and types of irregularities that are to blame for this are staggering. 

Political Interference - Yet, regulators reportedly never took any major steps against these companies due to political reasons and legal limitations. That political constraints limited regulators' ability to do their jobs seems to have become a common excuse now across industries. As a result, however, it is the ordinary people that are now struggling. But should the concerned authorities be let off the hook for their failure to perform their duties and protect citizens? And what about those who were directly responsible for the corruption in this sector? It is incumbent upon the government to identify those who are directly responsible for such irregularities and mismanagement and hold them accountable.

Moreover, the government needs to develop a comprehensive strategy to ensure that clients recover their money from these companies. This should include taking legal action against directors involved in financial irregularities and confiscating their assets. The government should also consider monetising the fixed assets of corrupt companies to settle claims.

Clearly, mismanagement in the sector has led to a significant loss of credibility. Therefore, the government should involve experts and other stakeholders to fully reform the sector and ensure that regulators are empowered to effectively oversee it in the future.