Takaful Growth In Malaysia

The global takaful industry has witnessed tremendous growth in the last decade, rapidly becoming an increasingly important component of the Sharia-compliant banking and finance system.

South East Asia, particularly Malaysia, has become a key centre of this dynamic and vibrant industry and, according to reports by Bank Negara Malaysia, the takaful industry experienced a compound average growth rate of 27 per cent in terms of net contributions between 2005 and 2010.

Given the large untapped market that still exists, the takaful industry in Malaysia is poised to benefit in the years ahead on the back of steady demand. Similarly other key markets in South East Asia, such as Indonesia and Brunei, are also rapidly emerging as important takaful markets.

Who Is Adam Adli Abdul Halim

Adam Adli Abdul Halim (23 year-old) is a courageous Malaysian Patriot. Adam is the symbol of Malaysia's pro-democracy movement. Adam is the public voice of our struggle.

He represents our future. A young Malaysian who stood up and publicly criticised the Election Commission (EC) for condoning cheating at the poll.

Leadership From Catholic

Having blasted a self-centered Catholic Church, Pope Francis on Wednesday, May 22, criticized “intolerant” believers who think, “If he is not one of us, he cannot do good." The Pope said all human beings, whom God created, “have this commandment at heart: do good and do not do evil.” He stressed this applies to “all of us.”

“'But Father, this is not Catholic! He cannot do good.' Yes, he can. He must. Not can: must! Because he has this commandment within him,” Francis said in Wednesday's homily at the Domus Santae Martae, his modest papal residence.

The Pope, who has consistently urged the Church to “come out of herself,” said intolerance will do the Church no good.

“Instead, this 'closing off' that imagines that those outside, everyone, cannot do good is a wall that leads to war and also to what some people throughout history have conceived of: killing in the name of God. And that, simply, is blasphemy. To say that you can kill in the name of God is blasphemy.”

Despite differences between believers and non-believers, he said their common denominator is doing good. He said the commandment to uphold goodness is a “beautiful path towards peace.”

“If we, each doing our own part, if we do good to others, if we meet there, doing good, and we go slowly, gently, little by little, we will make that culture of encounter: we need that so much. We must meet one another doing good,” Francis said.

He continued, with an atheist's possible response in mind: “'But I don't believe, Father, I am an atheist!' But do good: we will meet one another there.”

Gold = Scam = Greed

Greed is essential for scam to work

Disgruntled investors are claiming that they are still in a limbo over the status of their investments with gold investment company Genneva (under Genneva Sdn Bhd and Genneva Malaysia Sdn Bhd).

Following the sessions court ruling on Tuesday that Bank Negara Malaysia has the right to freeze Genneva's assets, investors told theSun that this does not change anything, as they have never had assurance that they will be repaid.

"It does not matter whether Genneva's assets have been frozen as a lot of us believe Genneva will not give what is owed to us anyway," said James Lim, a businessman. "The present directors have been unresponsive to all demands.

"We have never received any reimbursement or assurance in any way," he said, claiming that
Genneva has only asked customers for more money. Lim claims the Facebook page, Genneva Malaysia Supporters, is "a front staged by Genneva directors to alleviate blame from themselves and direct it towards Bank Negara."

"They did not disclose how much money had been collected, where it has gone, and customers are not allowed to meet with the lawyers that their money hired," Lim said. Fellow investor Michelle Kwan, a businesswoman, said she, too, has failed to contact the Genneva directors.

Echoing Lim's claims on customers being asked to file for a judicial review, Kwan claims that Genneva had threatened to abandon customers if they do not do as asked.

"We have absolutely no idea where our money is and if we will ever get it back. We are in complete darkness," she said.

Takaful Malaysia No Claim Bonus

Syarikat Takaful Malaysia Bhd (Takaful Malaysia) is confident of disbursing about RM35 million in No Claim Rebate this year to its customers given the positive growth in its General Takaful portfolio.

Group Managing Director Datuk Mohamed Hassan Kamil said Takaful Malaysia has sufficient surplus to sustain its 15 per cent No Claim Rebate in the future. The projection is made due to the company’s prudent underwriting policy, efficient claim management and the investments which the company undertakes.

Takaful Malaysia paid out a record RM31 million in No Claim Rebate to its customers, adding it is optimistic on capturing a more than 50 per cent market share from the current 40 per cent.

“We must go beyond 50 per cent market share to be the number one insurance provider in Malaysia,” he said, adding that the Takaful industry is growing by 20-25 per cent every year. Mohamed Hassan said the company hopes to see positive industry initiatives by the government for the company to capitalise on.

He said this year, the company is offering an additional five per cent No Claim Rebate for non-motor products, applicable for certificates ending in 2013.

For most of the years since its inception in 1984, the company has been paying the no claim rebate, which distinguishes it from other Takaful operators or conventional insurance providers, he said.

Islamic Finance & Challenges

Wrangling among scholars and wiggle room in interpretation of syariah principles threaten to derail any attempt to arrive at global standards in Islamic finance, holding back the US$1 trillion (RM3.2 trillion) industry.

Analysts say that unified rules that could have fuelled growth will be difficult to establish given the differences not just between regulators but also between practitioners.
Many global Islamic finance institutions currently look towards guidelines set by Accounting and Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Insitutions (AAOIFI) but there is no way to force banks or the syariah boards to comply in all cases.

“By default, we expect syariah scholars at individual banks to stick to the standards we have issued but there is always the possibility that people can deviate,” said Mohamad Nedal Alchaar, secretary-general of AAOIFI. “We just don’t have the enforcement power.”

A series of high-profile defaults and a legal battle over the syariah compliance of a contract between Kuwait’s Investment Dar and Lebanon’s Blom Bank have raised calls for standardisation, particularly as Western markets that are used to more regulation eye entering Islamic finance.

Blom sued Investment Dar in a British court last year to receive its principal and a fixed return promised in its contract with Dar. Dar declared the deal void despite its own syariah board approving the structuring, saying that under syariah, a return could not be guaranteed because there was no risk-sharing.

One Gulf-based Islamic banker said that there was “real concern” among the conventional banks over the absence of an authoritative centralised body to frame rules.

“Islamic finance was originally about establishing an Islamic economy but we don’t even have synergy between banks in Malaysia and the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council),” he said.

Standardisation bodies do exist but the adherence to their standards varies from country to country.
AAOIFI has 41 accounting and governance guidelines for Islamic financial institutions. Individual regulators in Bahrain, Qatar, Syria and Sudan made the standards mandatory for Islamic financial institutions but they are merely considered advisable in countries such as Malaysia, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

“There is cognisance that if Islamic finance is to grow between the Middle East and particularly Malaysia, there needs to be more dialogue and more consensus of how we can work together,” said Ariff Ismail, associate director at Maybank Investment.

Islamic finance is a US$1 trillion global industry but ratings agency Moody’s forecasts that the industry could hit US$5 trillion over time.

In Malaysia there is a national syariah council that sets rules for Islamic financial institutions. But Malaysian interpretation of syariah is considered to be more liberal than the views of Saudi Arabian scholars, making it difficult to reach consensus on deals between the two nations.

Tawarruq, where an asset is sold to a purchaser with deferred payment terms and the purchaser then sells the asset to a third party to get funds, has sparked debate among scholars over its syariah-compliance.

The International Council of Fiqh Academy in Saudi Arabia declared tawarruq impermissible last May, calling into question deals in a market estimated to be worth over US$100 billion.
But tawarruq is still widely used, particularly in Malaysia.

Some Islamic finance players say standardisation is an unrealistic goal given the fragmented nature of Islamic finance as compared to conventional banking, where there is greater compliance and agreement with industry standards such as Basel capital adequacy guidelines.

They warn that while conventional banks can fall in line with Basel II and International Financial Reporting Standards as well as their local country financial regulations, Islamic banking is dependent on varied interpretations of syariah as well as local laws.

And rejigging individual regulatory systems, monetary policies and religious interpretations into one set standard would require all markets to scrap their current system and start from scratch, raising costs.

“How can you have a one size fits all solution for the industry?” said Afaq Khan, chief executive of Dubai-based Standard Chartered Saadiq. “In theory, it’s a great idea but in reality, it would increase the costs for solutions to customers and push them away into a parallel economy.”

The silver lining is that the variations could lead to innovation.

“The Islamic finance industry has had about 6,500 fatwas and with 95 per cent of them, there is consensus,” said Iqbal Khan, chief executive at Fajr Capital.

“The 5 per cent where the difference lies gives us hope that there will be more innovation. That 5 per cent is very important for change and evolution in the industry,” he added.

Who is - Faiq Adnan

VISUALLY-IMPAIRED Faiq Adnan (age 23) almost gave up the challenge of swimming across the Penang Channel (5Km) yesterday. Faiq started his swim from the Swettenham Pier at the International Cruise Terminal North Inner Pontoon on the island at 9.05am and reached the Bagan Ajam beach on the mainland about 11.30am.

"My biggest challenge was the jellyfish stings. I was very close to telling my coach that I wanted to quit. That was 45 minutes into the swim. Another challenge was the big waves. I had to fight against the current," he said.

A Bunch of Thieves at Italy

No visit to Rome is complete without trying gelato, but a group of four British tourists got a rude shock when they were charged 64 euros (S$103) for four cones of ice cream. Roger Bannister, his brother and their wives, who were on a six-day holiday in Italy, were each charged 16 euros earlier in May at Antica Roma bar and gelateria, which is situated near the famed Spanish steps.

 The bar manager claimed that the prices of the ice cream were displayed "everywhere" and that the group was paying for large scoops that are "worth the price". "No one forced them to order big ice creams."  It is apparently not the first time tourists have been ripped off in Italy. In 2009, a restaurant near Piazzo Navona charged a Japanese couple 695 euros for dinner.
Tourist touts dressed as Roman soldiers are also notoriously known for charging exorbitant prices for a photograph with them in front of the historical Colosseum.

Balanced Vision & Action

What does it mean to be a visionary business leader? Vision in business requires that you clearly see where you choose to be in future and formulate the necessary steps to get your organization there. Creating and sustaining a vision for an organization calls for discipline and creativity.

A business leader must have the passion, strength of will, and necessary knowledge to achieve long-term goals. A focused individual who can inspire his team to reach organizational goals is a visionary business leader.

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It’s Important to Balance Vision and Action
While an organization’s vision is equivalent to the destination it seeks to reach, action represents the steps taken on the path to get there. Emphasis should be put into both vision and action. A balance is created when the directions or instructions of getting there are crystal clear. Action should be focused on what to do and how to get there.

Simply emphasizing the vision may not provide sufficient motivation. A leader should have a good understanding of his team. This will enable him to know what motivates them. An example of motivation may involve providing a comfortable cafeteria or a break room with comfortable furniture and lots of white boards where employees can relax and brainstorm together.

Creating an environment where workers can realize their peak performance is a necessary action towards achieving your vision. Such positive actions make your vision more realistic for team members. An enabling environment also allows members the freedom of creativity. Think of how many ways Google has shaped the internet. From advanced search algorithms to revolutionizing online marketing with AdWords; having an environment that nurtures innovation has kept the Google vision alive and on the continuous the path to success.

How Can a Business Leader Turn Vision into Reality?
Whenever a vision is followed by action, the vision can be turned into reality. One important action of leadership is the formation of a formidable team. No single skill set is sufficient in achieving success in business. A visionary leader recognizes talent and recruits individuals with skills that complement each other and contribute to business growth.

Before any action can be turned into reality, a great deal of discipline is necessary. Discipline requires that you follow through with your purpose and direction, even in the face of obstacles and setbacks. This may require the leader to take responsibility for the team’s actions and decisions.

A visionary leader turns vision into reality by creating a vivid image of the target they need to attain and creating a specific strategic plan for the coming year. The leader details what goals the company must accomplish and the specific responsibilities of each key team member. Along the way, the leader keeps the team informed of their progress. And the leader celebrates small victories with the team, while remaining focused on the big goal.

Encourage Certain Actions for Business Growth
Visionary leaders know that if they differentiate their businesses from the competition, they can expect fast business growth. Determine what your company’s strength is and differentiate yourself using it. Make sure your team understands the value proposition of your specific brand(s) and knows how to communicate it to others.

In many cases, business growth can be achieved by avoiding what others are doing. When other businesses are driven by fear and they act accordingly, it can sometimes pay to do the opposite. Determine what others businesses are neglecting then act on it. Businesses may downsize, cutback, or reduce budgets following fears of recession. It may pay off to focus your business plan on the future, rather than copy your competition. Well planned, bold moves can create big excitement in your team and pay off with big results.

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It is important to know who your customers are in order to promote business growth. Many businesses have realized that it pays more to attract only top-tier clients. Such a strategy is efficient as it can reduce advertizing and labor costs, hence leading to more profit. It makes more sense to sell to hundreds of clients for a higher profit margin, than to sell to thousands with a lower profit margin.

Only through action does your vision become reality.

Lesson From BC Premier

Consider the challenges of losing market share, hearing critics bash your brand, coping with internal staff upheaval and watching your main rival woo consumers with a product that’s disturbingly similar to your own.

For B.C. Premier Christy Clark, those were her political challenges – in business terms – as her B.C. Liberal Party began the 2013 election trailing its NDP rival in public opinion polls. But Ms. Clark and the Liberals managed to stage a surprise victory, winning a majority government in Tuesday’s election despite near-universal predictions of defeat.

Here are five key lessons for any business person facing hurdles:

Lesson 1: Deliver a consistent message about the future
Ms. Clark displayed her leadership qualities by being persistent, narrowing the focus and setting ambitious goals, management experts say. In post-election analyses, that victory is being attributed, in part, to her relentless hammering at the notion that only the Liberals could safeguard British Columbia’s economy.

The person who is able to articulate an idea in a clear, convincing and consistent way induces people to follow them. You don’t want to follow somebody unless you trust them, and you can’t trust them if they keep shifting messages. The power of saying things over and over again is that after a while, people start believing you. Staying on message resonates.

Lesson 2: Don’t shy away from being realistic
Employees won’t buy into unrealistic corporate goals. Workers have to see a bridge between words and some sort of action. Once an executive outlines a vision, employees will want to see those growth initiatives supported.

Lesson 3: Be realistic about the short term
Executives are better off delivering bad news, even though it would hurt morale in the short term. CEOs would want a message that says we can deal with the negatives. The message you want to get across is to be realistic, but also optimistic that if we all work hard and accept the pain, we will deal with a problem. We don’t have to be defeated by it. You don’t wallow in it or ignore it.

Lesson 4: But don’t shy away from long-term ambition
Whether it is a small business or large one, it takes strong leadership to have the conviction that you will be able to act on a vision, despite many challenges. Part of leadership is creating aspirations that even if you fall short, it focuses people’s attention and gets them moving in the same direction.

Lesson 5: Go retail
Keep in touch with employees, though business leaders caution that CEO styles vary widely, so some will be better than others at speaking with workers in small groups. In the case of courting voters, Ms. Clark knew the power of images. She wore a hard hat on one campaign stop and dressed casually in a classroom of children on another stop. She gave the impression of someone who is willing - whether to workers on the assembly line or kids in school.

AIA PAM

AMERICAN International Assurance Bhd (AIA Malaysia) yesterday rolled out its Private Retirement Scheme (PRS), further augmenting its comprehensive suite of products, which aims to address the protection, savings and retirement needs of its more than 2.6 million policyholders.

In a statement, AIA said it has four PRS funds that cater to different age groups. It said the types of funds consist of a growth fund for those below 40 years' old, a moderate fund for those between 40 and 49 years old, a conservative fund tailored for those above 50 years' old and an Islamic moderate fund that is syariah-compliant.
As at end-March this year, only 24,000 Malaysians had signed up for this retirement fund option. In terms of market potential, Malaysia also has more than two million working adults who are self-employed and are not covered under the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) plan.

AIA PAM is the fund management arm of AIA Malaysia, which is one of the two life insurance companies to be awarded the PRS licence by the Securities Commission last year. It will be managing the PRS funds.

AXA Grows In China

Having long been a small player in China’s life insurance sector AXA SA has seen its fortunes change with the entrance of a new partner who could help it shake up the top order of China’s insurance sector. In September,  Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd. entered AXA’s China life insurance joint venture as the biggest shareholder, sparking what has been a massive ramp up of premiums collected by the insurer.

AXA Chairman and Chief Executive Henri de Castries says the plan is to transform the joint venture into one of the six top players in the market, a club currently made up exclusively of domestic insurers.

According to data from the China Insurance Regulatory Commission, ICBC-AXA Life Insurance Co. ranked No. 12 among all insurance companies in terms of premiums collected over the first three months of the year, up from No. 38 a year earlier. Its 2.5 billion yuan ($403 million) worth of premiums pales in comparison to the market leader, China Life Insurance Co., which collected 111.9 billion in the first quarter of 2013. But as the biggest foreign life insurer, AXA’s joint venture easily trumped the number two foreign firm, AIA, which had 2.1 billion yuan in premiums.

In the first three months of 2012, AXA’s joint venture collected only 331 million yuan in premiums, according to the regulator, and was ranked No. 12 among foreign firms.

Foreign insurers have expressed optimism about becoming major players in China’s insurance sector before. When AXA first set up its joint venture with Chinese mining firm China Minmetals Corp. in 1999, taking a 51% stake, foreign insurers looked on China as a land of vast, untapped opportunity. The domestic companies were relatively small and weak, and lacked the sophistication and experience of their foreign counterparts. Access to China’s insurance market was billed as one of the major benefits Western economies would reap from China’s accession to the World Trade Organization in 2001, and the final deal accepting China as a member was held up as the U.S. pressed for more concessions on insurance.

But the initial optimism proved overblown. Foreign life insurers – which can only operate in China as joint ventures with local partners – account for less than 5% of premiums collected annually. While China has abided by the letter of its WTO commitments, administrative hurdles have resulted in foreign firms expanding slowly and being relegated to only a minor role in the market even as domestic competitors have grown in size and strength.

In October 2010, AXA and Minmetals agreed to a radical restructuring. ICBC was brought in as the controlling partner, with a 60% stake. AXA’s share was reduced to 27.5%, and Minmetals would hold 12.5%.

The increase in premiums since September is a result of being able to sell insurance products through ICBC’s sprawling network of bricks-and-mortar outlets. At the end of 2011, ICBC had more than 16,000 branches.

Distribution has long proven a frustration not only for foreign firms but also domestic insurers. Companies find it difficult to retain sales agents who regularly change employer in search of higher pay. And the biggest sales channel, bancassurance – whereby banks sell insurance companies products at their branches – is not particularly profitable for the insurers, with the banks’ fees cutting into the insurers profits.

Takaful Ikhlas

Takaful Ikhlas Sdn Bhd is looking to boost its family takaful business, regarded as a long term saving mechanism, to drive the company's growth and profitability further.

Its president and CEO Ab Latiff Abu Bakar said Takaful Ikhlas' family takaful business should grow by another 10% to contribute 70% of its gross contributions in the next three to four years. For the financial year ended March 31, 2012 (FY12), family takaful made up just over 60% of the operators contributions at RM501 million.

Takaful Ikhlas still lags behind the industry average growth where family takaful is the dominant business line in Malaysia, accounting for 77% of the total takaful market in 2010. Between 2007 and 2011, the country's net contribution for family takaful increased at a compound annual growth rate of 20%, outpacing both general takaful and conventional life insurance market.

At a global level, the growth in family takaful continues to outpace that in both general takaful and conventional life insurance. Malaysia makes up more than 70% of the global takaful contributions worth US$1.7 billion.

"With stiff competition among takaful players placing pressure on profitability, the family takaful segment can be seen as a long term sustainable proposition with strong bottom-line returns," Ab Latiff told SunBiz in an exclusive interview recently.

According to him, the attraction of this sector is stability in the form of consistent cash-flow from the participants' contribution compared to the general takaful. Ab Latiff noted the many opportunities that remain unexplored by direct takaful providers like Takaful Ikhlas to scale up the family takaful segment.

One of it is the expansion into corporate or group business which remains under-penetrated but a better way to reach the masses at a faster and cheaper rate, he said.

"This would be the low hanging fruits. Family takaful is for the long haul and would take time to escalate but the group businesses would compliment the family segment in the short term," he said.
Takaful Ikhlas will also look to introduce new products packaged with Islamic services to further grow its family takaful segment.

"We will sign a memorandum of understanding in June where we have the Islamic services bundled with our products," Ab Latiff said.

Takaful Ikhlas is also looking at strengthening its distribution channels with focus given to family agency. The strategies will include looking at new areas of penetration such as Generation Y and non-Muslim market, equipping the distribution channels with the right tools through technology and developing the right products to suit the target market segments.

Takaful Ikhlas has about 3,500 agencies from its family takaful division and will also be introducing different channels to increase its sales. The company will also be recruiting non-Muslim agents to attract the non-Muslim businesses, he said.

Established in 2003, Takaful Ikhlas is a wholly-owned subsidiary of MNRB Holdings Bhd and has attracted 1.8 million participants comprising individuals and companies.

For FY12, Takaful Ikhlas' net profit fell to RM8.5 million from RM8.9 million the previous year, while gross contribution also dropped 8.5% to RM695.4 million from RM760.1 million.

AmAssurance For Sales

Canadian financial services group Manulife Financial and MetLife in the US are understood to be among the potential bidders to acquire a major stake in AmLife Insurance, the life insurance business of Malaysian bank AMMB Holdings.

Sources familiar with the matter were quoted by Reuters as saying that Zurich Insurance Group, Hong Kong-based business man Richard Li's Pacific Century Group, property and casualty insurer ACE and two underwriters from Japan are also participating in the bidding.

These companies have placed their first-round of bids to acquire up to 70% stake in AmLife Insurance, in a deal valued at nearly $350m. As per Malaysian regulations, a foreign company cannot own more than 70% stake in Malaysian insurance companies.

The potential deal highlights the growing financial influence of the Southeast Asian' countries, whose businesses have attracted many global financial firms to set up their operations in the region. With growing income and a young population, Malaysia represents the ninth-biggest insurance market by premiums.

The news agency further reported citing Swiss Re estimates that Malaysia's life insurance industry has increased 13.5% during the last three decades and its ratio premium-to-GDP touched a strong 3.3% compared to nearly 10% for Hong Kong and over 4% for Singapore.

Recently, the insurance joint venture of CIMB Group Holdings and Aviva Plc was acquired by sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional and Sun Life Financial Inc for $597m.

Instalment Payout From Proceed

Someone receiving a large sum of life insurance proceeds all at once could just as easily blow it all in one fell swoop. Some consumers have expressed worry about entrusting a large payout to a young beneficiary or even a spouse who lacks experience managing finances. These customers were concerned that the future needs of their beneficiaries wouldn't be met. And, insurance companies have been listening.

There's now a life insurance option allowing people who buy policies to select instalment payments for their death benefit - known as "instalment-payout life insurance. And it may offer a number of advantages.

The Money Doesn't Have to Come All at Once
Policyholders can choose a lump sum, equal payments or a combination of both when deciding how to divide up their death benefits. If instalments are chosen, proceed may be paid out over a period of 10 to 30 years, and the payments can be made either monthly or once a year.

Instalment payout can cut premiums
Instalment payouts give the insured more control over what happens to the benefit paid upon death and also can offer some cost savings upfront. Depending on the payout plan you choose, your premiums may be lower because the insurance company will hold on to at least part of your money over a longer period of time. This discount can be as much as 20 percent.

Benefit Earns Inflation-Fighting Interest
Another potential plus is that a life insurance benefit paid out in instalments may withstand inflation.
Insurance company will pay interest to the beneficiary on the remaining proceed.  $900,000 death

But the Beneficiary May Need a Lump Sum
Instalment payout can put the beneficiary at a disadvantage. The insured can't predict what the future holds for his or her spouse or other survivor, who might need the life insurance proceeds in a lump sum.

Smoking More Important Than Family

Only 10 per cent of West Australians would give up cigarettes to fund a life insurance policy.   Many West Australians appear reluctant to give up lifestyle choices for financial protection for their families. Only 15.76 per cent would stop buying coffee and 18.72 per cent would sacrifice take out meals to fund a policy. That reflected national trends from the survey of over 1000 people.

Clearly, Australians don’t want to sacrifice the costs of their lifestyle habits to fund a life insurance policy that will secure their families financial future. However, failing to take out life insurance can leave families at risk of severe financial stress should an unexpected tragedy occur.

For many, an unimaginable amount is at stake. This can range from being unable to cover living expenses to educating their children, or maintaining a roof over their loved one’s heads.

Annual premiums appear to prevent most people from taking out life insurance. A recent survey from LifeInsuranceFinder.com.au found that the primary reason for not taking out cover for 39 per cent of Australians was that it was simply too expensive.

There are ways to make life insurance more affordable:

Apply soon and always review
Each birthday you pass triggers a higher rate so your best strategy is to apply for insurance sooner rather than later. Taking out cover early in life will likely secure applicants a better rate as they are likely to be in better physical shape and susceptible to illness than at later stages of life.

Quit smoking
Smokers pay as much as double the premium rate of non-smokers. If you are currently paying smoker rates for your life insurance it’s never too late to have your premiums reviewed if you quit.
Applicants who have quit for 12 months or more can generally have their premiums adjusted to reflect non-smoker status. Remember a non-smoker is not someone who has the casual puff with their Friday evening drink - just one cigarette a week will place you in the smoker category.

Consider a Joint Policy
Married couples looking to take out cover for both partners can benefit from a 5-10% premium discount on joint policies depending on the provider they choose.

Moderate your drinking
Most insurance applicants will be asked how many standard drinks they consume each week.
Those that are perceived to be heavy drinkers may be required to submit a physical medical examination report to show if there are any symptoms indicating alcohol abuse. This may be considered with other indicators including alcohol related driving convictions, job-loss and marital problems.

Consider your Body Mass Index
Insurance companies will use a person’s Body Mass Index (BMI) to help them determine if their weight may be impacting on their health and making them a greater risk.

It’s important to note that an underwriter will never look exclusively at BMI weight and will only consider it against any other medical issues that may be present as a result such as, high blood pressure or cholesterol.

As with smokers, it’s never too late for policyholders carrying some extra weight to get in shape and have previous premium loadings reviewed.

Leadership Vs Manipulation

There’s a thin line between leadership and manipulation.

Both can be defined as influencing others. Both deal with trying to get someone to do what you want them to do. Both use many of the same tools. Both try to leverage an individual’s beliefs and feelings to elicit a desired behavior. So how do you know if you’re leading or just being manipulative?

The difference lies in your heart. Ask yourself: Why am I doing this? Your motives determine whether you’re leading or manipulating. Are you looking out for yourself or are you serving a greater good? Are you seeking your own comfort or challenging someone to realize their potential? Where is your heart?

When your leadership is infested with selfishness, it’s easy to become a manipulator. Sometimes this is subtle; sometimes it’s obvious. Either way, when leadership morphs into manipulation, people and organizations suffer. The victims include:

1. Those who are manipulated. They end up hurt, disillusioned, and discouraged. Worst of all, their ability to trust is diminished—which handicaps their ability to lead and function moving forward.

2. Those who witness manipulation. Their ability to trust is also degraded.  They carry self-protective attitudes forward into future relationships—especially leader-follower relationships. When we see what others are capable of doing to us, it makes us wary. It makes us wince and pull ourselves in.

3. The organization as a whole. It suffers because collaboration, problem solving, decision-making, and synergy are all diminished in real-time. The result? Poor solutions. Over time the erosion of trust created by manipulative leadership is a cancer that will threaten the stability of the entire organization.

4. The manipulator himself. He will never reach his full potential, never find that place of maturity, confidence and peace. He will never know the fullness of satisfaction that comes from using your gifts to serve others. Some may say he deserves this ongoing turmoil, but remember, he may be you! We are all naturally self-centered and without conscious effort, our leadership will naturally slide to serve our own interests.

Leader Or manipulation

Everybody thinks they’re a leader – most are far from it. The harsh reality is that we live in a world awash with wannabe leaders. As much as some don’t want to admit it, not everyone can or should become a leader (my take on the born vs. made argument). Simply desiring to be a leader doesn’t mean a person has the character, skill, and courage necessary to be a leader.

If you think you’re a leader, but haven’t been recognized as such, you have a problem. Either you’re incorrect in your self-assessment, or those you report to don’t recognize your talent. Here’s the good news; handled correctly, either scenario can be resolved if you’re willing to do some work.

I’m often asked what it takes to get to the top – it’s as if people want an add water and mix recipe for leadership. While there are many paths to leadership, they’re certainly not all created equal. Perhaps a more telling issue in today’s world is many of those desiring to get ahead, have no desire to help others get ahead.

I never cease to be amazed at the numbers of people in leadership positions that shouldn’t be. Likewise, I’ve stopped being surprised when those charged with leadership development can’t seem to figure out what constitutes a leader. It’s my hope the following list will eliminate the confusion about why someone isn’t a leader. You’re not a leader if…

1. You don’t get results: Real leaders perform – they get the job done – they consistently exceed expectations. No results = no leadership – it’s just that simple.

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2. You get results the wrong way: If the only way you can solve the deficit described in point #1 above is through chicanery or skullduggery you’re not a leader. The ends don’t justify the means. If you abuse your influence, don’t treat people well, or confuse manipulation with leadership, you may win a few battles, but you’ll lose the war. Optics over ethics never ends well, and being a jerk doesn’t make you a leader.

3. You don’t care: Indifference is a characteristic not well suited to leadership. You simply cannot be a leader if you don’t care about those you lead. The real test of any leader is whether or not those they lead are better off for being led by them.

4. You’re chasing a position and not a higher purpose: If you value self-interest above service beyond self you simply don’t understand the concept of leadership. Leadership is about caring about something beyond yourself, and leading others to a better place – even if it means you take a back seat, or end up with no seat at all. Power often comes with leadership, but it’s not what drives real leaders.

5. You care more about making promises than keeping them: Leadership isn’t about your rhetoric; it’s about your actions. Leadership might begin with vision casting, but it’s delivering the vision that will ultimately determine your success as a leader.

6. You put people in boxes: Stop telling people why they can’t do something and show them how they can. Leaders don’t put people in boxes, it’s their obligation to free them from boxes. True leadership is about helping people reach places they didn’t know they could go.

7. You follow the rules instead of breaking them: Status quo is the great enemy of leadership. Leadership is nothing if not understanding the need for change, and then possessing the ability to deliver it.

8. You churn talent instead of retain it: Real leadership serves as a talent magnet – not a talent repellent. If you can’t acquire talent, can’t develop talent, or can’t retain talent you are not a leader.

9. You take credit instead of giving it: True leadership isn’t found seeking the spotlight, but seeking to shine the spotlight on others. The best leaders only use “I” when accepting responsibility for failures. Likewise, they are quick to use “we” when referring to successes.

10. You care about process more than people: But for the people there is no platform. Without the people you have nothing to lead. When you place things above the people you lead you have failed as a leader.

Leader or Bully

Many think that leaders are supposed to be demanding, critical, and driven, among other things. The problem is that many of the behaviors exhibited by leaders can easily be classified as bullying behaviors. How do you know if you are being a leader. . . or a glorified bully?

It’s ok to criticize poor performance. But if you publicly criticize performance and humiliate performers, you are being a bully.

It’s ok to encourage people to do things out of their comfort zone, but if you force people to do things they don’t want to do, you are being a bully.

It’s ok to have strong opinions and preferences, and to express them. But if you take feedback personally, become defensive, and ignore the opinion of others, you are being a bully.

It’s ok to feel more comfortable working with certain people. But if you publicly strongly favor or disfavor people, you are being a bully.

Do you notice the difference? A bully doesn’t care about others. A bully is only interested in their own comfort and advancement, regardless of the lateral damage.

A real leader has a robust base of humility, respect for others, and fairness. They can have drive and determination, but they also consider the wellbeing of all.

Saifuddin - A Great Loss

It was a great loss for a capable Deputy Minister - former deputy higher education minister Saifuddin Abdullah after losing the Temerloh parliamentary seat to PAS Youth chief Nasrudin Hassan.