SUPPORT
Have a question?
Here are some commonly asked questions by our customers that may help you.
The following contact details can be updated for your personal details:
- Mailing Address
- Residential Address
- Contact Number (Office, Home)
- Mobile Number
- Change of Signature
- Update of name, citizenship, permanent residency status, or passport number
Please contact your PromiseLand Financial Adviser for more information on the process.
To make an insurance claim, contact your PromiseLand Financial Adviser to advise you on the claim details and procedures.
Benefit payments can be made via PayNow – NRIC/FIN, Cheque, Direct-Crediting, and Telegraphic Transfer. The payment modes will depend on the payment modes offered by the various Insurers.
Your claim status will be notified via SMS, Email or a Letter mailed to you. The mode of notification will depend on the preferred mode of communication you have specified with the Insurer.
A notification will be sent to you electronically if you select to receive your policy correspondences via this option. An email and/or SMS will be sent to you upon completion of the PayNow transfer. If you opted out of electronic notification, a letter will be sent to your mailing address. Your bank may also send you an SMS, email or a push notification via the bank’s mobile apps when the amount is credited into your bank account.
For regular premium plans, most premiums can be paid by the following options:
| GIRO | Credit Card | Internet Banking | AXS | Cash | Cheque | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Quarterly | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Annually | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
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By GIRO
To apply for GIRO payment, contact your Financial Adviser to assist you in the application.
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By Internet Banking
Internet Banking payment is only applicable to Singapore policies only. Internet banking services can be arranged with local banks such as DBS, OCBC, UOB, Citibank, HSBC or Standard Chartered. For questions regarding your Internet Banking services, please contact your designated bank directly.
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By AXS
For payments via AXS, receipts will be issued by AXS .
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By Telegraphic Transfer
For payments via Telegraphic Transfer (TT) to the Insurer, please contact our Financial Adviser on the Bank details. For TT payments, your designated bank will advise you on the charges applicable to you for the transfer.
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By Cheque
For payments via Cheque, please contact our Financial Adviser on the Insurer’s Name to be named on the cheque. Do not staple the cheque to the Premium Notice and do not issue post-dated cheques. On the back of the cheque, please state the following:
- Policy Holder Name
- Policy Number
- Description of the Payment (e.g. Premium/Loan Repayment)
- Contact Number
Generally, GIRO deduction will be deducted on a fixed date every month. If the first attempt to deduct fails, there will be a second GIRO attempt for the deduction. Should the second attempt fail, the GIRO service will be suspended. When the second GIRO fails, the Insurer will send a GIRO unsuccessful deduction letter to you to arrange for alternative payment.
To change your GIRO Account to another bank, a fresh GIRO Application form has to be submitted. Contact your PromiseLand Financial Adviser to assist you with the new GIRO application process.
The GIRO deduction/credit card billing date(s) cannot be changed.
To reinstate your lapsed policy, contact your Financial Adviser to arrange for the payment for the outstanding premium due.
To add a supplementary benefit or rider, contact your Financial Adviser to discuss the details.
To cancel a supplementary benefit or rider, contact your Financial Adviser to arrange for the cancellation.
Contact your Financial Adviser for assistance.
Once the surrender request has been approved, a cheque payment will be sent to you by post or the surrender amount will be credited into your bank account. Payment will be made within the next 5 to 7 days once the surrender request is approved.
- Firstly, consider the returns you get from fixed deposits or savings accounts for your cash. What are you getting and is it enough to keep up with inflation? It is “risky” to leave your money in a fixed deposit because it might be worth less than the amount you would have to pay for things like food, transportation, etc. over time. As they say, the money you have is only as good as the number of goods that it can buy you. If prices go up faster than your interest gain, then, in real terms, you would have lost the money.
- Secondly, consider the fact that most people just cannot save enough for their big purchases and for retirement without depending on fair investment gains. Hopefully, you can get a return which is a few per cent higher than the inflation rate so that you are really accumulating wealth.
- Thirdly, consider the way stock markets and bond markets work. Investing in a diversified portfolio over the long term tends to generate 7 to 10% returns, and while there would be short-term volatility and possible paper losses, if you hold it through, you would be able to pull through corrections for huge potential market upside over time.
In addition, if you do dollar-cost averaging and constant rebalancing, you will accumulate more units when the price is low, selling the units whose price is higher and enhancing your total portfolio returns.
Statistics show that if you take any 10-year periods since 1969, when the MSCI index was created, you will find that they would all be positive. What this means is that anyone who had invested in a portfolio of stocks similar to the MSCI would have made a profit over any ten-year period. In fact, over 25 possible 10-year periods since 1969 (statistics as of 2004), there are 17 periods where you would get triple-digit gains, i.e. your money would have more than doubled. What these statistics demonstrate is that it is relatively ‘safe’ if you can invest for the long term.
So, the point is that while stock markets will rise and fall in the near term, most will generally rise over the long term. Statistics show that the chances of making gains increase if investors can hold for five years. The chances are even higher (almost 100 per cent) for some of the markets when the holding period is ten years. In contrast, a one-year holding period lowers the chances of making any positive returns significantly.
Relative to stocks, bonds provide steadier and more certain returns. Bonds are issued by companies who want to borrow money to fund their operations, and upon maturity, they will pay back the capital, as well as accrued interest. This interest would be your returns as bond investors. Conservative Investors who prefer to have a balance between risks and returns can consider a bond portfolio, within the asset class, there are “A” grade safe bonds to “BB” investment grade and “C” grade high yield bonds with higher risk along with higher potential returns.
Investors should know their risk tolerance and appetite and select a portfolio that has the potential to give them the most gains with the level of risk that they are able to bear. Our financial advisers would be able to provide professional advice to find suitable products for you.
The CPF pays an interest rate of 2.5 per cent per annum and four per cent per annum for your Ordinary Account (OA) and Special Account (SA) respectively. The CPF also has an approved list of investments you can invest with either the OA or SA, with more options for the OA. The unit trusts you can purchase with SA are only bond funds and balanced funds (typically a certain portion in equities and the rest in bonds or cash).
Generally, the factors you must consider are:
- What is the expected use of my CPF and when? For example, for home purchase with OA money. When you need to use the money will affect your choice of investment instruments (equities, unit trust, insurance, etc.) and the specific investments (which equities, which unit trusts).
- What is the expected use of my CPF and when? For example, for home purchase with OA money. When you need to use the money will affect your choice of investment instruments (equities, unit trust, insurance, etc.) and the specific investments (which equities, which unit trusts).
- Amount available for investment You can make an initial investment of just $1,000 for a unit trust and $100 each month for a regular savings plan (RSP). For equities, a small amount would not go far and heightens the risk.
- The investment horizon or period you can stay invested. For SA, since the amount is meant for retirement, you can have a longer investment period, and this helps to reduce your risks.
- The expected return You need to have high confidence of gaining more than the 2.5 per cent and 4 per cent of the OA and SA. If you are investing in SA, bond funds are unlikely to beat the four per cent, so it has to be balanced funds with a sufficient portion for equities to give you the upside gain.
- The fees and charges Beware of the high sales charges which some advisers may charge. A wrap account whereby the adviser charges an annual fee for his service and advice is cheaper if you expect to do the switching of funds quite often since switching is free under wrap accounts.
For SRS account, the interest rate given by the banks is very low and it pays to invest your money.
The things to note are:
- The “tax” treatment of SRS. In view of the tax on withdrawals at age 62, it may be good to stagger withdrawals. This will affect the investment horizon. Single premium insurance is one option, timed to mature at different years from age 62 to 72. Unit trust is a good alternative. Which unit trust to invest in will depend on the client’s profile, objective and the number of years to withdrawal.
- The “gain” from tax exemption should be recognised. This is an immediate “gain” and makes SRS attractive to those in high tax brackets.
- Since SRS is for retirement, it is probably better to be more “conservative” in the choice of instruments.
Start Early
The earlier you start saving and investing, the better. Even if you have to start small.
Do not wait to build up a big sum because you would lose time and miss the “miracle of compound interest”.
If you are unable to set aside some money each month, your first step is to find out why. If the problem is your lifestyle and spending pattern, you must decide whether to follow the same pattern or to start saving and investing for what you believe in, e.g. children’s education, home purchase, retirement, etc. It is important to strike a balance between “wants” and “needs”, and between the present and the future. For many people, a car is a major expense. It is never an investment (gone are the days!). Owning a car in Singapore is, for many, the biggest reason why they are not able to save and invest. For others, it is expensive holidays, purchases and entertainment, or a huge home loan, which rob them of their needed savings.
The first step is to have a regular savings plan. Even a $100 or $200 a month is a good start.
Your money will work for you if you give it time. The table shows the difference in the return you get when you start early and have a longer time to let your investment grow through the miracle of compound interest. The table shows the time needed to accumulate the following amounts by saving $200 per month at a compound interest of 10 per cent.
Current Value of Investment Time Taken to Accumulate Amount
Besides time, your investment returns depend greatly on another important factor – the interest rate. A few per cent difference may not look much, but combined with the “miracle of compound interest”, the resultant difference can be tremendous.
Understanding what is risk, is an important lesson not only for investment but for life. We face risks every day and must learn to manage risks. There are certain risks we must take or else life becomes cramped, e.g. recreation, travelling. There are certain risks which we do best to avoid. And there are certain risks which we can hedge against or transfer (e.g. insurance).
Where investments are concerned, there is a clear risk-reward relationship – the higher the expected return, the more you need to take risks.
We must understand the risk element in every type of investment and assess whether the rewards are worth going for, considering the risk. For example, investing in a single equity and for the short-term is quite risky. Is the potential reward worth it?
We must understand our risk tolerance (whether you are comfortable taking risks) and risk appetite (your stomach or capacity to take risks which depends partly on your wealth and age).
There are ways to manage risks such as diversification, dollar-cost averaging, asset allocation and portfolio rebalancing.
A very important factor is how long you can stay invested.
Over 10 years, the risk of losing in investment in equities is negligible if you have a well-structured diversified portfolio.
History has demonstrated that the human race has risen above crises and made progress despite odds which appeared insurmountable each time.
Doomsday predictions like Thomas Malthus’ population explosion leading to widespread starvation, or the feared depletion of natural resources, or pandemics like SARS and avian flu, or the threat of terrorism, have so far proved wrong.
The world’s population has grown 700-fold from the 9 million during Malthus’ time, but starvation has held at bay and only remains because of political factors and problems of distribution. Natural resources needed for modern production are still available and continue to fuel progress. A good case in point is oil. There may be certain countries or regions and sectors of industry and the economy which will not be performing better than others at certain times, but generally, the developed world and developing countries have made good progress.
“You should invest long-term because the human race needs time to overcome whatever challenges it is facing and move on to a new and improved level of existence. This is why long-term investing works. It is the most basic belief in our ability to do well as a race.” FSM
Although investing for the short-term is considered riskier than long-term, there are circumstances which require you to move in and out of the market or to switch funds. For example, you have invested in a fund which is clearly not suitable because you were ill-advised, or have been pushed the product and bought without a good understanding. If you now know what is better for you, it may be necessary to switch funds.
Or you may have purchased a fund which was expected to do well, but political or economic circumstances have changed drastically, and you now decide it is better to change.
Or you have now changed your investment objective because of new wealth or have lost a job, and your financial situation has changed. A change of asset allocation or switching of funds may be necessary.
It is possible for those who are more investment savvy to time the market successfully, i.e. to enter and quit the market opportunistically. Selecting the right market and funds is equally important.
“Punting” is not advisable, but this does not mean that reviews cannot be done and profits taken or losses cut where appropriate. Our advisers would be able to advice when these would be in your favour. If you are likely to move in and out of the market, it is advisable to use wrap accounts.”
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