How is your September 2009 been like? Good? And it’s time for another personal review!

It’s Been A Sneezy Month!

Do not know if you are affected by the haze but it’s been affecting me quite badly and I have been sneezing away for most part of September 2009. This is a good time to start looking into your health aspect. Boost up your immune system with supplements and lots of exercise today!

It’s Been A Personal Month!

This is also the month that got me quite affected personally in terms for my family. My mum passed away in June 2009 at the age of 68 due to Alzheimer’s Disease and Urinary Tract Infection (after 9 years of battling this two illnesses) leaving me and my Elder Brother (he’s 40 and mentally handicapped) as Orphans.

And also that my Elder Brother is in a Nursing Home, it’s my sole responsibility now to take care of him (though not 100% physically) but more of Financially.

So guess so, this is one of the many motivating factors that will keep me pushing forward to become financially independent as a Financial Planner and Online Entrepreneur!

So What Did I Do For My Online Adventure In September 2009?

For Article Juicy

This is my first take into setting up a free article directory which means if you are a writer, you can contribute articles to that site for free and if you are a publisher, you can use the articles there to juice up your site.

Side note: I have recently re-setup the site due to some programming thus resulting in over 10 articles being deleted. If you are one of those affected. My apologies!

For Dexter Recommends This

This is one of my most Profitable online adventure generating most of my online income. Within a short period of 2 months, this site has grown to around 100 fans! Time to think of ways to reward the readers over at that site!

If you do not know what that site is all about. Basically it’s a product (mostly Internet Marketing related) review site. With this site, it gives you a better understanding of what the product is all about and whether it fit into your purpose of buying it.

I have also set up an affiliate system whereby if you are keen to earn some money by doing some recommendations of your own and coupled with mine (some knowledge needed). When it’s ready, I will be doing an announcement. Do keep a look out!

For Have You Planned

Seems like there’s a clash of similar information (relating to financial planning) with this site and HaveYouPlanned and in terms of getting traffic from financial keywords – this site is getting most of it. Ha! Guess it’s time to do some sorting out in the month of October.

For My Beauty Spree

Spent quite a small amount of time doing up this blog and it’s ready to do business – promoting Sprees and Fashion Clothing. If you want to look pretty pretty and at a low and affordable price, check out MyBeautySpree!

For Affilicore

Did not manage to do up much for this site because of too much concentration over at the above sites. But over these 2 months, did realize what kind of direction this site should be going.

What Else Am I Busy With?

• Doing surveys in exchange for vouchers and money – check out MySurveyAsia and GlobalTestMarket


• Contributing tips and ideas to Tipdrop (i.e. if you feel that you have a lot of knowledge in certain field, you can contribute them to this site and have many others benefited by it)

Lastly, do well in whatever you are doing! And believe you can do it! Watch out for your health as well! Have a good October 2009!

I have just finished reading the book written by Serial Entrepreneur, Stuart Skorman, entitled Confessions of a Serial Entrepreneur: Why I Can’t Stop Starting Over and it’s definitely a good book with many lessons to learn from if you would like to be an Entrepreneur as well.

How I May Be Like Stuart Skorman…

About Stuart Skorman

Stuart Skorman is many years my senior but during the course, he is the founder of Elephant Pharmacy (sad but it’s already been declared bankrupt before any expansion), HungryMinds.com (taken over by Wiley), Reel.com (now part of Hollywood Video) and Empire Video.

He has many years of experiences building up a business from scratch, selling it for a lump sum of money (think millions of dollars), and going ahead to set up one after another.

Though he may seems getting on with age, he never seems to stop pursuing his interest (if you read up his book, you will know that he always like recommending and connecting movies, especially Classical ones, to movie lovers) and despite that he committed heavily into Elephant Pharmacy (which nearly drive his retirement savings to none), he is still back on his feet with his latest venture – ClerkDogs.

About Dexter Damien Chan

I started my first business as a Middleman for a Florist Shop at the age of 19 during my army days. Basically I take orders from customers on the flowers they would like, at a fraction of a cost from those Big Florist Names and the willingness to deliver at weird situations – at the strike of 12 midnight or interrupting the middle of a class.

Interesting business this is as the smile that you get from the Ladies is priceless. So guys who are reading this, do remember to give your loved ones Flowers despite having them say that it’s waste of money! The Ladies will still say it no matter what but you should see them giggling inside or being proud walking with a big bouquet along Orchard road.

I did this business to the end of my University Days but had to stop because of Delivery issues – having to drive a Hatch Back is actually quite costly!

During the times of selling flowers, I also gain entrepreneurship from doing Network Marketing. More about my adventure preferably in a next post.

My times of doing Network Marketing is mostly online and that’s also how I become an Online Marketer and Blogger till this present day – handling my personal creation sites like GuruRSS, MyBeautySpree, Dexter Recommends, Have You Planned and Fiocorp.ws.

Tiring? Yes! Worth It? Definitely Yes as well! If it’s not, you should consult Stuart Skorman how he did it!

There are still many things about Entrepreneurship to learn from!

Take It From Me! Read His Book!

There are many lessons that you can pick it up from Stuart Skorman’s Book – Confessions of a Serial Entrepreneur: Why I Can’t Stop Starting Over and without giving away too much of the content, here’s some of the entrepreneurship nuggets (do note that they are not arranged in any specific order) for you to take away:

• Don’t be afraid to ask for support. Be prepared to give up your life. Learn from your mistakes. Most importantly, choose your business based on who you are (knowing yourself).


• Being Important is more important than being Rich. In business, you can’t just accept the status quo. And when something doesn’t add up, you have to delve deeper in search of the answer.


• There’s an importance of Mentors. Act like you know what you’re doing. Seek out your customers and listen to what they say. Design your Business to attract Good Press.


• Own your mistakes; then keep moving. Business is discipline. You need to understand the difference between the skills you studied in school and those you’ll need to start a business.


• The Power of Hunger. Be Persistent. Never Stop Paying Attention. Believe in Yourself.


• Don’t spend money before you have it. Customers can be your best teachers. Learning to heal (especially if it’s time to let go). Delegate decision making to the person with the best resume.


• Hope for Good Luck but Plan for Bad Luck. Know the difference between Luck and Talent. Identify your strengths and weaknesses. Be Aggressive. Play Tight. Hone Opportunism.


• Base your decision on logic, not emotion. Stick with the familiar. Prioritize fun. Know your risk tolerance. Focus on short-term goals.


• Find a mission for your venture. Haste makes a lot of waste. Your Business Plan counts. Avoid Creativity at all costs – it’s too expensive; the wheel has already been invented, so use it; half of creative ideas are thrown out anyway.


• Slow down when necessary.

How To Make The Transition From A Big Company To A Start-Up

• Know what you’re getting into.


• Toss out the Rule Book.


• Check out your motivation


• Start a business on the side.


• Talk to people who’ve made the transition.


• Get a job at a start-up before you start a start-up


• Be financially prepared.

As you can see from the above, a mere book itself with so many pointers to note and take action with. If you are someone like me and Stuart Skorman who is serious in Entrepreneurship, have a copy of this book, take notes and put into practice or even better, form it as part of your daily life!

>> The book by Stuart Skorman: Confessions of a Serial Entrepreneur: Why I Can’t Stop Starting Over

Singapore is a country that takes Good Customer Service seriously and that’s why in 6 October 2005, the Go The Extra Mile For Service (GEMS) was launched nationwide to improve the service levels, particularly in the Tourism, Hospitality, Food & Beverage, Retail and Transport industries.

Is There Any Improvement Till Date?

Till date, do you think there’s any improvement in the Service Level rendered to you?

If yes, who are these people or companies that have left a last impression on you?

If no, who are they and do you think you should share your bad experiences with the rest?

Check Out The “Are You Being Served” Blog

And if you have been a person who enjoys good service and have been sharing the good and bad experiences of the service level in Singapore, verbally among your friends, Facebook, Twitter and some major forums, there’s now a new blog dedicated to this area and awaiting your sharing -

>> The “Are You Being Served” Blog And On Singapore Customer Service .. Share Your Story

And you are welcomed to:

• Read up on the Stories being shared and express your views (many interesting posts since launched)


• Have a personal story to tell? Whether good or bad experiences, let’s share!


• Suggest a mission for the Service Quad (more about them later) which you think will struck Singapore by storm! (there’s already 11 missions suggested and completed so far…)

About The “Are You Being Served” Blog And The Service Squad

(In their own words) “Are You Being Served” is a blog that investigates all service matters and engages in real life “missions”. The Service Quad will be glad to give kudos to the good and to the not-so-satisfactory gentle nudges in the right service direction.

And the Service Squad is a body of dedicated sticklers who stand for good service anytime, anywhere. Hidden behind shadowy silhouettes, we’re nameless, faceless, and everywhere. Armed with their trusty senses honed from years of experience receiving all ends of the service yardstick, they sniff out the good, the bad, and the ugly in exciting service missions every week. And relay their rare finds on a dishy blog that’s too good to be missed. Plus some powerful thumbs ups and thumbs downs… They’ve even got insider tips and comments on great service from one of their guest squad members, Anny Lin, Style Advisor, TOPSHOP and winner of Best Tourism Host – Retail at the 2008 Tourism Awards.

Play A Part – Improve The Service Level Of Singapore In 3 Simple Steps?

1. Be supportive! Head over to the “Are You Being Served” Blog and become their Reader (through RSS) or become their Fan (through Facebook)


2. Be active! Express your comments or write something in their Facebook’s Fan page on the good and bad customer service in Singapore


3. Be creative! Put on a thinking cap and suggest a mission to the Service Squad.

So join them each week as they go undercover to unveil the unwavering passion and attitudes of Singapore’s Service Professionals come what may. Follow their blog (addictiveness guaranteed) and give them your comments. And all in the spirit of sharing, why not suggest an exciting mission to take Singapore by storm? Or tell them your personal story and become their fan on Facebook.

Whatever you do, don’t forget to catch them. They’re the hottest thing to hit the service industry.

Disclaimer: The Service Squad reserves the right to remove flaming comments or brickbats which may prove harmful to establishments mentioned. Comments generated by users are not indicative nor reflective of the views of  The Service Squad.

What are you waiting for? Head over to the Are You Being Served blog and support them now!

The month of August has ended and the start of September! It’s time for my personal review!

So What Have I Done For The Month Of August?

1. Setting Up My First Free Article Directory – ArticleJuicy.com.

I got the idea of setting up this site when I came across many Article Marketers making use of EzineArticles to submit the articles they have written in exchange for some quality traffic to their sites. And just so happen that one of the Internet Marketer is promoting a Course on how to set up an Article Directory for a small fee. Therefore I decide to give it a try!

And how did I come up with the Domain Name – ArticleJuicy? By using this Domain Name Suggestion Tool – NameTumbler and the usage is free!

If you just clicked over to the site, it’s not fully operational as yet as I am still learning on how to do up the site – how the Admin Section works, how to approve Writers and such. Therefore I will foresee that this Site will take quite some time before it’s ready to welcome you.

2. Committed Posting To DexterRecommends.com

DexterRecommends.com was set up in the early days of August to help promote the release and my personal review of Online Marketing products and the style of this site was transferred from my another blog – problemnsolution.blogspot.com.

If you happen to be one of my supporters for that site – I am sorry to announce that I will not be managing that blog anymore and DexterRecommends.com will be my new official site for Product Reviews and Announcement of Newly-Released Online Marketing Products.

And as mentioned, I have committed majority of my time in August to do up lots of posting for this site. And I am amazed by the results and the income that I am generating from this site. And I will be definitely repeating the formula in September.

There’s also a Twitter Account, @ProblemSolution, for this site and you are definitely welcomed to follow me and get updates on the latest Online Marketing Products.

3. Slight Modification And Updates To GuruRSS.com

GuruRSS is my Marketing Guru News And Blog Aggregator and also meant to be my form of appreciation to all the Gurus that have helped me in my Internet Marketing Adventure – by displaying their daily blog posts on the site.

There was a slight exposure to the site due to my posting on Affilicore.com but sad to say that the traffic is only temporary. I will be thinking of alternative ways to generate some traffic to that site in September.

I have also set up a Twitter Account, @GuruRSS, for this and I will be doing a fair bit of following for the Gurus that are showcased in the site. Some of the tweets are automated as well as I have done up a few scripts to update on my Twitter Account whenever the Gurus made a blog post. Interesting?

4. Updates On The Resource Page Of HaveYouPlanned.com

There was not much posting for my Financial Planning Blog though I have managed to do up Two Parts (out of Three Parts Series on what you may need to know for Mortgage Loan Insurance). I will be doing up the last part within these few days! Oops!

If you are interested in doing up some Financial Planning for yourself, you may wish to check out the Resources Page for some interesting insurance articles and financial planning calculators. You can also check out the current rates of Fixed Deposits as being offered in Singapore.

5. Affilicore.com Taking On A New Role?

Affilicore.com is one of my oldest blog till date and I have been posting on some snippets of my online marketing adventure like Product Reviews (now taken over by DexterRecommends), Marketing Campaigns done by some Internet Marketers and my sharing on some of the Personal Mentors and their works – for the past 1 year.

There seem to be no specific niche for this site till date and I hope to plan well for this and create a main topic for this site. If you are a supporter of that site, you may like to provide some opinions on how I can do it better… Thanks in advance!

6. No Updates For Fiocorp.ws, HUMVOX and MyBeautySpree

These are my three other sites that I have seemed to have ignored in August. There’s little updates on Fiocorp.ws. HUMVOX is not transferred over to my Vodien Hosting Account. Nothing was done for MyBeautySpree in terms of organizing of Online Sprees. Personally, this is not a good sign as an Online Entreprenuer!

Too Little Time, Too Many Online Ventures… But My Interest Is There!

I am currently working full time as a Financial Planner with a fixed working hours and any time beyond that would be used for my online ventures. In general, I have around 4 hours each night (10pm to 1am) to do up what is needed for some of my sites.

Is it tiring? Definitely yes! But is it worth it? A yes as well!

Why is that so? I am starting to see some online income coming in! For example, I am seeing a higher Click-Rate for my Google Adsense and some of my Product Reviews are generating sales. By making a personal committment to be a better Financial Planner has also helped me to see Insurance as a form of helping people and not just an ordinary sales career!

To a even better month in September 2009!

Would you like to take part in a survey and express your personal views about the major banks operating in Singapore and their roles toward Consumers in the current economic crisis?

I have personally taken the survey and it will take less than 5 minutes to complete. This survey is also nothing intrusive and will not be asking anything with regards to your bank account or personal sensitive information.

Participation in this survey is also simple and all you need are to click on the options given. There will be no need to give any personal comments as well.

And with your participation in this survey, it will actually give a better understanding on your attitude and perception of the major players in the Banking Industry.

Your opinion may also help the Banks to create products and services that will serve us all better.

For your time and effort, after completion, you will stand a chance to enter a draw and win one of the 60 movie vouchers that can be used in Cinemas in Singapore!

To take part in the survey:

Click >> Euro RSCG Asia-Pacific Quarterly Financial Services Survey

If you like to have more information with regards to the nature of this survey, please click over to this Press Release By Syndacast.com.

Note: No personal details will be identified in the findings and responses will be strictly confidential as data from this research will be reported only in the aggregate.

If you have been wondering what’s been going on for this blog, why’s it been so quiet and such…

My sincere apologies on my absence and its’ after this long (since my last post on May 31st) that I have finally some time to squeeze in this post.

So What’s Been Going On…

Am I Still Doing Financial Planning? Answer is Yes!

If you are interested in the area of Financial Planning and Insurance Products, (that’s why you’re here right?!), I am still in this industry.

The insurance industry is definitely a great place to be. And the main reason that you are not seeing any new posts on insurance and financial planning here is that the contents (here) had been teleported over to my dedicated new site >> http://www.haveyouplanned.com and if you have not been there, there are new contents already added in! Please do continue to support!

My previous posts that’s in this blog will still be here as most of the Search Engines have sort of linked up Insurance and Financial Planning to this blog.

So What’s Going To Happen To This Blog?

Good question! I am actually turning this site to my Success Journal! And also more towards to my Personal Online Branding!

If you are wondering what’s a Success Journal all about – I got this idea when I read Stuart Tan’s Secrets Of Internet Millionaires and in it was shared that it will be good to record down in the form of a Success Journal – Your Failures and Achievements in areas that you are working on and the business that you want to build up.

In this manner, you will have a record of your past performance and also a good gauge as to whether you are actually improving or just remaining in status quo!

My failures will be your lessons on not having to do the same manner as me whereas My Achievements will be for you to get envied on (oops!) and highly recommended to follow suit.

My Other Online Projects…

It’s also time to come clean with what I am doing as well. I am not just a Financial Planner (that’s my daytime career) but also an online marketer and entrepreneur (just to share is that I created my first physical business selling Flowers with no money down back when I am 19 years old!). And I am also currently running sites like

• I Make Money Online With Affilicore


• Dexter Recommends This


• GuruRSS – A Marketing Guru News and Blog Aggregator


• Your Inner Voice (back online soon)


• Fiocorp.ws


• MyBeautySpree (currently under revamp…)

So part of updating to this Success Journal will be my personal experiences with maintaining the above sites and how I will bring them up to a newer level.

My Mission Statement

That above sounds deep right?

My mission statement will be to be able to spread the importance of Financial Planning to those all around me and making sure that they are well-covered in areas of Medical Insurance, Critical Illness Coverage and Sound Retirement.

Next will be to build up on my dream of becoming an Online Entreprenuer – being truely Financial Independent and Successful in my interest of doing business online!

So let’s start getting serious!

After working as a Financial Planner for the last two and a half years and being able to come across many real life situations with regards to insurance death claims – I have recently witnessed two death claims whereby

• a guy in his late 40s whom lost his dearest wife and is in a total loss and 


• another case whereby the family is with mentally handicapped children and the wife is left with no insurance monies as the hubby has never done up any insurance coverage before…

I just have this sudden feeling to blog about this…

And I will be talking about something that most of you will not be interested to talk about – Death! Death is something that is so expected and one fine day you or I will just forget how to breathe. It’s just a matter of time as well but we do not know when is that time – that’s all.

That’s why my blogging topic is with regards to something that is so expected (it will come eventually) but yet so unexpected (you do not know when it will come), and the big question is how prepared are you today? Yesterday is gone and we are still alive and this is something good and tomorrow is still something worth looking forward to.

So should really anything happen today, how prepared are you and your family?

And when I mean prepared, is not with regards as to whether you have all your friends or family members ready to take care of your funeral but rather on the financial aspect – will your sudden death be an asset or a liability to your dependents?

Will I Be A Liability To My Dependents?

If you have no idea what does it mean by dependents. Basically Dependents are people whom depend on you (or your income) for your living, e.g.

• Your parents who depend on you for their retirement or medical expenses


• Your spouse who depend on you to take care of the family daily expenses


• Your children who depend on you to provide them with an education and a dream to look forward to

And you have automatically become a liability to these people upon your demise when you

• Have outstanding credit card balance or any loans especially the home mortgage loan repayments


• Have outstanding medical bills (that you have chalked up during your treatment terms but failed to live through it)


• Not enough savings for your children to go through their education


• Have to make your Spouse work doubly hard (to start working or additional job) to take care of the family daily expenses and/or to take care of both side of parents

So, at your death bed, would you want your family members be talking all the bad stuff and the hardships you have brought upon your family or the possible good stuff like:

How Do I Become An Asset To My Dependents – In the Financial Planning Aspect?

1. Have a Medical Insurance and Critical Illness Plan to cover most of your medical bills and specialized medical treatment – leave no traces of medical bills!


2. Plan for your Parents – if they have a certain amount of daily or medical expenses, take this amount into consideration (in terms of an annual amount) and multiply by a rough guide of suriving terms for your parents (male can live till an age of 80 whereas female till an age of 88)


3. Plan for your Spouse – calculate the amount your family is spending (not counting in yours) in a month and multiply that annual amount with at least 5 years in consideration. This 5 years can help your spouse to get over your loss and to start looking forward with a new job.


4. Plan for your Children’s Education – based on your youngest child’s age and the gender (in Singapore’s context, male will be going to the University at age of 21 whereas females at the age of 19), get the remaining age to university, factor in the education inflation rate and multiply to the current education fees.


5. Plan for your Outstanding Debts – there’s such a insurance plan known as a Decreasing Term which is cheap in premium. Consolidate all your debts and plan against it. You will never go wrong!


6. Believe in Planning and Plan For It Today! Tomorrow is something worth looking towards to and still is and somehow unknown. That’s the reason why you need to start planning today!

If you do agree the importance of the above planning and have done so today – it may not be 100% planned for but at least to a certain extent – do you think, at your death bed, will you still be complimented that you have done something good in the days that you are alive?

There seems to be a recent rise in the request to understand more about the difference between MediShield and our Private Medical Plans.

The reason for that I do not really know but one thing for sure, there are still many who do not understand the “As-Charged” features and its no link to the Deductible and Co-Insurance.

What Does As Charged Mean? Does It Also Mean That My Hospital Bill Is 100% Covered?

If you have read my previous post, you would have understood what does As Charged mean and the answer to the second question is a no as the claimable bill is still subjected to Deductible and Co-insurance.

And if you are looking for something extra to take care of either the Deductible and/or Co-insurance, you would need to get a Rider on top of the Main Medical Plan. More about that later.

A deeper understanding if you need for the As-Charged features would be that there is no longer a limit placed on the amount that can be claimed each day for hospital stay, surgery and medical procedures. What this means is that hospitalisation expenses will be paid according to what is billed. 

No split bills from each individual hospital items to worry about here but only the Deductible and Co-insurance on the final claimable amount.

In another simpler explanation would be that, as long as you are staying within your Ward Entitlement (e.g. entitled to Ward A1 and receiving the treatment entitled to that type of ward), every bit of your hospital treatment will be 100% covered. It’s only at the end of the hospitalization – the final total claimable amount is subjected to Deductible and Co-insurance.

Still unclear?

In number sense, and you are warded to Ward A and your medical plan entitle you to that, example:

• Room and Board and its related Medical Services – $500 (fully covered)


• Surgicial Procedure – $5000 (fully covered)

Final Bill – $500 + $5000 = $5,500 is the final claimable amount billed to you.

Your Medical Plan with Deductible of $3000 for Ward A and Co-insurance of 10% would mean:

• Out of the $5,500, you have to take care of $3,000, leaving the remainder of $2,500, you will then take into account co-insurance 10% of the $2,500 giving you an amount of $250


• So the total you have to take care from the $5,500 bill will be $3,250. The remaining $2,250 will be taken care of by the Medical Plan.


• As you only need to pay the Deductible once in a policy year, if there’s any more hospitalization under the same Ward Type, you’ll just need to take care 10% of the final claimable amount for the rest of the policy year, subjected to the maximum claimable amount under your Medical Plan.

In brief, Deductible is the minimum amount that you would need to pay for your hospital/medical bill when you make a claim. It applies to the claimable amount rather than the incurred hospital bill. You only need to pay the deductible once in a policy year.

Co-insurance is the amount which is not covered by the policy and which you need to pay after the deductible (see below) is met. It is usually expressed as a percentage of the expenses.

Take Up A Rider To Take Care Of The Deductible And Co-insurance

A rider is usually available when you take up a Private Medical Plan. The premium for the Rider is usually paid for by cash mode only. Some of the benefits offered under each Private Insurers would be different therefore it would be good to do your own studies before you make a commitment as a Medical Plan is meant to be taken in the long term.

The Use Of The Rider

The rider is taken up to take care of the Deductible and Co-insurance. Before the rider, it would mean to most people that any small bills are not claimable in the first instances and big bills will still need a certain level of burden.

Therefore with a Rider, you can use it to make small bills claimable and take real good care of big bills (either 100% or subjected to a cap) or be given a daily cash benefit should you decide to downgrade to a lower Ward Type.

Do note that the premiums of the Rider is not guaranteed and subjected to claim experience. Based on my personal experiences with many clients these few years, a Rider that takes care 100% of the medical bill will have the highest chances of premium being increased (easily 20-30%) in a short few years period.

For most people with the longest healthy status would be quite affected by this as the increment is passed on to the whole cohort (irregardless of any claim experience).

Pro-Ration

Another thing to note if you are taking up a Rider under a lower Medical Plan (e.g. Maximum Ward Entitlement is only Restructured Hospital – Ward A, this would mean that you are not entitled to any Private Medical Institutions or Hospital). What this mean is that there’ll be a Pro-ration (a certain % that you need to take care if being given a higher class treatment).

This Pro-ration factor will not take into account your Rider even if it take care 100% of the medical plan. As the rider clearly follows your maximum ward entitlement and its necessary medical treatment under it. Therefore if you go for a higher or better treatment, your medical bill is split and that amount is not claimable under your Rider.

How to resolve this? Get the Medical Plan with the ward entitlement in a Private Hospital. In this manner, you do not have to worry about being short-changed should you be asked to go for a Private Clinic Treatment even under a Restructured Hospital.

In Summary

Armed with bits of information from here, I do hope it will give you a better understanding of Private Medical Plan and the Rider. At least should there be any claims, you can be sure you have done your planning well and not being short-changed or burdened in the long term.

This month is one of the few times in the year whereby some PolicyHolders get the letter from our company to notify that their Dependent Protection Scheme or DPS is due for renewal and that they should make sure that their CPF-Ordinary and/or Special account still has sufficient fund to pay for the premiums.

The Issue With People Whom Understand The Plan

Sometimes I feel that Ignorance is Bliss is a better choice because after most PolicyHolders know what is the Dependent Protection Scheme all about, most of them decide to opt-up for the plan… citing the two common reasons like:

• Premium paid is down the drain


• Nothing will happen to me before age 60

Without ever considering the positive side – a low premium for a high sum assured or how useful this lump sum of money is to the family in times of need.

What Is Dependent Protection Scheme All About Then?

As cited from the CPF Board website, the Dependent Protection Scheme (DPS) is an affordable term insurance scheme, as compared to those offered commercially, that provides insured members and their families with some money to get through the first few years should the insured members become permanently incapacitated or pass away.

What Does It Cover?

DPS is an optional term insurance (which is why most will choose to opt-out) which covers CPF members for a maximum sum assured of $46,000 (not really capped at this amount as bonus sum assured will be added in later years – please do confirm this with your insurance company) up to age 60.  The coverage is worldwide.  The DPS benefit will be paid out if the insured member passes away or becomes permanently incapacitated such that he or she can no longer work.

How Did You Get Into This Plan?

You can get into this Plan as early as 16 years old when you make your first CPF contribution and this process is usually automatic. Once you are in, you will get a welcome package that consists of a Welcome Letter, An Opt-Out Form and a Change Insurer Form. So the moment you get into this plan, you already have a choice to opt-out.

In Simple Terms, the benefits of having a Dependent Protection Scheme are:

• Cheap and Affordable for Most Singaporeans


• Premiums do not need to come from Cash


• In terms of insurance coverage, you are covered against Death and Permanent Incapacitated (which is not the same as Total and Permanent Disability)

Which Brings Me To This Interesting Benefit – Permanent Incapacitated…

Frankly speaking, I was like the majority of the PolicyHolders who do not really see the need of having that Plan as I thought that the plan only covers me against Death and Total and Permanent Disability (TPD).

My impression changed when my Senior explained to me that the plan is rather unique because of the Permanent Incapacitated benefit. According to the definition is that incapacitated means to be lying ill and helpless which is different from the definition of TPD.

This benefit to me would mean that in terms of being able to claim because I am unable to work because of a permanent illness is easier as compared to be permanent disabled! You see how good this plan is!

The Simply Unexpected!

Talk about life being simply unexpected! As mentioned earlier on that most people would feel that nothing will ever happen to them before the age of 60, truth is… that’s not true! I had this personal experience whereby earlier in the day, one PolicyHolder came to told me about nothing will ever happen and later in the day, a family member (not related to the previous PolicyHolder) came to make a death claim for DPS for the Father who is before the age of 60!

Should You Keep Your Dependent Protection Scheme Plan Then?

My answer is a simply yes! Given the low premium involved, no cash needed (where most people will feel that cash is king), the significant insurance coverage given (though not necessarily high) can help the family members in times of need.