Jonathan Chua

Some medical doctors are paid commission fees of 20% to 30% of the physiotherapy bill if they refer their patients – such as those who require rehabilitation due to injury or illness – to private physiotherapy clinics Dodgy practices have emerged in the healthcare industry, involving doctors, physiotherapists, insurance agents & third-party administrators (TPAs) splitting money from inflated insurance claims among themselves via a referral and commission system, TODAY has learnt. Responding to queries, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said it has received feedback on such practices, & will be looking into the matter. “MOH takes a serious view of any attempts to defraud the healthcare system at the expense of Singaporeans,” a ministry spokesperson said. “Fraudulent behaviour such as unnecessary referrals & false claims for services not rendered raises the overall costs of healthcare in Singapore, and leads to Singaporeans paying more for their healthcare services and ins...

Homeowners insurance is a contract designed to protect you as a homeowner against sudden and accidental losses. The home insurance policy is a contract between the homeowner, also known as the insured, and the insurance company. The contract creates an agreement that, in exchange for the premium paid by the home owner, the insurance company will compensate the homeowner for unexpected, sudden, and/or accidental damage or disasters that occur to the home, and/or the contents of the home, as agreed upon in the policy wording. Homeowners insurance protects a homeowner's assets and ensures that a covered loss, risk or disaster will not leave them in financial distress. Whether you are looking to buy insurance as a first time homeowner, referencing information to make sure you are getting the best value for your money, or looking for help to understand your policy, here are some basics about homeowners insurance. How Does Homeowners Insurance Work? Your insurance policy is a c...

While shares and bonds and time deposits are more traditional investments, a large number of Singaporeans also use life insurance policies for long-term investments. Indeed, consumers here hold more than 13.1 million life insurance policies & insurance now accounts for 9.3% of households’ net worth. A key question some investors may have is whether buying a whole life insurance policy as an investment is better than buying a cheaper term insurance policy & investing the difference elsewhere. It is important to start by looking at why one should buy life insurance at all. Fundamentally, the goal of life insurance is to make sure beneficiaries such as young children or elderly parents have enough money to pay for their needs if something happens to the breadwinner in the family. There are several types of life insurance that can achieve this objective. The simplest option is term life insurance. You pay a premium, and the insurer guarantees that it will pay your benefi...

When is Universal Life Insurance a Good Option and What to Look Out for When you are starting out, protecting what you are building is important. Insure your life, insure your dreams. Credit: CaiaImageCLOSED / CaiaImage / Getty Images Universal life insurance (UL) is a hybrid life insurance policy which combines elements of term life insurance with an investment savings option. Universal life combines the ability to build savings at the same time as providing you a life insurance policy. This allows flexibility in what you can do with the savings or investment portion of the premium. Universal life insurance also contains an element of long-term investment strategy because it required you build the values in the investment portion through part of the amount you pay monthly. Universal Life Insurance Options: Indexed Universal Life Insurance (IUL) vs UL The success of a universal life insurance plan depends greatly on the investments in the plan you choose and market performance....

The principle behind life insurance is simple, in theory. It's also morbid, at least compared to other financial services. You pay small amounts at monthly intervals, so that when you die, a beneficiary of your choice gets a sum of money approximating what you would have earned had you stayed alive. That's the stark truth right there, which a lot of life insurance customers fail to comprehend: the service is supposed to be nothing more than a replacement plan. The idea is that should your family suffer a crisis that transcends finances, at least their finances won't be impacted too negatively. If you die, your spouse and kids won't have to take on multiple jobs, beg for alms, nor lose the house and car. Hedging Your Bets It's important to remember that life insurance isn't really "insurance" in the dictionary sense. When you buy life insurance, you're not "insuring" anything. No matter how much money you give them, Ameriprise can...