steviani

A new community of financial planners has emerge, happy to be part of it. First official member gathering Saturday, 18 April 2015 from 10am to 12pm at Pondok Indah. It will be a 2 hours full of new friends to meet and knowledge sharing. Best of all, it ‘s FREE!!!  😉

If you are a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER and feel like looking for a new home or just new friends, come and join us! Will be happy to meet you all.

Steviani

Knowledge is Power. Information is liberating. Education is the premise of progress, in every society, in every family. (Kofi Annan – World Bank Secretary-General – ‘Global Knowledge’97’)

Now, is the time for Indonesia, come to “Kampoeng Cerdas Keuangan,” open your mind, take knowledge, learn something new, take advantage of what is given to you for FREE. Get insight from the authorities (OJK), learn from the experts, take home the knowledge and make the best use of it, to give you and your family a better future!

For financial industry professionals, come to Asia Pacific Life Insurance Congress at Bali Nusa Dua Convention Centre to rejuvenate yourself, to remind yourself on what is important in this industries, in life. Let them remind you that Dreams Do Come True.  www.aplic2015-indonesia.com .

First post for the year yay! Finally.

I have a really interesting topic today : Indonesia. Why would I want to talk about Indonesia? Well because I just read a very interesting article here : http://asia.nikkei.com/magazine/20150129-Youth-on-the-rise/Life-Arts/Indonesia-s-maritime-minister-a-bit-crazy .

So, lets talk about Indonesia.

Indonesia is an archipelago i.e. it has a lot of islands. It is listed as the 4th most populated country in the world with 252 million people living there, according to wikipedia. But honestly, how many people out there know about a country down south called Indonesia?

Quite a lot of times whenever someone asked me, where do I come from and I answered Indonesia. They will either shrug their shoulder or shake their head, indicating they never heard of that. If that happen, the next thing I usually say is “Bali?” then they’ll reply “Ahhh…..Bali….very beautiful.” T_T

Everybody know China, since apparently almost everything you see, wear or touch has something written on it “made in China.”

Everybody know India, since whenever your phone/gadget got problem, they transfer you to Indian speaking customer service.

Why Indonesia is unknown? I’m not sure. But what I know for sure, right now Indonesia is a country that everyone would like to know about or working with.

Why? You must be crazy if you can’t see the opportunity this country has to offer :

1. Big market for your product.
2. Lots of young smart people.
3. Quite low payment for labour.
4. Many not developed/under developed area waiting for someone to make roads, bring electricity, housing, water treatment, etc.
5. Lots of wealthy people who are eager to learn where to invest or what to invest.

With all been said, have to remember that we also have:

6. A lot of natural resources which are guarded heavily by our maritime minister. Seriously, try fishing illegally on our sea, she’ll ” bomb till you drop.” How cool is that, a woman that needs to be taken seriously. http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/kapal-nelayan.jpg

7. Last but not least, if you try to bring or sell marijuana, cocaine, or other prohibited drugs into Indonesian soil, then I hope you also know that our new Mr.President has not a single doubt to enforce a death penalty. http://scandasia.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/den_indo_drug.jpg

Welcome to Indonesia my friends. A county with lots of beauty and opportunities but be a smart traveller. Know what you are allowed or not allowed to do.

To experience Indonesia, come to our international event at Bali Nusa Dua Convention Centre, it is called Asia Pacific Life Insurance Congress (APLIC) which will be held from 23-26 March 2015. Visit their website for further information : http://www.aplic2015-indonesia.com .

Last day my friends, I wish you all a prosperous new year, a better and brighter future to all of you.
Happy New Year!

Well I have decided to get myself a Christmas present and that is…. A domain… Yes now i own steviani.com and what will i do with it? I still dont know, i just thought i want something new and i opened wordpress.com and look at the offer and thought Yes i think steviani.com would be nice.

Looking at my blog writing record, almost 2 years, i have less than 24 posts, even this year i only manage to write less than 10 posts. Money well spent? Maybe not. But hey… It’s Christmas time and New Year is just around the corner. I just have a new baby so maybe I’ll write something about it and eventhough I didnt write anything for the next 12 months, i think i’ll just write it off as donation and forgive myself for doing so T_T

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 2015 everyone, I hope you all will enjoy this festive season as much as I do and I wish we all have a very peacefull Christmas. Hohoho… Merry Christmas!

Steviani

Have you had yourself covered with Indonesian National Health Insurance offered by BPJS Kesehatan? Go get one if you haven’t. It is the cheapest health insurance in Indonesia. If you are Indonesian or Foreigner who have stayed in Indonesia for more than 6 months, you can apply and get it as soon as you pay the premium. It can give you at least a bumper in case you had some financial difficulty and need to get medical treatment. It even cover birth expenses. Get it if you are too scared of getting a private health insurance from a private insurance company. Well it is compulsory anyway by 2019.

For people in a different group, who already have steady income and have no worries for money spent, health cover is all about additional lifestyle benefit. You have to do every check up in Singapore, have operations in Malaysia/China, or maybe for some specific treatment you just have to go to the top medical provider in countries like USA, Europe, Korea or Japan. Well even though money is not the problem but if you can pay with a discount for a full service,  I’m sure even the richest will take that option.

I got an offer last time from a friend who is an agent at PT. AIA Financial. He offered me a top notch hospital cover called Premier Health & Surgical – Gold.  I read the proposal and make a similar illustration using PT. Asuransi Jiwa Sequis Life product called Sequis Q Health Global Plus.

Sequis used to be famous for its “As Charged” cover with an annual limit. But lately, more insurance company apply the same “As Charged” cover method, than “Up to The Limit” per disability/ per medical treatment. Both AIA Premier H&S Gold and Sequis Q Health Global Plus apply the “As Charged” method with a difference : AIA PHS Gold use “As Charged” with per disability limit and per annual limit. While SQ Health Global Plus straight “As Charged” until it reach the annual limit or whole life limit.

Now let’s start take a look closely at each benefit from AIA Premier Health & Surgical – Gold versus Sequis Q  Health Global Plus :

1. Health Insurance Coverage Area

a. PHS Gold : Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore

b. HGP : Worldwide (every country in the world with no exception)

2. Health Insurance Age Cover

a. PHS Gold : until 80 years old

b. HGP : until 85 years old

3. Annual Limit

a. PHS Gold : Rp. 5.000.000.000,00 (5 billion rupiah)

b. HGP : US$450,000 (450 thousand dollars) with maximum conversion equal up to 5.5 billion rupiah

4. Per Disability Limit

a. PHS Gold : Rp. 1.000.000.000,00 (1 billion rupiah)

b. HGP : n/a (unless specified below)

5. Hospitalisation Cash Benefit

a. PHS Gold : Rp.2.000.000,00 (2 million rupiah) / day, maximum 20 days per policy year.

b. HGP : n/a

6. Hospitalisation and Outpatient Benefit

a. AIA Premier Hospital and Surgical – Gold :

– Dialysis and/or Cancer treatment, max. Rp.300.000.000,00 (three hundred million rupiah) per policy year

– Physiotherapy treatment, max. Rp.1.500.000,00 (one million five hundred thousand rupiah) per visit

*>Hospitalisation and Outpatient cost will be covered “As Charged” (note : reasonable cost and medically necessary, up to per disability limit) for :

– Hospital Room, max. cost is the lowest price at the hospital for 1 bed/room, max. 150 days/policy year

– ICU, max. twice the cost of Hospital Room, max. 150 days/policy year

– Surgery (minor, intermediate, ,major, complex, outpatient surgery), which include surgeon, operator assistant, anesthesiologist, operating room, recovery room, surgical equipment and necessary operating medicine

– General practitioners visit, max. 1 visit per day during hospitalisation

– Specialist visit, max. 1 visit per day during hospitalisation

– Ambulance cost during hospitalisation

– Miscellaneous cost of hospital care during hospitalisation, which include supporting examination and treatment

– Prosthesis and/or Implantation cost

– Treatment Before Hospitalisation, max. 30 days before hospitalisation, which include laboratory tests and diagnosis

– Treatment After Hospitalisation, max. 60 days after hospitalisation, which include laboratory tests and diagnosis

– Outpatient Emergency Treatment due to Accident

– Dental Treatment due to Accident

b. Sequis Q Health Global Plus : 

– Hospital Room, max. US$450/day (max. conversion 5.5 million rupiah), 150 days per policy year

– Emergency Room, max. US$450/disability

– Medical Report, max. US$100/medical report, max. 1 medical report per disability

– Companion at Hospital – Accommodation Cost (if insured person age below 15 y.o.), max. US$150/day, 14 days per policy year

– Hospitalisation Admin Cost (include tax and stamp duty) – max. US$50

– Ambulance cost, max. US$500 per policy year

– Outpatient Dialysis Treatment benefit, max. US$10,000 per policy year

– Outpatient Cancer Treatment benefit, max. US$10,000 per policy year

– Additional Cancer or Heart Attack Benefit, US$30,000

– Prosthesis and Implantation, max. US$1,500 per policy year

– Physiotherapy Treatment benefit, max. US$150/treatment, max. 60 days after hospitalisation, max.60 days per policy year

– Private Nurse at Home, max. US$150/day, max. 120 days per policy year

– Additional Death Benefit due to Accident, until 60 years old, US$150,000

*> Hospitalisation and Outpatient Cost will be covered “As Charged” (note : reasonable cost and medically necessary, up to the annual limit or whole life limit) for :

– ICU, max. 45 days per policy year

– Miscellaneous Hospital cost

– Surgery ( include day surgery/outpatient surgery)

– Daily Consultation with GP and Specialist, max. 2 visits per day, max. 150 days per policy year

– Consultation with Specialist before hospitalisation/surgery, max. 30 days before hospitalisation

– Laboratory tests and diagnosis cost before hospitalisation, max. 30 days before hospitalisation

– Treatment After Hospitalisation/Surgery, max. 90 days after hospitalisation

– Outpatient Emergency Treatment due to Accident, max. 30 days after the accident

– Dental Treatment due to Accident, max. 30 days after the accident

7. Local and International Medical Services for Travel Emergencies

a. PHS Gold : Available

b. HGP : Available

8. Health Insurance Cost

a. PHS Gold : Rp.2.629.000,00 / month

The above cost is for Female, 30 y.o. with rider AIA PHS – Gold 5 (Option A) which have additional birth benefit.

b. HGP : Rp.2.592.333,33 / month

The above cost is for Female, 30 y.o. with rider Health Global Plus.

If you wondered how much is the annual premium that we have to pay for this TOP Health Cover which benefit can reach up to 5 Billion Rupiah per year, the premium comfortably start from 100 million rupiah per year if you take a unit-link product, with minimum payment period of 10 years. ( Mine was prepared for 20 years premium payment period >.< )

That is all my summary for today, hope you have a great weekend.

Cheers!

Steviani, CPA, CFP®

Accident happen almost every day in Jakarta. Some accidents that attract my attentions so far is about a careless husband, driving a motorcycle running on a bridge in a wrong direction then got hit by a car which causes his pregnant wife to get thrown off and down the bridge, and immediately instant death.

Another one is just few days ago, 2 married young doctor who are planning for a holiday to Malaysia; they ride on a taxi which runs more than 120km/hour on the toll road. They were chatting at the back when the taxi driver hit a non moving truck. He lose control then hit a running CRV car, then ended by hitting a concrete wall. The husband is lucky to survive but his 5 months pregnant wife unfortunately got hit on the head and when the husband immediately check on her, the head skull was already soft and her pulse is weak, her eyes pupil is widen. He knew by then, she wont make it. He is 33 years old and she was just 31. They have a 3 years old child at home, now probably waiting for his/her mom who will never return.

Lack of discipline, lack of signs, lack of control and traffic police that is easy to bribe with some quick cash. It is not a blaming game, it is just a pity that some people have to lose their loved one only because they can’t follow simple instructions to be safe on the road. You are not the only one who is using it so why can’t you be more careful, care more about other people who is also using the same road. Read the signs, stop when you have to stop, be patient when it is crowded, take turns and don’t cut in front of other people and pissing them off. Your family is waiting at home. Accident do happen but When is Your Time? No One Can Tell so when you are on the road, stay alert and be safe.

If you live in Jakarta, almost in every major bank now you will find a small table selling insurance product. They are not part of the bank itself, they are just working together with the bank to get more customer for the insurance company and more commission income for the bank.

Most of them are selling unit link products. You can add any additional protection on that basic product such as health protection, etc. But what appeal to me lately is the way they promote their product by mentioning about the difference in costs, especially acquisition cost.

Acquisition cost is a cost that is acquired by the insurance company to cover all of their initial cost such as agent commission, administration , issuing a policy, etc. In addition to acquisition cost, there is also a monthly admin fee, investment fee, policy maintenance fee, monthly insurance cost, etc. See, there are so many cost involved when you buy a unit link product. But then, it is cost versus benefit they say, especially if you can not manage your own money. Let you focus on your job, let the experts manage your money and you pay them a fee. Fair enough.

Now, I just got some new proposals, created in May 2014, from Tokio Marine, AIA and Sequis Life. Let us do some comparison summary. I will only compare the basic product and all the wordings are all clearly written in the proposals.

The proposals I have on my hand right now are : TM Maximum Investment Plan from Tokio Marine Life Insurance Indonesia, Maxi Health from PT.AIA Financial and SequislinQ Value Protector from Sequis Life.

Some of the Basic Program Differences :

1. Basic Program Coverage

a. Sequislife : Life coverage until 80 years old. Death benefit 100% sum insured + additional 150% sum insured if death caused by accident before 60 years old.

b. Tokio Marine : Life coverage until 99 years old. Death benefit 100% sum insured.

c. AIA : Life coverage until 99 years old. Death benefit 100% sum insured + additional 100% sum insured if death caused by accident before 70 years old; maximum additional benefit due to accident is 150 million rupiahs for age below 18 yo, 500 million rupiahs for age between 18 to 70 yo.

2. Loyalty Bonus

a. Sequislife : Bonus 1% (1 percent) from regular premium, paid out from Year 6 onwards until the end of premium payment period. With condition the policy age is more than 60 months, no withdrawals, no missed out premium payment.

b. Tokio Marine : Bonus on Year 6 – 10% (ten percent), Year 8 – 10% (ten percent), Year 10 – 10% (ten percent) from regular premium. With condition assuming the premium is paid every year (including the bonus year if you want to get the bonus).

c. AIA : Bonus on Year 10 – 15% (fifteen percent), Year 11 – 25% (twenty five percent), Year 12 – 35% (thirty five percent) from regular premium. With condition you have paid the premium for year 10 and/or year 11 and/or year 12 ;and if the accumulated sum of withdrawal is no more than 2 times the annual regular premium.

3. Acquisition Cost

a. Sequislife : For regular premium 0% (zero percent) all the way and for regular top up 5% (five percent) all the way. Top up is not compulsory.

b. Tokio Marine : For regular premium, Year 1 – 40% (forty percent), Year 2 onwards 0% (zero percent) and for regular top up 5% (five percent) all the way.Top up is not compulsory.

c. AIA : For regular premium, Year 1 – 70% (seventy percent), Year 2 onwards 0% (zero percent) and for any top up 3% (three percent) per transaction. Top up is not compulsory.

4. Investment Cost

a. Sequislife : 0,75% for Rupiah Cash Fund, 1,25% for Rupiah Stable Fund, and 1,50% for Rupiah Equity Fund, Rupiah Managed Fund & Rupiah Syariah Balanced Fund. Investment Fund Managed by Schroders.

b. Tokio Marine : Maximum 2% per year, depend on the type of investment chosen. Investment Fund Managed by various fund managers.

c. AIA : Maximum 2,5% per year, depend on the type of investment chosen. Investment Fund Managed by AIA Financial.

5. Administration Cost

a. Sequislife : Rp.40.000,00/month.

b. Tokio Marine : Rp.55.000,00 or USD$5.50/month for the first 10 years, afterwards Rp.27.500,00 or USD$2.80/month onwards.

c. AIA : Rp.27.500,00/month for the first 10 years, afterwards Rp.15.000,00/month onwards.

6. Policy Maintenance Cost

a. Sequislife : 0.45% per month from the regular premium cash value for the first 72 months, 0% afterwards.

b. Tokio Marine : 4.50% per year from the regular premium accumulated investment value for the first 84 months.

c. AIA : 3.50% per year from the basic regular premium account value for the first 7 policy years.

7. Insurance Cost

a. Sequislife : Insurance and rider cost will be charged accordingly looking at the age and sum insured.

b. Tokio Marine : Insurance cost will be charged monthly. Any riders will be charged from the Top Up Investment Value for the first 84 months; starting from the 85th month, cost will be deducted from the Regular Premium Investment Value.

c. AIA : Insurance cost depends on the age and sum insured. Cost will be deducted from the Top Up account if not sufficient then deducted from the Basic Regular Premium account.

8. Premium Holiday Fee

a. Sequislife : On the first 5 years, if there is any premium holiday, the regular premium amount owed will be deducted from the Unscheduled Top Up Investment Value. If not enough then the mode of payment of annual regular premium will be changed into monthly payment.The monthly regular premium amount owed will be deducted from the Unscheduled Top Up Investment Value.

If there is no unscheduled top up payment or the unscheduled top up payment value is not sufficient, then the client will be charged 1% monthly from the regular premium accumulated investment value and by the end of the 12 months, the policy will lapse.

b. Tokio Marine : Premium holiday is not allowed on the first 3 years. If there is a premium holiday exist before the first 3 years, then the investment value will be paid out based on the Redeemable Value then Policy become inactive.

After the first 3 years, Premium Holiday fee will be charged from the regular premium accumulated investment value, as a percentage from the total monthly cost which include Admin cost, Insurance cost and Policy Maintenance cost. Premium Holiday Fee on Year 4 – 60%, Year 5 – 60%, Year 6 onwards 0% (zero percent).

c. AIA : Automatic premium holiday fee will be charged if there is a premium holiday on Policy Year 6 and Year 7; with amount 5% to 10% from the basic regular premium account value.

For the first 7 years if the regular premium is not paid in full even after the grace period, then the regular premium owed will be deducted from the Top Up account value (if there is any), thru automatic premium payment facility.

For the first 5 years, if the Top Up account value is not enough to cover the regular premium owed then the policy will lapse.

If the policy has entered its 6th year and the regular premium scheduled has not been paid in full even after the grace period has passed and the top up value is not enough to pay the premium then the automatic premium holiday fee will prevail. During this period, all costs will be charged as usual from the account value. If it become insufficient then the policy will lapse.

9. The Redeemable Value when Policy Lapsed or Cancelled

a. Sequislife : The redeemable value at Year 1 – 10%, Year 2 – 25%, Year 3 – 40%, Year 4 – 55%, Year 5 – 70%, Year 6 – 85%, Year 7 onwards – 100%. All calculated from the regular premium cash value.

b. Tokio Marine : The redeemable value at Year 1 – 30%, Year 2 – 45%, Year 3 – 55%, Year 4 – 65%, Year 5 – 75%, Year 6 onwards – 100%. All calculated from the regular premium accumulated investment value.

c. AIA : The redeemable value at Year 1 – 5%, Year 2 – 10%, Year 3 – 30%, Year 4 – 50%, Year 5 – 70%, Year 6 – 90%, Year 7 – 95%, Year 8 onwards – 100%. All calculated from the basic regular premium account value.

In summary, when you look at a proposal, some agent will point out the loyalty bonuses you get, some will point out the once only acquisition cost. But frankly, when you calculated the loyalty bonus with the acquisition cost, i personally don’t think there is a bonus at all. It still your money which they took at the beginning and return it to us at a later point.

I hope by reading this, you diligent readers can have a better information, be able to see the good and not so good side of each product, then make a decision for yourself. Be a smart buyer.

Last but not least, a quote for the day is from Frank Zappa : ” A mind is like a parachute. It doesn’t work if it is not open.”

Steviani, CPA, CFP®.