Bonus - LIAM

Teman Anda Sepanjang Hayat
Your Friend For Life
Memahami Bonus Tunai
Polisi Insurans Hayat Anda
Understanding Cash Bonuses
Of Your Life Insurance Policies
LIFE INSURANCE ASSOCIATION OF MALAYSIA
Teman Anda Sepanjang Hayat
Your Friend For Life
Memahami Bonus Tunai Polisi Insurans Hayat Anda
Understanding Cash Bonuses of
Your Life Insurance Policies
LIFE INSURANCE ASSOCIATION
OF MALAYSIA
No. 4, Lorong Medan Tuanku Satu
Medan Tuanku, 50300 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 2691 6168, 2691 6628, 2691 8068
Fax: 2691 7978
E-mail: [email protected]
Http: //www.liam.org.my
PRAKATA
Selama ini, pemegang polisi mengharapkan janji kontrak polisi mereka akan
dipenuhi oleh syarikat insurans hayat. Mereka mengharapkan kadar bonus yang
tercatat di dalam polisi mereka akan dibayar oleh syarikat insurans tanpa mengambil
kira perubahan dalam kitaran ekonomi.
Sememangnya, syarikat insurans hayat telah dan sedang menunaikan amanah
tersebut. Namun begitu, perubahan dalam kitaran ekonomi di sepanjang tempoh
sepuluh tahun ini telah memaksa syarikat insurans untuk menyemak semula
kadar bayaran bonus.
Matlamat buku kecil ini adalah untuk menjelaskan sebab-sebab kadar bayaran
bonus atau dividen tunai berubah mengikut faktor ekonomi.
Buku ini adalah sebahagian daripada projek yang telah dilaksanakan oleh Persatuan
Insurans Hayat Malaysia (LIAM) untuk mendidik orang ramai tentang berbagai
aspek insurans hayat. Ia merupakan kompilasi rencana-rencana yang telah
diterbitkan bersama Utusan Malaysia, New Sunday Times dan Nanyang Siang
Pau.
L. Meyyappan
Presiden
Persatuan Insurans Hayat Malaysia
Kuala Lumpur
Februari 2002
(i)
PREFACE
For a long time, policyholders expect what the promises that they have signed for
with their respective life insurance company be honoured. They would expect that
the bonus rate stipulated in their policies would be paid regardless of the
fluctuations in the economic cycles.
True, life insurance companies have honoured, and still are honouring this trust.
However, fluctuations in the economic cycles in the last 10 years require these
companies to readjust their bonus rate payouts.
This booklet sets out to explain the reasons why bonus payouts or cash dividends
may vary due to economic factors.
This booklet is part of an ongoing programme undertaken by the Life Insurance
Association of Malaysia (LIAM) to educate Malaysians in various aspects of life
insurance. It is a compilation of articles that first appeared in the Utusan Malaysia,
New Sunday Times and Nanyang Siang Pau newspapers.
L. Meyyappan
President
Life Insurance Association of Malaysia
Kuala Lumpur
February 2002
(ii)
(iii)
Kandungan/ Contents/
Diterbitkan
1. Bonus:
2. Bonus:
3. Bonus:
4. Bonus:
di Utusan Malaysia:
Faedah Daripada Perlindungan Tambahan
Memahami Kadar Pembayarannya
Ke Arah Keseimbangan Ekonomi
Melabur Ikut Undang-Undang
1
5
9
14
Published in the New Sunday Times:
1. Adjusting Bonus Rate or Cash Dividend for Smoother Return
2. Time To Get Real About Payout Rates
3. Bonus Payment Projections Cannot Be Optimistic All The Time
4. Fine-Tuning Bonus Payouts To Meet Changing Economic Times
5. Equity Between Different Generations of Policies
6. Difficult Balancing Act With Lower Returns
7. Insurance Just Another Investment Tool
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27
29
31
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2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
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34
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42
44
46
48
•
•
•
Contents of the articles in Bahasa Malaysia, English and Mandarin may differ due to
updating of information or editing by the respective media at the point of publishing.
Whilst every endeavor has been made to ensure the information provided is correct,
the Life Insurance Association of Malaysia (LIAM) is not responsible for any
misstatement expressed in the booklet.
LIAM welcome the reproduction of any section of the booklet without prior permission.
ARTICLE 1
ADJUSTING BONUS RATE OR CASH
DIVIDEND FOR SMOOTHER RETURN
Policyholder Ms Wendy Ng bought a
whole-life participating insurance policy
of RM300,000 in 1980.
necessitate a cut in the bonus rates.
Having not being educated in the
principles of economics, Ms Ng could
make no sense of what her insurance
company was talking about.
At the time of the purchase, her agent
told her that she would receive a yearly
compound reversionary bonus of RM30
for every RM1,000 insured till the
policy matured, or till she surrendered
her policy upon death. She was happy
with the terms and so she signed on
the dotted line.
She could not understand why her
bonus had to be cut, when she had
trusted her agent who had told her that
she would get the amount of bonus
that she had signed up for as stipulated
in the policy.
Early this year she read in the
newspapers that her insurance company
announced that it would be cutting
bonus to RM25 for every RM1,000
insured for all “participating” policies
from January 2001 onwards.
Over the next six to 12 months,
hundreds of thousands of people like
Ms Ng who have taken a life insurance
policy may have their bonus in their
policies cut.
She was rather upset, as for the past 20
years she received a yearly bonus of
RM30 for every RM1,000 insured. And
now the company is cutting RM5 or
about 17 per cent off the bonus.
And there are many policyholders like
Ms Ng who do not understand why
their bonus should be cut. Invariably,
most policyholders get angry with their
respective insurance companies, blaming
them for short-changing and betraying
their trust.
The company explained that bonus
payments depended on several factors
mainly the return on investments. A
continuing poor investment market may
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What are these bonuses? Why are
bonuses paid at all? Why do insurance
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companies decide to cut bonuses now,
after years of paying out high rates of
bonus?
The bonus that you get when you buy
an insurance policy is the extra amount
of money that is paid with the final
benefit. It is really a form of coverage
in addition to the sum that you have
been insured for.
However, the insurance policy that you
buy, which could be an endowment
(meaning up to a certain age) or a
whole life (meaning till your death),
must be “participating” (meaning you
share in the company’s surpluses). And
such a policy usually carries a slightly
higher premium.
The bonus rate is usually expressed as
an amount in ringgit for every
RM1,000 insured. The RM1,000 figure
is used for easy calculation and for
communicating to the policyholders.
To get the actual amount of bonus paid,
first you divide the sum you have been
insured for by RM1,000 and then
multiply the result by the rate of the
bonus.
In Ms Ng’s case, with the RM30 for
every RM1,000 insured, her RM300,000
policy would have an annual bonus of
RM9,000 (RM300,000 divided by
RM1,000 multiply by RM30).
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And since Ms Ng’s bonus is a
compound reversionary, then her
RM9,000 will be “reverted” back to
her policy, to earn interest as well.
Insurance companies declare bonuses
from surpluses, which technically is
defined as “the difference between the
life insurance fund and the policy
liabilities”.
In simple language, how fat the surplus
is will depend on the returns on
the investments as well as the
insurance company’s liabilities and other
factors.
Past good performances have enabled
insurance companies to build up
surpluses, but these have been eroded
by the very poor investments in the
past several years.
Whatever remaining surpluses there are
will be depleted if the bonuses continue
to be paid at the current levels. Hence,
a cut is needed to rebuild and strengthen
surpluses.
This surplus is not calculated for each
individual policyholder but for all
policyholders, and is arrived at by using
a basis of valuation in each year.
To calculate how much to pay out in
bonuses in future, companies make
certain assumptions:
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1) The mortality rate, which is the
number of policyholders who die
from year to year in the future.
As a matter of marketing strategy, some
companies may declare several levels of
reversionary bonus, varying with the
class of policy or with the date such a
policy is effected or the age of the person
insured. Other companies may just
declare a uniform rate for all
participating policies.
2) The interest rate, which is the
returns the company gets from its
future investments of its funds.
3) The expenses, or the amount of
money spent in future on such
items as management and
administrative expenses, and agents’
commissions.
The second type of bonus — cash
bonus — comes in the form of cash
payment or dividends, with no
compounding of interest.
There are two types of bonuses —
reversionary and cash (the latter is also
called cash dividends).
For this form of bonus, most insurance
companies provide their policyholders
with two options — either you take
out the cash yearly or leave the money
with the company to accumulate and
enjoy the interest as well.
A reversionary bonus is one where the
sum is not paid out immediately as
cash but is “reverted” back to the policy
to enhance its coverage and maturity
value.
There is also a third type of bonus
called the “terminal or final” bonus,
where the policyholder gets to enjoy
the benefits of capital appreciation of
the company’s equity and real estate
investments.
There are two types of reversionary
bonuses — simple and compounded.
A simple reversionary bonus is a flat
bonus with no interest compounded, and
it is declared as a proportion in
percentage terms of the sum insured only.
Such a bonus is paid upon maturity of
an endowment policy or upon the death
of the person insured or when a wholelife policy is surrendered. Usually the
longer a policy has been in force, the
greater will be the amount of “terminal”
bonus allotted to it.
A compound reversionary bonus is one
where the bonus earned in the past
could also earn interest in the current
year, and is declared as a percentage of
the total of the sum insured plus existing
bonuses.
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A reversionary bonus can be cashed out
by the policyholder surrendering his
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policy, while a cash bonus or dividend
can also be cashed out but without the
policyholder giving up his policy.
However, there are some companies that
allow policyholders to cash out their
reversionary bonus without surrendering
their policies.
the excess credited to surplus. In bad
times, they declare a bonus higher than
the actual return by taking the shortfall
from the surplus.
Like Ms Ng, many policyholders may
be wondering whether their respective
insurance companies can cut the
bonuses at will.
The cut in bonus during a continuous
period of poor investment performance
is needed to rebuild surpluses and to
strengthen the solvency or financial
strength of the company so that the
companies can fulfill all policyholders’
liabilities.
Yes, any insurance company, using
proper valuation methods carried out
by an actuary that it has appointed,
can lower or raise the bonus rate or
cash dividend payout.
The insurance company can make the
announcement either in major
newspapers or in the notice it sent to
policyholders regarding their bonus
payout.
Why are insurance companies doing
this? To provide a smoother return.
In good times, the companies declare a
bonus lower than the actual return, with
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• New Sunday Times, 23 September
2001.
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ARTICLE 2
TIME TO GET REAL
ABOUT PAYOUT RATES
When our policyholder Ms Wendy Ng
signed on the dotted line for her
RM300,000 insurance policy (see earlier
articles), her agent told her to have
complete trust in the company in
delivering what had been spelt out in
the document.
cuts. People have sleepless nights over
how to address the problem of telling
policyholders.”
Some insurance companies see the
whole issue as a business philosophy.
As far as they are concerned, they take
the position that life insurance is a longterm business.
So when the company cut her bonus
she wondered whether she could trust
the company to keep to its word about
paying the future rate of bonus as
projected.
They want to establish an element of
trust that they deliver what they have
projected. To them the issue is really
where they can afford to pay, they will
continue to pay. They want the public
to continue trusting them.
It is said that trust is a feel-good
intangible thing. When you trust
someone, you believe that whatever has
been projected will be carried out.
Be it as it may, those buying a life
insurance policy must be fully aware
that bonuses are NOT guaranteed.
Undoubtedly to many policyholders like
Ms Ng, the cut in bonus rates has
dented, though not shattered, their
confidence.
Bonuses are paid out only if there are
surpluses from the life funds, which
arise from good investment returns and
after accounting for liabilities and other
factors.
And to some accepting the cut, which
may have come suddenly, is a bitter pill
that is hard to swallow.
Even if there are strong surpluses in
any single year, insurance companies
may choose to retain some of these in
As an insurance agent once said: “It
gives no pleasure to tell clients of the
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the interest of maintaining a steady
bonus payout in future.
The situation is similar to that of a
public-listed company paying dividends.
There is no guarantee that the company
will pay a dividend each year; nor is
there a guarantee it will pay the same
rate of dividend each year.
It is also the same with any
public-listed company where in any
one year when it makes exceptionally
good profits, it does not mean that
the company will pay out the entire
amount of its earnings. It would
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still pay part of it and yet retain the
rest for future expansion of the
company.
It must be remembered that decisions
to cut the bonus rates do not reflect a
weakness of the financial strength of an
insurance company.
In fact a good or bad rating that an
insurance company gets from a credit
rating agency has nothing to do with
how consistent the company pays
bonuses.
• New Sunday Times, 30 September 2001.
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ARTICLE 3
BONUS PAYMENT PROJECTIONS
CANNOT BE OPTIMISTIC ALL THE TIME
the benefit of illustrating the long-term
worth of their products when marketing
them to potential policyholders.
When policyholders take up a
participating life insurance policy, they
have the belief that the bonus to be
declared by the life insurance company
concerned would bear a semblance of
what had been declared in the past.
If the projections are far too optimistic
compared to past trends or even
compared to competitors, then the stage
is set for bonus revisions down the road.
However, to be fair no policyholder
should hold the insurance company to
what have been projected by them 10
or 20 years ago when the document
was signed then.
The real cap to such optimistic
projections is the interest rate that the
insurance companies can reasonably be
expected to deliver to their clients in
the long term.
In simple economics the real returns,
net of costs and expenses, can fall to
very low levels in a poor investment
climate.
There are a number of factors which
may throw the insurance companies’
projections and assumptions askew.
These are mortality rates, interest rates
and expenses.
Ultimately, the argument that the
greater good must always prevail must
take precedence. Products that insurance
companies sell are priced at levels that
do not threaten the solvency of the
insurance company in the long run. It
is to no one’s benefit if an insurance
company goes bust.
A prolonged unforeseen downturn in
the stock market could knock the
interest rates assumptions askew.
Insurance companies will always try
to avoid a negative yield spread,
meaning the gap between a guaranteed
return on the policy to the policyholder
and the actual return from their
investments.
The onus therefore lies with the
insurance companies to refrain from
using far too optimistic projections for
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Thus it boils down to insurance
companies consistently generating a
level of return on investments of their
insurance funds that is comfortable
enough for them to pay their
policyholders the promised rate of
bonuses over the long term.
In the 1970s and 1980s when interest
rates and returns on investments were
high, insurance companies had no
problem delivering what they had
promised their policyholders.
But from the mid-1990s, especially after
the Asian financial crisis which was an
unforeseen and unexpected economic
and financial event, the Malaysian stock
market and local interest rates went all
the way downhill, and had yet to recover
to pre-crisis levels.
The possible reduction in bonus rates
by Malaysian insurance companies is
very much in line with current
international practices.
Though this is the first time bonus
rates are reduced in Malaysia, it has
been a common practice in many
developed countries for many years.
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In the United Kingdom, for example,
bonuses tended to increase as interest
rates and returns on investments
increased from 1950 onwards.
But when investment returns declined
since 1990, the life insurance industry
in the United Kingdom as a whole
eventually has had to reduce the bonus
rates.
A similar situation exists in other
countries such as the United States and
Japan, where the bonus rates payable
on life insurance policies are revised
periodically to reflect the actual returns
on investments.
In Singapore, some insurance companies
have cut their bonus rates, as the
circumstances in the island republic are
very similar to Malaysia’s, where the
investment returns are driven by
prolonged low interest rates.
• New Sunday Times, 7 October 2001.
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ARTICLE 4
FINE-TUNING BONUS PAYOUTS TO MEET
CHANGING ECONOMIC TIMES
Of course in between periods of
prosperity there were the slowdowns and
a recession, but these were just viewed
as part of the long economic cycle of
prosperity that needed to get rid of the
excesses once a while. Then came the
Asian crisis of 1997, which almost
wiped out the nation’s wealth, and the
people’s prosperity almost vanished into
thin air.
When our policyholder Ms Wendy Ng
bought her life insurance policy in
1980, the country was in the midst of
a growing prosperity.
Development was everywhere.
The 1970s and the 1980s, and even
till the middle of the 1990s, the
Malaysian economy was growing at an
impressive average of seven to nine per
cent a year.
Unemployment swelled, incomes fell,
and private consumption shrank. Shops
were empty, and the ringgit spun into
space out of control until a string of
capital control measures brought it back
to earth.
Everywhere and everything were
booming. Primary commodities were
having their run of prices. Exports rose
to record levels, and external foreign
reserves were rising. It was certainly
economic party time.
Interest rates fell, and today they
reached record low levels. Banks are
flushed with cash, as no one wants to
spend; neither are there many
borrowers. Foreign investments
dwindled as the capital controls
insulated the affected economy.
Prosperity was written on the faces of
almost everyone. Standards of living
improved tremendously, even for those
living in the rural areas. Jobs were
aplenty.
Money flowed in by the billions of
ringgit. Interest rates rose, and despite
this borrowings for business and for
buying houses were still considered
cheap.
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Companies plunged into the abyss of
bad loans, with some committed to the
corporate graveyard. Till today, the
economic outlook remains uncertain.
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The last 25 to 30 years of the economy
have been a roller-coaster ride for many
people.
Those who went through it can
understand the agony of those trying
to predict what’s in store in the future,
even for as short as the immediate
future.
For many years, the prosperity has
generated very good investment returns
for insurance companies. Even the high
interest rate regime has been more than
a blessing.
So when Ms Ng took out her life
insurance policy, her insurance company
was able to deliver consistently the high
rate of bonus that had been projected.
After all, with returns from investing
the insurance funds so good, and getting
high interest income a breeze, insurance
companies did not mind sharing the
gains with their policyholders.
Indeed, many other insurance
companies were offering even better
bonus rates too as the race to compete
for a bigger market share of the retail
life insurance business picked up,
reaching its peak in boom times.
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But the last five years or so have seen
an economic maelstrom with a vision
ahead so blur that many insurance
companies are getting more cautious
than ever.
It would be suicidal for insurance
companies to keep on giving high bonus
rates, while at the same time getting
meagre below the line returns from their
investments, and with interest rates
staying near the floor.
Cutting bonus rates is not an easy task
for life insurance companies to do. Not
that they could not face their
policyholders, but more that some of
the policies may mature in the next
few years. And to cut the bonus of
such policies now would seem to many
as a “cruel” act.
But to insurance companies the choice
is a matter of survival. As it has been
said, it does no one any good if the
insurance company folds up on account
of maintaining high bonus rates.
Everyone loses.
• New Sunday Times, 14 October 2001.
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ARTICLE 5
EQUITY BETWEEN DIFFERENT
GENERATIONS OF POLICIES
difference is that there is no volatility
because “different generations support
one another”, which is really a concept
of
‘smoothened’
returns
to
policyholders.
The fast changing economic
environment, from one of prosperity to
one of gloom but not doom, has created
what the insurance industry would call
“inequity” between different generations
of policies.
Adjustments to bonuses paid out are
then a way to fine-tune the life fund to
the changing economic environment.
In the 1970s and 1980s when interest
rates were higher, and investment returns
better, life insurance policies were sold
with attractive bonus rates. But newer
policies in the mid- and late 1990s were
sold with lower-yield benefits.
Thus, as the interest rates and rates of
return on investments go lower,
insurance companies must adjust their
bonus rates downwards, and
policyholders’ expectations must also be
changed accordingly.
The revisions of the bonus rates is
merely an attempt on the part of
insurance companies to achieve an
“equity” between different generation
of policies.
In this context, the annual bonus, in
the form of reversionary or cash bonus,
can be said to be the stable portion of
returns in the form of dividend and
interest income.
Under what is commonly known as the
concept of “inter-generational support”,
in all participating life insurance plans,
the premium of policyholders go into a
life fund.
The terminal bonus then reflects the
realised and unrealised capital gains on
the life fund.
Logically, if there is volatility in the
returns on investment and interest rates,
then the terminal bonus is the one to
be adjusted.
In a wider perspective, by buying an
insurance policy, people are in fact
investing in a managed fund, where
risks and rewards are shared. The only
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But looking into the future, if rates of
return are expected to trend lower, then
either the reversionary, cash or terminal
bonus would have to be adjusted,
depending on the product.
On the other side of the coin, there is
a counter-argument that to use
“maintaining the equity between
different generation” as a reason for the
cut could be a lame excuse.
This argument goes that this “inequity”
starts in the year a life insurance
company knows of the likelihood of
the projected bonuses not being met.
Instead, the insurance companies keep
maintaining the bonus rate in the face
of competition or other business
considerations.
The argument says that the
environment of low interest rates has
been around since the 1990s, and that
there is no denying that insurance
companies are not aware of this.
It has been said that life insurance
companies, through their actuaries, are
supposed to monitor the likelihood of
meeting their bonus commitments on
a yearly basis.
They are required to perform tests to
ensure bonuses declared can be
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sustained for at least the coming
years.
In Malaysia, the low interest rate regime
started in mid-1999. According to
Bank Negara , the average discount rates
for Treasury Bills fell from around 5.5
per cent a the beginning of 1999 to 2.7
per cent after June 1999 (for threemonth), from around 5.6 per cent to
around two to three per cent (for sixmonth), and from 5.6 per cent to
around 3.3 per cent (for 12-month).
In the 20-odd years before 1999, the
interest rates for Treasury Bills stayed
very much in the five to seven per cent
range.
Similarly, the market indicative yields
for Malaysian Government securities
have fallen from around seven to eight
per cent to about three to four per cent
in the last 10 years.
As a comparison, the dividends that
the Employees Provident Fund pays its
contributors have also fallen in the last
20 years from 8.5 per cent to the present
six-odd per cent.
• New Sunday Times, 21 October 2001.
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ARTICLE 6
DIFFICULT BALANCING ACT
WITH LOWER RETURNS
(which are essentially the premiums of
the policyholders) are lower than the
bonus rates projected to the
policyholders.
What policyholder Ms Wendy Ng
wants when she signed up for her life
insurance policy is that the insurance
company deliver to her what it has been
projected.
Insurance companies have always tried
to avoid such a situation.
In a generally stable economic
environment, which existed in the
1970s and 1980s, delivering what has
been projected is easy.
But with the trend for lower interest
rates and lower returns on investments
moving increasingly lower and lower,
doing the balancing act has become
more than a challenge.
But with the ever-changing economic
and financial environment where
uncertainty is the only known stable
factor, delivering what has been
projected has become a challenge for
many life insurance companies.
In Malaysia investments of life insurance
funds by insurance companies are
regulated by the main regulatory body,
Bank Negara.
With a poorer investment climate very
much upon Malaysia (the stock market
is substantially down from its peak and
interest rates are hitting the floor),
insurance companies are finding it even
more difficult to avoid what financial
analysts could call a “negative yield
spread”.
Under the Insurance Act 1996, which
governs all those doing insurance
businesses in the country, there is a
schedule that spells out how the funds
are to be invested.
For low-risk assets, the life insurance
fund can invest in the aggregate a
minimum of 20 per cent with no
maximum limit, while for cash and
deposits there is no limit.
In simple terms this means the returns
that an insurance company gets
from investing its life insurance funds
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For shares there is a maximum limit of
30 per cent in the aggregate, and for
each individual investment there is a
maximum limit of five per cent of the
investee company’s equity.
aggregate and five per cent for any one
borrower or group of borrowers. There
is no limit for zero coupon bonds.
For immovable properties, the
maximum limit in the aggregate is 20
per cent, and for equity and property
trusts 10 per cent in aggregate but for
individual investment, it is five per cent
of the total issue of the trust fund.
The argument that the regulations are
too restrictive with regards to how life
insurance funds are to be invested is
equally as valid as the argument that
regulations have to be strictly enforced
to ensure credible investment principles
are applied since the money invested
come from policyholders.
For policy loans there is a maximum
limit of 20 per cent in aggregate, and
for secured and unsecured credit
facilities, the limit is 40 per cent in
• New Sunday Times, 28 October 2001.
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ARTICLE 7
INSURANCE JUST ANOTHER
INVESTMENT TOOL
per cent (including capital gains). And
the expectation is that the rate of return
will trend even lower in the coming years.
Restrictions on how the life insurance
funds are to be invested work well in
an era of prosperity where the stock
and money markets are enjoying good
returns.
At the same time, expenses, which are
also considered when calculating the
bonus rate for policyholders, have been
maintained at their relatively high levels
within the same 10-year period.
But in a downturn where returns are
getting to be less than the costs of
investing the funds, the restrictions can
constrict the earnings potential of the
fund.
Total expenses for the period were
maintained at 30 to 45 per cent of
annual premium income, with agency
renumerations accounting for 20 to 35
per cent, insurance companies’ staff
renumeration three to four per cent,
and other expenses five to 12 per cent.
The restriction on how the life fund is
to be managed is one contributing
factor to the declining returns on
investments.
The rate of return on investments,
which is also dropping over the last 10
years, is the other contributing factor.
Despite what policyholders may think
of the cut in the bonus rates, and despite
the insurance industry’s concern with
declining investment returns and
interest rates, policyholders should be
rest assured that life insurance
companies are seeking to optimise their
investment returns.
According to figures compiled, the net
rate of interest earned, or the rate of
return on investments, was around 7.2
per cent (excluding capital gains) and
around 10 per cent (if capitals were
included) in 1990.
And this is done within the constraints
of safety and all available investment
instruments for life insurance funds.
By 1999, this figure dropped to 6.5 per
cent (excluding capital gains) and 8.9
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More importantly, the industry will
continue to manage its business
prudently so as to ensure that future
expectations of policyholders are met.
As a financial adviser once put it:
“At the end of the day, insurance
policies are just another investment tool.
Their attractiveness, like shares or
bonds, depend largely on their level of
returns.”
For our policyholder Ms Wendy Ng,
her life insurance policy is another form
of investment with a steady income.
32
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In good times, the income is higher; in
bad times there is less income.
But so long as the original sum assured
remains intact and can be redeemed
upon her policy maturing or on her
death, there is no reason why Ms Ng
cannot sleep soundly at night.
And so should all other policyholders.
• New Sunday Times, 4 November 2001.
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BAHAGIAN 1
BONUS : FAEDAH DARIPADA
PERLINDUNGAN TAMBAHAN
Cik Aminah, seorang pemegang polisi
telah membeli polisi penyertaan seumur
hidup sebanyak RM300,000 pada
tahun 1980.
Ketika pembelian, ajennya telah
memberitahu bahawa beliau akan
menerima bonus berbalik majmuk
tahunan sebanyak RM30 bagi setiap
RM1,000 yang diinsuranskan sehingga
polisi matang, atau sehingga penyerahan
polisi selepas kematian. Cik Aminah
amat gembira dengan perjanjian
tersebut dan terus menandatanganinya
dengan segera.
Pada awal tahun ini, Cik Aminah
terbaca di dalam akhbar bahawa syarikat
insurans beliau telah mengumumkan
pemotongan bonus kepada RM25 bagi
setiap RM1,000 yang diinsuranskan
bagi kesemua polisi penyertaan bermula
Januari 2001.
Beliau berasa kurang puas hati kerana
telah menerima bonus tahunan
sebanyak RM30 bagi setiap RM1,000
yang telah beliau insuranskan selama
20 tahun yang lalu. Sekarang, syarikat
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itu pula akan memotong RM5 atau
lebih kurang 17% daripada bonus
tersebut.
Syarikat insurans pula menjelaskan
disebabkan hala pulangan pelaburan
yang rendah dan juga bagi memperbaiki
ketidakadilan di antara generasi polisi
yang berbeza, pemotongan sebegitu
tidak dapat dielakkan.
Oleh kerana kurang arif di dalam
prinsipal ekonomi, Cik Aminah tidak
dapat menerima apa yang telah
dijelaskan oleh syarikat insuransnya.
Dia tidak faham mengapa bonus
tersebut mesti dipotong, sedangkan dia
mempercayai apa yang telah diberitahu
oleh ejennya yang beliau akan menerima
jumlah bonus ternyata di dalam polisi
yang telah ditandatanganinya.
Bagi tempoh enam sehingga 12 bulan
yang akan datang, beratus ribu orang
seperti Cik Aminah yang telah
mengambil polisi insurans hayat akan
mengalami pemotongan ke atas polisi
mereka.
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Dan juga terdapat ramai pemegangpemegang polisi seperti Cik Aminah
yang tidak faham mengapa bonus
mereka perlu dipotong. Dan sepertinya
juga, kebanyakan pemegang polisi akan
berasa marah dengan syarikat insurans
masing-masing, dan menyalahkan
mereka
kerana
mengkhianati
kepercayaan mereka.
Apakah sebenarnya bonus-bonus tersebut?
Mengapakan bonus-bonus dibayar?
Mengapakah syarikat-syraikat insurans
memutuskan untuk pemotongan bonusbonus pada masa sekarang setelah
bertahun-tahun membayar dengan kadar
bonus yang tinggi?
Bonus yang telah anda terima apabila
anda membeli polisi insurans adalah
jumlah wang tambahan yang dibayar
dengan faedah yang terakhir. Ianya
merupakan satu bentuk perlindungan
tambahan kepada jumlah yang telah
diinsuranskan.
Bagaimanapun, polisi insurans yang
telah anda beli, yang mungkinnya satu
endowmen (bermaksud sehingga
sesuatu tahap umur) ataupun seumur
hidup (bermaksud sehingga kematian),
mestilah bersifat “penyertaan”
(bermaksud anda berkongsi dengan
keuntungan syarikat). Dan polisi-polisi
tersebut biasanya mengenakan premium
yang lebih tinggi.
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Kadar bonus biasanya dinyatakan
sebagai jumlah di dalam ringgit bagi
setiap RM1,000 yang diinsuranskan.
Angka RM1,000 digunakan bagi
memudahkan
pengiraan
dan
berkomunikasi dengan pemegang pemegang polisi.
Bagi mendapatkan jumlah sebenar
bonus yang dibayar, anda mestilah
membahagikan jumlah yang telah anda
insuranskan kepada RM1,000 dan
kemudiannya menggandakan dengan
kadar bonus.
Di dalam kes Cik Aminah, dengan
RM30 bagi setiap RM1,000 yang
diinsuranskan, polisinya sebanyak
RM300,000 sepatutnya mendapat
bonus tahunan sebanyak RM9,000
(RM300,000 dibahagikan kepada
RM1,000 dan digandakan dengan
RM30).
Dan oleh kerana bonus Cik Aminah
adalah bonus berbalik majmuk,
jumlah RM9,000 akan “dikembalikan”
semula kepada polisi beliau di mana
ianya juga layak untuk menerima
faedah.
Perolehan
Syarikat insurans mengisytiharkan
bonus daripada perolehan keuntungan,
yang secara teknikal didefinisikan
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sebagai “perbezaan di antara dana
insurans hayat dan liabiliti polisi.”
Secara mudah, besarnya keuntungan
adalah bergantung ke atas pulangan
pelaburan dan juga liabiliti sesebuah
syarikat insurans dan juga faktor-faktor
lain.
Keuntungan ini tidak dikira ke atas
pemegang polisi secara individu, tetapi
untuk kesemua pemegang-pemegang
polisi dan ianya diperolehi dengan
menggunakan asas penilaian setiap
tahun.
Untuk mengira berapa banyak bonus
yang perlu dibayar pada masa akan
datang, syarikat akan membuat
beberapa andaian tertentu :
1.
Kadar kemortalan, apakah angka
pemegang polisi yang meninggal
dunia tahun ke tahun pada masa
hadapan.
2.
Kadar faedah, iaitu pulangan yang
diperolehi daripada pelaburan
dananya pada masa hadapan
3.
Kos perbelanjaan, atau jumlah
wang yang akan dibelanjakan ke
atas perkara-perkara seperti
perbelanjaan pengurusan dan
pentadbiran serta komisen ejen.
Terdapat dua jenis bonus, bonus
berbalik dan tunai (tunai juga dikenali
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sebagai dividen tunai).
Bonus berbalik adalah di mana jumlah
itu dibayar terus secara tunai tetapi
“dikembalikan” kepada polisi untuk
mempertingkatkan perlindungan dan
nilai matangnya.
Terdapat dua jenis bonus berbalik, iaitu
mudah dan majmuk.
Bonus berbalik mudah adalah bonus
setara di mana faedahnya tidak
digandakan dan ianya diisytiharkan
sebagai berkadar mengikut peratusan
jumlah yang diinsuranskan sahaja.
Bonus berbalik majmuk adalah di mana
bonus yang diperolehi pada masa yang
lalu akan juga memperolehi faedah
mengikut tahun semasa dan ianya
disytiharkan sebagai peratusan
keseluruhan jumlah yang diinsuranskan
dicampur dengan bonus yang sedia
ada.
Sebagai satu strategi pemasaran,
sesetengah
syarikat
mungkin
mengisytiharkan beberapa tahap bonus
berbalik, berubah mengikut kelas polisi
atau mengikut tarikh sesuatu polisi
dikuatkuasakan ataupun mengikut
umur orang yang diinsuranskan.
Syarikat-syarikat insurans lain pula
mungkin akan mengumumkan kadar
seragam bagi kesemua polisi-polisi
penyertaan.
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Jenis bonus yang kedua –– bonus tunai,
ianya adalah di dalam bentuk bayaran
tunai atau dividen tanpa faedah
berganda.
Bagi bonus bentuk ini, kebanyakan
syarikat insurans memberi pemegangpemegang polisinya dua pilihan, sama
ada mengambil wang tunai setiap tahun
atau membiarkan wang itu di dalam
syarikat dan mengumpulkannya untuk
menikmati faedahnya sekali.
Terdapat juga jenis bonus ketiga yang
dikenali sebagai bonus “terminal atau
final”, di mana pemegang polisi boleh
menikmati faedah-faedah pengiktirafan
kapital ekuiti syarikat dan pelaburan
hartanah.
Bonus sedemikian dibayar semasa polisi
endowmen matang atau semasa
kematian orang yang diinsuranskan
ataupun semasa penyerahan polisi
seumur hidup. Biasanya semakin lama
polisi berkuatkuasa, lebih besar jumlah
“terminal” bonus yang akan
diperuntukkan.
Di antara bonus berbalik dan bonus
tunai atau dividen, ada terdapat satu
perbezaan. Bonus berbalik boleh di
tunaikan oleh pemegang polisi semasa
penyerahan polisi, manakala bonus
4
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tunai atau dividen boleh juga ditunaikan
tanpa perlu menyerahkan polisi.
Seperti juga Cik Aminah, ramai
pemegang polisi yang mungkin
tertanya-tanya sama ada syarikat
insurans masing-masing boleh membuat
pemotongan bonus sesuka hati.
Ya; mana-mana syarikat insurans,
dengan menggunakan kaedah-kaedah
penilaian yang bersesuaian dan
dikendalikan oleh aktuari yang dilantik,
boleh menurunkan atau menaikkan
kadar pembayaran bonus atau dividen
tunai.
Dan syarikat insurans boleh
mengisytiharkan kadar baru tanpa perlu
mendapatkan kelulusan daripada Bank
Negara, iaitu badan pengawal yang
menyelia industri insurans tempatan.
Syarikat insurans juga boleh
mengumumkan sama ada di dalam
akhbar-akhbar tempatan atau di dalam
notis yang dihantar kepada pemegangpemegang polisi tentang pembayaran
bonus mereka.
• Utusan Malaysia, 16 Julai 2001.
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BAHAGIAN 2
BONUS : MEMAHAMI KADAR
PEMBAYARANNYA
Tatkala Cik Aminah menandatangani
polisi insurans bernilai RM300,000,
ejennya telah meyakinkan Cik Aminah
supaya memberi kepercayaan penuh
bahawa syarikat insurans tersebut akan
menunaikan kesemua perjanjian yang
terkandung di dalam kontrak polisi
insurans.
Oleh itu apabila syarikat tersebut
membuat pemotongan kadar bonus,
beliau berasa sangsi sama ada dia harus
mempercayai yang syarikat tersebut
akan terus menunaikan janji tentang
pembayaran bonus-bonus akan datang
seperti yang telah diusulkan.
Kepercayaan tiada nilai dan ukuran,
apabila anda mempercayai seseorang
anda yakin bahawa setiap cadangan
akan dilaksanakan seperti yang telah
dirancang.
Tidak dinafikan, keyakinan Cik Aminah
dan juga pemegang-pemegang polisi lain
telah terjejas teruk walaupun tidak
musnah dengan pemotongan kadar
bonus itu. Dan bagi kebanyakan mereka
pemotongan yang mendadak itu, adalah
seperti pil pahit yang harus ditelan.
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Seorang ejen pernah berkata, “Adalah
sesuatu
yang
sukar
untuk
menyampaikan berita pemotongan
kadar bonus kepada pelanggan.
Mereka tidak dapat tidur lena
memikirkan cara yang terbaik untuk
menyampaikan berita tersebut”.
Sebilangan
syarikat
insurans
menyifatkan isu tersebut sebagai satu
falsafah perniagaan. Bagi mereka,
insurans hayat adalah satu perniagaan
jangka panjang. Mereka mahu
mewujudkan elemen keyakinan bahawa
mereka akan menunaikan apa saja
seperti yang telah dirancang. Bagi
mereka juga, isu sebenarnya ialah
mereka akan terus membuat
pembayaran selagi mereka mampu
untuk berbuat demikian. Mereka mahu
orang ramai supaya terus meyakini
mereka. Walau apapun, bagi mereka
yang membeli polisi insurans hayat
mestilah sedar bahawa bonus-bonus itu
tidak dijamin sepenuhnya.
Bonus-bonus hanya akan dibayar jika
sekiranya terdapat keuntungan
daripada tabungan hayat yang
diperolehi hasil daripada pulangan
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pelaburan yang cekap dan setelah
diambil kira liabiliti dan faktor-faktor
lain.
penarafan baik ataupun tidak, tiada
kaitan dengan ketekalan syarikat
membayar bonus-bonus.
Jika ada sebarang keuntungan besar
pada sesuatu tahun yang tertentu,
syarikat insurans mungkin akan
memilih
untuk
menyimpan
sebahagiannya supaya dapat membuat
peruntukkan bagi pembayaran bonus
yang konsisten pada masa yang akan
datang.
Sebilangan syarikat insurans mendapat
penarafan (rating) “triple A” yang
berterusan walaupun mereka telah
membuat pemotongan kepada kadar
bonus mereka. Dan sesetengahnya pula
masih mendapat penarafan (rating)
“triple B” walaupun mereka tidak
membuat sebarang pemotongan kepada
kadar bonus mereka.
Situasi ini adalah serupa dengan
syarikat
awam tersenarai yang
membayar dividen. Tiada jaminan
bahawa syarikat akan membayar dividen
ataupun memberi dividen dengan kadar
setara setiap tahun. Ianya juga tidak
berbeza dengan mana-mana syarikat
awam tersenarai yang pada sesuatu
tahun itu menerima keuntungan
berlipat ganda, ianya tidak bermakna
bahawa syarikat itu akan membahagikan
keseluruhan keuntungannya. Mereka
mungkin mengagihkan sebahagiannya
sebagai bonus dan menyimpan
sebahagian yang lain untuk
memperkembangkan syarikat pada
masa yang akan datang.
Haruslah diingat bahawa keputusan
pemotongan kadar bonus tidak
bermakna sistem kewangan sesebuah
syarikat insurans itu lemah. Sebenarnya
kadar penarafan (rating) yang dinilai
oleh agensi kredit penarafan terhadap
syarikat insurans sama ada mendapat
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Memang benar pemegang polisi
mengambil polisi penyertaan dengan
harapan bahawa bonus yang akan
diumumkan adalah serupa dengan apa
yang telah diterima pada masa-masa
lepas.
Tidak adil
Tetapi adalah tidak adil untuk
pemegang polisi menuntut syarikat
insurans supaya mematuhi kesemua
perancangan yang telah dimeterai
selama 10 tahun atau 20 tahun yang
lalu sewaktu dokumen ditandatangani.
Dari segi ekonomi mudah, pulangan
sebenar, kos dan perbelanjaan bersih
boleh merosot mengikut suasana
pelaburan yang lemah.
Pada dasarnya, pertikaian adalah
tentang amalan supaya sentiasa
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memberikan sesuatu yang terbaik
kepada pemegang-pemegang polisi.
Produk-produk yang ditawarkan oleh
syarikat insurans mestilah pada tahap
harga yang berpatutan yang tidak
mengancam kesolvenan sesebuah
syarikat insurans pada masa akan
datang. Tiada sesiapa yang akan
beruntung sekiranya sesebuah syarikat
insurans diisytiharkan muflis.
Tanggungjawab sebenarnya adalah
terletak di tangan syarikat insurans
supaya tidak mengunjurkan huraian
faedah jangka panjang yang terlampau
optimis semasa mempromosikan produk
kepada pelanggan yang berpotensi.
Jika unjuran terlampau optimis
berbanding dengan arah aliran yang
lepas ataupun apabila dibandingkan
dengan pesaing-pesaing yang lain, ini
akan mengakibatkan syarikat insurans
terpaksa membuat kajian semula untuk
menurunkan kadar bonus yang
ditetapkan.
Terdapat berbagai-bagai faktor yang
boleh menyebabkan unjuran dan
andaian syarikat insurans tidak dapat
ditepati. Ini adalah kadar kematian,
kadar faedah yang dikenakan dan juga
perbelanjaan sesebuah syarikat. Syarikat
insurans sedaya upaya mengelakkan
kadar hasil negatif di antara pulangan
jangkaan terhadap polisi kepada
pemegang polisi dan pulangan sebenar
hasil daripada pelaburan mereka.
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Untuk berbuat demikian, syarikat
insurans terpaksa menjana tahap
pulangan pelaburan dana insurans
mereka secara konsisten sehingga
mereka mampu untuk membayar
pemegang-pemegang polisi mereka
kadar bonus mengikut apa yang telah
dijangkakan.
Pada sekitar tahun 1970an dan 1980an,
semasa kadar faedah dan pulangan
pelaburan adalah tinggi, syarikat
insurans tidak menghadapi sebarang
masalah menunaikan apa yang telah
dijanjikan kepada pemegang-pemegang
polisi.
Tetapi bermula pertengahan 1990an,
terutama selepas krisis kewangan Asian
yang merupakan satu peristiwa ekonomi
dan kewangan yang diluar jangkaan,
pasaran saham dan kadar faedah di
dalam negara Malaysia menjunam dan
masih belum pulih seperti ke tahap
sebelum krisis.
Pemotongan bonus oleh syarikatsyarikat insurans yang mungkin berlaku
di Malaysia adalah sejajar dengan
amalan semasa antarabangsa. Walaupun
ini merupakan kali pertama kadar
bonus dipotong di Malaysia, ianya
adalah satu perkara biasa di kalangan
negara-negara membangun sejak
bertahun-tahun yang lalu.
Di United Kingdom, contohnya, bonus
terus meningkat semenjak tahun 1950
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kerana kadar faedah dan pulangan
pelaburan yang tinggi. Tetapi apabila
pulangan pelaburan merosot sejak tahun
1990, industri insurans hayat di United
Kingdom secara keseluruhannya
terpaksa mengurangkan pembayaran
kadar bonus.
Situasi yang sama wujud di negara-negara
lain seperti Amerika Syarikat dan Jepun,
di mana kadar bonus yang dibayar ke
atas polisi insurans hayat telah dikaji dari
masa ke semasa bagi menggambarkan
pulangan sebenar pelaburan.
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Di Singapura, sebilangan syarikat
insurans telah membuat pemotongan
kadar bonus mereka, kerana situasi dan
keadaan di pulau tersebut hampir
serupa dengan keadaan Malaysia,
di mana pulangan pelaburannya
ditentukan oleh kadar faedah yang
rendah dan berlanjutan.
• Utusan Malaysia, 23 Julai 2001.
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BAHAGIAN 3
BONUS : KE ARAH KESEIMBANGAN
EKONOMI
Sewaktu Cik Aminah seorang pemegang
polisi, membeli polisi insuran hayatnya
dalam tahun 1980, ekonomi negara kita
Malaysia sedang berkembang dengan
pesatnya.
Pembangunan kelihatan di mana-mana.
Di dalam tahun 70an dan 80an, dan
juga sehingga pertengahan tahun
90an, ekonomi Malaysia begitu
memberangsangkan dan tumbuh pada
kadar purata di antara 7 ke 9 peratus
setahun.
Di mana-mana dan apa sahaja
semuanya begitu menggalakkan. Harga
komoditi utama melambung tinggi.
Ekspot mencapai ke tahap tertinggi dan
rizab luar negara semakin meningkat.
Ianya memang merupakan masa untuk
ekonomi berpesta.
Kemewahan dikecapi oleh hampir
kesemua orang. Tahap sara hidup
penduduk bertambah baik termasuk
bagi mereka yang tinggal di kawasan
luar bandar. Peluang pekerjaan terbuka
luas. Wang ringgit masuk berbilionbilion ringgit. Kadar faedah pula turut
meningkat. Sungguhpun begitu,
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pinjaman untuk perniagaan dan
pembelian rumah dikira masih rendah.
Sudah tentunya di antara tempoh
perkembangan dan pertumbuhan akan
adanya masa lembap dan kemelesetan.
Tetapi semuanya dianggap sebagai
sebahagian daripada kitaran ekonomi
jangka panjang yang sekali-sekala
diperlukan untuk menghapuskan
lebihan.
Kemudian krisis Asia 1997 menjelma,
di mana ianya hampir memusnahkan
kekayaan negara. Kemewahan yang
dikecapi orang ramai selama ini hampir
hilang dalam sekelip mata. Kadar
pengangguran meningkat, pendapatan
merosot dan perbelanjaan persendirian
(private consumption) susut. Premispremis perniagaan kosong dan nilai
Ringgit jatuh merundum tidak terkawal
sehinggalah rangkaian kaedah kawalan
modal berjaya memulihkannya semula.
Kadar faedah jatuh, dan kini ianya
mencapai tahap rekod terendah. Bankbank dibanjiri dengan wang tunai
kerana orang ramai tidak mahu
berbelanja dan tiada peminjam. Pelabur
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asing semakin berkurangan kerana
kaedah kawalan modal telah melindungi
keadaan ekonomi yang terjejas.
Banyak syarikat jatuh ke dalam jurang
hutang lapuk dan sebahagiannya pula
terpaksa tutup kedai. Sehingga kini,
keadaan ekonomi masih tidak menentu.
Di dalam masa 25 hingga 30 tahun
yang lalu, ekonomi telah membentuk
pusingan ‘roller-coaster’ bagi ramai
orang. Sesiapa yang telah melaluinya
akan faham betapa seksanya bagi mereka
yang cuba membuat ramalan apakah
yang akan berlaku seterusnya, tidak kira
walau sesingkat mana jangkamasa
ramalan itu.
Bertahun-tahun lamanya, kemewahan
itu telah menghasilkan pulangan
pelaburan yang begitu menguntungkan
kepada syarikat-syarikat insurans.
Malahan rejim kadar faedah yang tinggi
itu pula lebih merupakan restu kepada
mereka.
Jadi apabila Cik Aminah mengambil
polisi insurans hayatnya, syarikat insurans
beliau mampu menunaikan dan
memberi kadar bonus yang tinggi secara
konsisten seperti yang telah diusulkan.
Pelaburan
Lebih-lebih lagi dengan pulangan
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pelaburan yang besar dan kadar faedah
simpanan yang tinggi, syarikat insurans
tidak keberatan berkongsi keuntungan
dengan pemegang-pemegang polisi
mereka.
Malah banyak lagi syarikat-syarikat
insurans lain yang menawarkan kadar
bonus yang lebih baik sebagai satu
persaingan untuk mendapatkan
bahagian yang lebih besar di dalam
perniagaan insurans hayat yang berada
di puncak sewaktu ekonomi
melambung tinggi.
Tetapi dalam jangka waktu lima tahun
yang lalu kita dapat melihat kitaran
ekonomi yang begitu kabur dan tidak
menentu menyebabkan syarikat
insurans menjadi lebih berhati-hati.
Adalah tidak bijak sama sekali untuk
syarikat insurans hayat tetap
meneruskan pemberian bonus dengan
kadar yang tinggi, sedangkan pada masa
yang sama menerima pulangan yang
sangat kecil dan di bawah tahap minima
dengan kadar faedah simpanan yang
sangat rendah.
Memotong kadar bonus bukanlah satu
perkara yang mudah untuk dilakukan
bagi syarikat-syarikat insurans.
Bukannya mereka tidak mahu
bersemuka dengan pemegang-pemegang
polisi, tetapi memandangkan bahawa
banyak polisi-polisi yang akan matang
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dalam jangkamasa beberapa tahun ini
dan dengan memotong bonus polisipolisi tersebut sekarang, akan kelihatan
seperti suatu perbuatan yang tidak adil
pada pandangan orang.
Tetapi syarikat-syarikat insurans tiada
pilihan lain, kerana perkara itu
dilakukan adalah semata-mata supaya
mereka dapat bertahan. Seperti apa yang
telah diperkatakan, ia tidak akan
membawa sebarang kebaikan jika
syarikat insurans meneruskan
pembayaran kadar bonus yang tinggi.
Semua orang akan mengalami kerugian.
Ini pernah berlaku di negara Jepun di
mana kadar faedah menjunam sehingga
ke tahap sifar selama beberapa tahun.
Malah dengan perubahan suasana
ekonomi yang begitu pantas, daripada
kemewahan kepada kelembapan, telah
mengakibatkan apa yang dikatakan oleh
industri
insurans
sebagai
“ketidakstabilan ekuiti” di antara dua
generasi pemegang polisi yang berbeza.
Di waktu 70an dan 80an apabila kadar
faedah simpanan adalah tinggi dan
pulangan pelaburan lebih baik, polisi
insurans hayat telah ditawarkan dengan
kadar bonus yang sungguh menarik.
Tetapi bagi polisi-polisi terkemudian
iaitu pada pertengahan dan lewat 90an
syarikat-syarikat insurans telah mula
menawarkan polisi dengan kadar hasil
dan faedah yang lebih rendah.
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Semakan kadar bonus itu adalah
merupakan sebagai salah satu cubaan
bagi pihak syarikat insurans untuk
mengembalikan keseimbangan “ekuiti”
di antara perbezaan dua generasi polisipolisi ini.
Mengikut konsep yang lebih dikenali
sebagai “inter-generational support”,
kesemua premium polisi insurans hayat
penyertaan akan dimasukkan ke dalam
dana hayat syarikat insurans. Di dalam
perspektif yang lebih luas, apabila
seseorang membeli polisi insurans, dia
sebenarnya telah melabur di dalam dana
terurus, di mana risiko dan ganjaran
dikongsi bersama. Apa yang berbeza
cuma tidak wujudnya ketidakstabilan
kerana polisi-polisi dua generasi yang
berbeza ini sebenarnya menyokong di
antara satu sama lain, di mana kesemua
pemegang polisi akan menerima
ganjaran yang sama.
Penyelarasan terhadap bonus-bonus
yang dibayar adalah sebenarnya untuk
mengemaskinikan dana hayat supaya
selaras dengan perubahan suasana
ekonomi.
Menurun
Oleh itu, apabila kadar faedah simpanan
dan kadar pulangan pelaburan menurun,
syarikat insurans mesti menyelaras kadar
bonus ke tahap yang lebih rendah.
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Dengan itu juga harapan dan jangkaan
pemegang-pemegang polisi haruslah
berubah dengan sewajarnya.
Di dalam konteks ini, bonus tahunan
sama ada di dalam bentuk tunai
ataupun bonus berbalik, boleh
dikatakan sebagai pulangan yang stabil
di dalam bentuk dividen dan faedah.
Bonus terminal akan mencerminkan
keuntungan modal dana hayat yang
sebenar.
Secara lojik, jika berlaku ketidakstabilan
di dalam pulangan pelaburan dan kadar
faedah simpanan, terminal bonuslah
yang perlu diselaraskan. Tetapi dengan
keadaan sekarang, dan jangkaan masa
depan, jika kadar pulangan dijangka
akan lebih menurun, sama ada bonus
berbalik, tunai atau bonus terminal
perlu diselaraskan kesemuanya,
bergantung kepada sesuatu produk
insurans hayat itu.
Di samping itu terdapat pertentangan
pertelingkahan bahawa pemotongan
bonus dilakukan demi untuk
mengekalkan ‘ekuiti’ di antara dua
generasi yang berbeza adalah merupakan
satu alasan yang tidak kukuh. Syarikat
insurans sebenarnya telah dapat
menjangkakan dengan lebih awal
tentang kemungkinan bonus-bonus
tersebut tidak dapat ditunaikan.
Sebaliknya mereka berkata bahawa
syarikat insurans mengekalkan kadar
bonus semata-mata untuk bersaing dan
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juga disebabkan oleh faktor-faktor
perniagaan yang lain.
Pertelingkahan itu juga berkata bahawa
kadar faedah simpanan yang rendah
telah dihadapi semenjak tahun 90an lagi
dan tidak dapat dinafikan yang syarikat
insurans sememangnya sedar akan
perkara ini.
Syarikat-syarikat insurans hayat bersama
aktuari-aktuari mereka sepatutnya
mengawasi dan mengawal sebarang
kemungkinan dan berusaha untuk
menunaikan komitmen bonus setiap
tahun.
Mereka
dikehendaki
menjalankan ujian-ujian untuk
memastikan bonus-bonus yang akan
diumumkan dapat dikekalkan untuk
beberapa tahun yang akan datang.
Di Malaysia, rejim kadar faedah yang
rendah telah bermula di dalam
pertengahan 1999 dan ianya masih
belum dapat dipulihkan.
Mengikut laporan tahunan Bank
Negara, purata kadar diskaun untuk Bill
Khazanah jatuh daripada 5.5 peratus
pada permulaan 1999 kepada 2.7
peratus selepas Jun 1999 (untuk tempoh
tiga bulan), daripada 5.6 peratus kepada
2-3 peratus (untuk tempoh 6 bulan),
dan daripada 5.6 peratus ke 3.3 peratus
(untuk tempoh 12 bulan).
Dalam jangkamasa 20 tahun yang
lampau, iaitu sebelum tahun 1999,
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kadar faedah untuk Bill Khazanah tetap
berada di lingkungan tahap 5 ke 7
peratus.
Begitu juga, petunjuk kadar hasil
pasaran untuk sekuriti Kerajaan
Malaysia telah jatuh daripada sekitar 7
ke 8 peratus, ke sekitar 3 ke 4 peratus
bagi tempoh 10 tahun yang lalu.
Sebagai perbandingan, dividen yang
telah dibayar oleh Kumpulan Wang
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Simpanan Pekerja kepada pencarumnya
bagi tempoh 20 tahun yang lalu juga
telah jatuh daripada 8.5 peratus ke
kadar yang sekarang iaitu cuma setakat
6 peratus sahaja.
• Utusan Malaysia, 30 Julai 2001.
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BAHAGIAN 4
BONUS : MELABUR IKUT
UNDANG-UNDANG
Apa yang diinginkan oleh pemegang
polisi Cik Aminah apabila dia
menandatangani polisi insurans
hayatnya ialah supaya syarikat insurans
menunaikan usulan-usulan mereka.
Semasa ekonomi di dalam keadaan yang
stabil iaitu di sekitar tahun 1970an dan
1980an syarikat insurans tiada masalah
untuk menunaikan kesemua usulan.
Tetapi dengan keadaan ekonomi dan
kedudukan kewangan yang sentiasa
berubah sekarang, menunaikan usulan
dan ramalan adalah merupakan satu
cabaran kepada semua syarikat insurans
hayat.
Dalam suasana pelaburan yang begitu
lemah di Malaysia (pasaran saham telah
jatuh merosot dan kadar faedah
mencecah ke paras terendah), syarikat
insurans mendapati begitu sukar untuk
mengelakkan apa yang dikatakan oleh
penganalisa kewangan sebagai “kadar
hasil negatif ” (negative yield spread).
Secara mudah, ia bermakna pulangan
pelaburan yang diperolehi oleh syarikat
insurans daripada pelaburan dana
insurans hayat (premium terkumpul
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pemegang-pemegang polisi) adalah lebih
rendah daripada kadar bonus yang telah
diusulkan kepada pemegang-pemegang
polisi.
Syarikat insurans sentiasa berusaha
untuk mengelakkan keadaan yang
sedemikian. Tetapi dengan arah aliran
kadar faedah dan pulangan pelaburan
yang terus merosot, membuat
perseimbangan
adalah
begitu
mencabarkan bagi syarikat insurans.
Di Malaysia, pelaburan dana insurans
hayat oleh syarikat insurans dikawalselia
oleh Bank Negara Malaysia dan di
bawah Akta Insurans 1996. Akta
tersebut telah menyediakan jadualjadual pelaburan yang perlu dipatuhi
oleh syarikat-syarikat insurans. Bagi
aset berisiko rendah, dana insurans
hayat boleh dilaburkan dengan agregat
minimum 20 peratus dan tiada limit
maksimum, sementara bagi wang tunai
dan deposit tidak dihadkan.
Dihadkan
Bagi saham-saham pula, dihadkan
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kepada limit maksimum dengan agregat
30 peratus dan bagi setiap pelaburan
persendirian limit maksimumnya adalah
5 peratus daripada ekuiti syarikat yang
melabur.
Bagi harta tidak alih, limit maksimum
adalah 20 peratus secara agregat dan
bagi ekuiti dan harta amanah dengan
agregat 10 peratus, tetapi untuk
pelaburan persendirian adalah sebanyak
5 peratus daripada keseluruhan terbitan
dana amanah.
Bagi pinjaman polisi, ianya dihadkan
kepada limit maksimum sebanyak 20
peratus dan untuk kemudahan kredit
bercagar dan kredit tanpa cagaran,
hadnya adalah secara agregat 40 peratus
dan 5 peratus untuk mana-mana
peminjam
atau
peminjam
berkumpulan. Untuk bon kupon sifar
tiada sebarang limit yang dikenakan.
Pertikaian tentang peraturan dan
undang-undang pelaburan yang
terlampau ketat adalah bersamaan
dengan pertikaian bahawa peraturan
dan undang-undang yang ketat haruslah
diterapkan bagi memastikan sistem
pelaburan yang teratur kerana wang
yang dilaburkan itu adalah milik
pemegang-pemegang polisi.
Sekatan-sekatan yang dikenakan ke atas
cara dana hayat harus dilaburkan adalah
sesuai sewaktu ekonomi melambung
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tinggi di mana pasaran saham dan
pasaran wang menerima pulangan yang
tinggi. Tetapi semasa ekonomi merosot
di mana pulangan yang diperolehi
adalah kurang daripada kos pelaburan,
sekatan-sekatan tersebut hanya akan
menghalang
potensi
untuk
mendapatkan lebih pulangan.
Selain daripada kadar pulangan ke atas
pelaburan yang telah jatuh selama 10
tahun yang lalu, sekatan-sekatan yang
dikenakan ke atas pelaburan adalah
merupakan antara faktor yang
menyebabkan pulangan pelaburan
merosot.
Mengikut statistik yang telah
dikumpulkan, pada tahun 1990, kadar
faedah bersih yang diperolehi, atau
kadar pulangan pelaburan adalah di
sekitar 7.2 peratus (tidak termasuk
untung modal) dan di sekitar 10 peratus
(jika termasuk modal). Sehingga 1999,
angka ini telah jatuh ke paras 6.5
peratus ( tidak termasuk untung modal)
dan 8.9 peratus (termasuk untung
modal). Dan kadar pulangan ini
dijangka akan terus merosot di masamasa yang akan datang.
Pada masa yang sama, kos perbelanjaan
yang diambil kira apabila menghitung
kadar bonus pemegang polisi masih
berada di tahap yang tinggi di sepanjang
10 tahun tersebut.
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Ganjaran
harapan masa depan pemegangpemegang polisi dapat dipenuhi.
Jumlah perbelanjaan dalam jangkamasa
tersebut adalah merangkumi 30 ke 45
peratus daripada pendapatan premium
tahunan, di mana 20 ke 35 peratus
untuk ganjaran ejen, 3 ke 4 peratus
untuk ganjaran kakitangan syarikat
insurans dan 5 ke 12 peratus untuk
lain-lain perbelanjaan.
Walaupun dengan apa yang difikirkan
oleh pemegang polisi akan pemotongan
kadar bonus dan juga kebimbangan
seluruh industri insurans hayat tentang
kemerosotan pulangan pelaburan dan
kadar faedah, pemegang-pemegang
polisi boleh tetap yakin bahawa
syarikat insurans hayat akan terus
berusaha mengoptimumkan pulangan
pelaburannya.
Dan ini semuanya dilakukan mengikut
sekatan-sekatan keselamatan dan
instrumen-instrumen pelaburan dana
insurans hayat yang sedia ada. Dan yang
lebih pentingnya ialah industri insurans
akan terus mengendalikan perniagaan
mereka dengan lebih berhati-hati untuk
memastikan bahawa jangkaan dan
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Seperti yang pernah dikatakan oleh
penasihat kewangan, “Di suatu ketika
nanti, polisi-polisi insurans akan
menjadi sebahagian instrumen
pelaburan. Dengan kesemua daya
tarikan yang ada, seperti juga saham
dan bon, ianya banyak bergantung
kepada tahap pulangannya.”
Bagi Cik Aminah sipemegang polisi,
polisi insurans hayatnya adalah
merupakan satu bentuk pelaburan
dengan pendapatan yang tetap.
Pada masa ekonomi kukuh, pendapatan
yang diterima tentulah tinggi, dan
sewaktu ekonomi lembap, sudah
tentunya pendapatan menurun. Tetapi
selagi jumlah asal yang diinsuranskan
tidak terjejas dan boleh ditebus apabila
polisi matang ataupun semasa kematian,
tidak ada sebab untuk Cik Aminah dan
pemegang-pemegang polisi yang lain
tidak dapat tidur lena.
• Utusan Malaysia, 6 Ogos 2001.
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Ahli-Ahli Persatuan Insurans Hayat Malaysia
Member Companies of the Life
Insurance Association of Malaysia
1.
Aetna Universal I nsurance Berhad
2.
AMAL Assurance B hd
3.
American I nternational A ssurance Company Limited
4.
Arab-Malaysian A ssurance Berhad
5.
Asia Life (M) Berhad
6.
EON CMG Life Assurance Berhad
7.
Great Easter n Life A ssurance (M alaysia) Berhad
8.
Hannover Life R e, Malaysian B ranch
9.
Hong Leong A ssurance Berhad
10.
John Hancock Life I nsurance (M alaysia) Berhad
11.
Malaysia N ational I nsurance Berhad
12.
Malaysian A ssurance Alliance Berhad
13.
Malaysian Life R einsurance G roup Berhad
14.
Mayban Life A ssurance Berhad
15.
MBA Life A ssurance Berhad
16.
MCIS Insurance Berhad
17.
Prudential A ssurance M alaysia Berhad
18.
Talasco I nsurance Berhad
February 2002
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