Basically, the MAS executive director of its insurance supervisory department told insurers to change their business strategy by giving more weight to managing insurance risks rather than focus on investment management.

His worry was that Singaporeans are not sufficiently insured because they have been pushed into buying savings-type products rather than protection policies. The reason is that consumers mistakenly believe they have adequate protection when they buy investment-linked products.

What does not help the situation is the fact that it is not in the interest of insurance salesmen to advise their clients to buy 'pure' or term life insurance policies, as such products do not give them the same kind of commissions they would get selling investment-linked ones.

In urging the insurers to rethink their strategies, Mr Low said he was given to understand that 'selling protection products is no less profitable to insurance companies than investment products'.

I wonder where he got his information because, if that was true, I think the problem of

under-insured Singaporeans would have been solved long ago.

If my memory serves me right, the insurance regulator told insurers the same old story at its annual lunch - give sound advice and be more transparent. Sadly, little has changed. Maybe it is time to be more pointed with them. One way is to insist they sell their life protection and investment products separately.

Sia Cheong Yew