Waive legal fees of $45,000

COMMENT POSTED IN MY BLOG:

It is indeed commendable and magnanimous of NTUC Income CEO to waive the $45K against a Mr. Lock. (I am confident that Mr. Tan Kin Lian would have done that too. He did it many times during his tenor).

It is an act of compassion. It is far more power than all the marketing efforts and money spent in the recent months to repackage Income's image. It has demonstrated that it cares for the people, the policyholders. Indeed it is well capitalised and kudos to the CEO.

I am sure the consuming public will be touched by this. It will be deeply etched in the their mind. This is a new positioning and revolutionary. I am one who has been critical of Income is also touched.

MY COMMENTS:

I am not familiar with the facts of this case, so my comments may be out of context.

I read from the newspaper report that it was Mr Lock who took the case against NTUC Income. He was represented by his lawyer.

I do not know why it was necessary for his lawyer to take this case to this extent and incur high legal fees for both parties. It was reported that Mr Lock still has to settle a legal bill of $80,000 from his lawyer.

The legal fees is clearly out of proportion to the amount of a few hundred dollars that was being claimed.

Many people were not aware about the high cost of legal fees. They engage a lawyer without thinking about the cost, in the belief that it will always be borne by the insurance company.

I hope that the waiver of the legal fees does not encourage people to continue with the old habit.

Lesson: Do not engage a lawyer for a small claim. If the matter gets complicated, the legal fees can cost a lot of money. Try to settle any dispute directly with the insurance company.