Cash back insurance policy

I wish to explain why a cash back insurance policy gives a poor yield to the consumer.

A cash back policy combined a basic policy with an annual refund feature. Let us take a hypothetical case. The basic policy is a whole life policy with an annual premium of $5,000 and a yield at the end of 25 years of 2% per annum. The cash back feature adds an additional premium of $1,000 and pays $950 a year from the 2nd year (i.e. no payment for the first year). The cash back feature reduces the yield to 1.8% per annum.

The agent tells the customer that he is getting a cash back every year (after the first year) and makes it look like a more attractive policy. But the agent does not explain that the yield has reduced or the effect of deduction has increased with the cash back feature.

The agent earns commission on the increased premium of $6,000 (including the premium paid for the cash back feature). If the distribution cost is 200%, the customer will be paying $12,000 in distribution cost, including the cost attributable to the cash back feature.

It does not make sense for the customer to pay a higher premium for the cash back feature and get back less than the increased premium. But the consumer does not know about this structure of the policy. The agent tells the consumer that this is an "innovative policy".

Tan Kin Lian