Making reparations

Hi Mr. Tan,

After studying for some financial planning examination modules as well as reading up widely about financial planning, insurance and investments, I have come to realise that I have sold many products of poor value to my clients during the last almost two years I spent at an agency of a large insurance company.

Being naive and new to the industry back then, I readily accepted products such as anticipated endowment plans and regular-premium ILP life insurance as good and beneficial for my clients and myself. Like many of my colleagues, I trusted my manager and company to teach us the right thing.

It is only now that I realised that many of these products were taught to us based on half-truths, and in turn we recommended such products to our clients based on such half-truths. When I raised such issues to my colleagues and manager, they persisted in rhetoric that we were truly benefitting our clients with such products, and even that the half-truths were necessary for them to take up the beneficial plans. Later, possibly knowing that I know better, I was persuaded to leave which I was more than happy to do so as I could not continue to do things against my conscience. My colleagues are still spell-bound by their managers and perhaps the money and incentives they got from the sales of such products. I know them to be good-natured and well-meaning people, but alas I feel hurt to realise that many of them think that I'm just trying to create trouble when I tell them about the serious downsides of the products we were selling.

I feel very bad and guilty that many of my clients will be shortchanged as a result of such plans which neither insure them adequately nor prepare them for retirement. Insurance agents face a lot of rejection, and I feel that I have betrayed the trust of these people who were kind enough to give me a chance to handle their finances.

I am moving on to an ethical independent financial advisory firm where I feel I will be most able to give ethical and competent advice (low cost funds and term policies), but I still feel bad for the financial damage I have potentially caused to my clients. I feel that I should tell them the truth I have realised about the products they have taken up, but I worry about the potential repercussions I might face. While I feel that it is good for them to know as their policies are still young and still manageable, I think that many will misunderstand and think I am just trying to sell other products to them even though I can receive a good income by just remaining mum and collecting the trailing commissions.

I even feel inclined to refund them the full cost of the premiums they have paid, but I realised that while the remuneration for such products were good, I cannot possibly do this as a bulk of the premiums also go to other entities aside from the adviser, and I have to consider my own survival.

I sincerely wish to make up for the wrongs I have done. I hope you and your blog readers can give some suggestions and advice on how I can make reparations to my clients.

Many thanks.