An Article I Wrote For Business Plus Magazine

Withdrawing EPF Money For Critical Illness

The Employees Provident Fund (EPF) recently expanded the list of critical illness members can withdraw for from 39 to 55. This is great as some folks are either uninsurable or have not taken the time to get proper insurance coverage. Withdrawals can be made from whatever amount is in Account 2. 

The withdrawal is not only for the EPF member but also extends to these few categories: 

1. Spouse
2. Children/Step-children/Adopted children
3. Parents/Parents-in-law/Step-parents/Foster parents
4. Siblings

Allowed medical expenses: 

• All charges by the medical centre related to the treatment received by the patient, inclusive of the cost of buying the medical aid equipment allowed in the treatment for the approved illness.

Medical aid equipment:

• Medical aid equipment refers to the medical support equipment used for the purpose of treatment for the approved critical illness.

Email me at totalcoveragesolutions@gmail.com  to request for the full list of critical illness and withdrawal procedure.

This might interest you: Put Your EPF Money To Better Use

Thinking of Rowing Your Own Boat?

Two days ago I attended a talk at MATRADE called The New Faces of Entrepreneurship given by Prof. Rajesh Chandy of the London Business School. To say I found it interesting would be putting it mildly. After Rajesh’s talk there was a panel discussion with six really good panelists. Whilst they were all excellent, Malek Ali’s (founder of BFM 89.9) discussion points struck a chord with me.  

As an entrepreneur myself, it was a really good experience to catch a first hand glimpse into the mind of the big boys. I can’t remember who said what but I’ll highlight some of the things I heard that day.

Many of us at some point or the other toy with the idea of becoming entrepreneurs. We’ve been told, “Hey buddy, your cooking is excellent. You really should start a stall or restaurant”. Or “Dude get into business - that’s where the money is!” Things are not as simple as this.

Malek was recounting how he struggled during the first few years of setting up Jobstreet.com and then BFM89.9. While today both those ventures are mighty successful, in the early days it was difficult getting individual investors in, let alone bank funding. 

The head of CIMB Private Equity & Venture Capital, one of the panelists, commented that every month her department receives thousands of business proposals and out of these only approximately 2 in 1000 finally qualify to obtain funding. So don’t give up if your business idea gets rejected. Keep at it.

One of the things that fresh entrepreneurs overlook is creating a solid business plan. A vague idea just won’t cut it. Solid research and number crunching, especially when it comes to profits, needs to be done. When I started my first business, a computer repair and service company, I was definitely one of those guilty of not having a business plan.

Besides a business plan, an entrepreneur should know the limitations of his/her capabilities. Being optimistic is great but it is easy to become misguided and think you’re helluva great. 

Another thing that if considered early on would pay rich dividends once the business has taken off is scalability. It is pivotal that whatever product or service you have can reach its target audience via the internet. Even in politics we can see the power of new age media over traditional media like newspapers, radio and television. The internet simply reaches more people.

Many entrepreneurs hit a brick wall because they focus on products and services that are based on a business-to-individuals model. A business-to-business model is generally speaking much more profitable. Even if profit margins on an individual product might be lower, economies of scale does mean that actual profit increases.  

Your vision as an entrepreneur is an important factor in your success. You’ve got to think globally because if you truly want to make good money Malaysia is too small a market. An entrepreneur in China, India or Brazil has an immediate upper hand because of the sheer size of the market. Of course this piece of advise is not intended if you’re contented with doing a small business which settles the bills, sends the kids to school and pays for the occasional holiday.

Successful entrepreneurs are those that have got these 3 things right.

1. The right Mindset. Get over your mental barriers and the battle is half won.   

2. Risk tolerance (the ability to balance risk). Most tend towards conservatism or extreme risk taking. An example of this is spending a balance of effort to ensure healthy cash flow and at the same time budgeting money for R&D.  

3. Ability to delegate & celebrate. Research done by the London Business School found that there was a strong culture where the reward for success was substantially more than the penalty of failure in highly successful organizations. Success is celebrated. Robert Kiyosaki once said, “I hire people that are more intelligent than me.” This goes to show that smart entrepreneurs don’t do everything themselves but choose to delegate or get the best person for the job.

In a nutshell, if you’re thinking of starting out on your own, have a business plan, know the extent of your capabilities, have a good management team, ensure scalability and think globally. 

The Insurance Cafe Has Gone Mobile

I've decided to take The Insurance Cafe mobile! Still learning how, so if it doesn't look very pretty on your device or you've got problems accesing the mobile site please let me know. Am using mobify as the mobile site designer.

If you access The Insurance Cafe on your mobile browser it should automatically redirect you to the mobile site. If not you can find it here theinsurancecafe.mobify.me  

Dato Din (Dinesh) hope you can now read my blog at work on your HTC Desire : )

What is your Economic Value?

How much should I insure myself for? A simple guideline is to calculate your economic value. Your economic value is the amount of income you will bring in during your whole life. 

Illustration

Alvin is 25 years old and earn RM36 000 per annum. Lets assume he works till 55. Ignore inflation and increase of salary for now. 

RM36 000 x 30 years = RM1 080 000. 

It can thus be concluded that Alvin will earn at least RM1.08 million till retirement. This is his rough economic value. Insurance is meant as an instrument that protects this economic value. If for example Alvin is diagnosed with cancer at 48, his earning capacity might be in jeopardy. Insurance will then step in to compensate him for this loss.  

He will not be able to work and bring in the 1.08 million he is capable off. In actual fact insuring oneself for RM1.08 million will be too expensive for the majority of us. However, it remains a good method of measuring how much you are worth economically and how much you stand to lose if an unfortunate event happens to you.

  

Simplifying Insurance

Financial instruments are often times so complicated that even the "experts" don't seem to know whats what. Insurance is one such instrument which is shrouded in a mist of confusion and misinformation. 

The simple aim I had when starting The Insurance Cafe was to make insurance accessible to the everyday man. Being in the industry myself has given me a good insight into the inner workings of insurance. I intend to share this knowledge in the hope that you gain a better understanding and apply the principles learned when you decide to insure your life. If you have any queries, feel free to email them to me and I shall do my best to answer.

I believe that insurance is an irreplaceable tool especially in today's world where financial cost and obligations are happily rocketing to the moon whilst incomes are breathlessly trying to keep up. 

Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication ~ Leonardo DaVinci