NTUC Income, Singapore’s leading insurer, is taking further steps in its commitment to honest insurance and putting the interests of its customers first.
In its latest move, NTUC Income has overhauled its contracts into plain English to make it easier for customers to understand its insurance policies and enable them to make informed decisions.
This confronts the long-standing problem of customers not understanding insurance plans and sometimes buying a plan that is not right for them. This initiative stems from the insurer’s `Honest Insurance’ philosophy and its continual endeavour to identify and solve pains and unfairness felt by customers.
NTUC Income is the first insurance company in Asia to undertake a major Crystal Mark initiative. Crystal Mark is a globally-recognised standard for plain English, used by many leading institutions in the UK, the US and Australia. It is a seal of approval guaranteeing a document is written in plain English and offers simple, clear and concise information. It is given by a Britishbased body, the Plain English Campaign, set up in 1979 to advocate the use of plain English in business.
The Plain English Campaign says that NTUC Income has the highest number of Crystal Marks of any business in Asia. NTUC Income has over 50 Crystal Marks and over 95 per cent of NTUC Income’s customers will now have their contracts issued with Crystal Marks.
At the same time, NTUC Income is reinforcing its commitment to being upfront and transparent through a brand campaign that depicts how the use of jargon, overcomplicated phrases and terms and conditions can put a customer at a disadvantage.
NTUC Income is committed to solving thesepains and making insurance simple, honest and different. The campaign uses the “ "(asterisk) to symbolise insurer’s practices that cause customer pains.
This commitment is consistent with the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s Guidelines for Fair Dealing which seek to ensure that “customers receive clear, relevant and timely information to make informed financial decisions”.
NTUC Income Chief Executive Tan Suee Chieh said: “We are making our contracts as clear and as fair as possible to demystify insurance and to give customers a fair deal. We will not hide behind legal technicalities and use them as excuses not to pay claims. Instead, we will always honour the intentions of our contract."
Mr Tan added: “NTUC Income will continue to take new and bold steps to set new insurance standards, eliminate customer pains and set a new agenda to make insurance simple, honest, different.
