2002
Bought a Ford Focus after getting new job after retrenchment from JPM
One weekend about a year later driving to town, after rain
Going down ECP exit to Rochor Road, and let car drift & went too fast. Skidded and rammed into steel divider (a few years later that bend was straigthened). front of car was totally wrecked. luckily no injuries, air bag deployed
Submitted insurance claim to NTUC Income.
2 officers called me over the phone to make their offer which was $1,000 above the 'residual value' of the car. Residual value is the amount of money the government would return to owner when the car is scrapped.
I then told them to make their offer on paper. They faxed me their offer letter but with compensation raised by $2,000 or 3,000! Told them I would not accept as the compensation was not enough to buy an equivalent car in the martket and asked them to give me another car of same age instead.
While sorting insurance claim, I went to Ubi used car mart to shop for a second hand car. (finally bought 2nd hand Peugeot 206 from a young guy & paid him $1,000 above his asking price because he claimed he had an offer - a likely lie - but that car was a lemon. Had to overhaul engine a few months later for $3,000+)
Related insurance story to a 2nd hand car salesman and he said that that was a common trick by NTUC Insurance. A client of his had similar case. NTUC people called the wife to make their verbal offer which the woman accepted (she did not understand the residual value concept and thought it was a good deal).
When the husband found out that she had agreed, he got angry and called NTUC Income to reject the offer. NTUC Income then changed their settlement amount.
Took me a year to sort out the case.
After the initial verbal offer and the later better paper offer, I asked to speak to their 'head' and that guy told me that their offer was the best. Then sent email to reject the offer and cc to NTUC Income head.
The next thing I got was a mail from their legal department telling me basically to be careful with what I say! (NTUC Income head left a few years later)
A year later, got about $8,000 above residual value.
