wmafendi.com

KUALA LUMPUR: Prudential Assurance Malaysia Bhd is not affected by the slowdown in the global insurance market due to its strong business fundamentals.

Chief executive officer Bill Lisle said the firm had implemented good corporate governance such as undertaking risk management and was confident of weathering the global crisis.

“We are in very good shape. We registered a high double-digit growth in new business premium for the third quarter ended Sept 30,” he told reporters after a briefing on the Prudential Retire-Meter 2008 survey results yesterday.

He said the company had not changed its strategic perspective and would continue to focus on its existing strategies.

Asked on the impact of the global crisis, he said the insurance industry globally had been affected in terms of confidence despite having strong fundamentals.

However, he said Prudential plc had minimal exposure in the US subprime market.

On speculation by the British media that Prudential plc would have a rights issue to raise more funds, Lisle said: “Prudential has surplus capital amounting to £1.2bil, so we are robust from the cash perspective. We have the ability to bring in more cash and we do not need any rights issue.”

He said it was possible for the global insurance industry to consolidate as it was affected by the financial crisis.

On the Prudential Retire-Meter 2008 survey, Lisle said 36% of those nearing retirement (those aged between 45 and 55) were less confident compared to a year ago due to the higher cost of living, while 81% felt that inflation had a substantial effect on their lifestyle.

“About 48% of those polled expressed concerns that they would not have enough money to take care of their retirement needs. Our survey found that although Malaysians have a high propensity to save, their current savings behaviour indicates a lack of proper planning,” he said.

He added that Malaysians were generally aware of the importance of having a sound retirement plan but most did not have a disciplined approach to retirement savings.

Prudential commissioned Research International, a global research agency, to conduct the survey, which covered key urban areas in Malaysia.

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1. Reminder of Confidentiality. “George, there’s one thing I want to run by you. Many of my clients like to introduce me to others whom they think should know about the important work I do. I just wanted you to know that should that opportunity present itself to you, the work we do is always kept completely confidential. They will never learn about your financial situation from me and vice versa. Does that make sense?”

2. Who You Serve the Best. “George and Martha, there’s something I want to mention to you. Many of my clients like to introduce me to others whom they think should know about the important work I do. Should that ever come up for you, it’s good for you to know for whom our processes are best suited. These days, our practice is geared toward successful couples like yourself. They usually have children, but not always. Generally they have a combined income of over $100,000 – some of my clients are even in the $400,000 range and more. While I don’t expect you to know someone’s exact financial situation, you probably have a sense. Does this make sense?” [Note: Your profile range may be different, but you get the idea.]

3. How I’ll Contact Them. “Randy, quite often my clients like to recommend the work I do to others whom they care about. Should that ever come up for you, I thought you should know how I usually like to handle those situations. First of all, I don’t like to surprise people with a phone call from out of the blue. I’ve found that everyone seems to feel most comfortable when they know I’ll be contacting them and have a sense of why.

“So, if you identify someone you think I should contact, please come to me first. Together, we’ll figure out the best way for us to approach them. We’ll do it in a way that suits your relationship and feels comfortable and natural to everyone. If they are interested, we’ll likely meet for a no-obligation review – as you and I did initially. If they decide they don’t care to move forward, I assure you I won’t pressure them or become a pest. That’s just not my style. How does all this sound?”

4. “Don’t Keep Me a Secret.” I’ve been teaching this simple phrase for over a dozen years and I’ve been impressed with two things: 1) how many financial professionals are using this phrase with great success; 2) how often it results in a referral conversation right on the spot. It never hurts a relationship.

5. Willingness to Give Referrals. This is a great technique to get a referral conversation going with anyone who is a small business owner, salesperson, or anyone who needs referrals for their business. “Frank, you sound like you do pretty good work for your clients. Tell me, if I ran into a good prospect for your business, how would I know it and how would you like me to introduce them to you?”

6. Celebrate Referrals. Every time you meet a new prospect through a referral, celebrate it. Talk about the person you know in common.

7. Who Should I Thank? Put the following message on your voice mail. “This is Mike Smith. Sorry I missed your call. Please leave a message at the tone. And if you were referred to us, please let us know who we need to thank.” This sends the message to all who call you that you get referrals on a regular basis – you are referable, and that you have an attitude of gratitude.

8. Never Too Busy. Here’s a simple one. Just say to your clients “I’m never too busy to see if I can help your friends, family, or colleagues with the important work I do.”

9. Earn the Right. Tell your clients something like the following (early in the relationship), “One of the ways I know I’m doing a good job for my clients is when they tell others about me. I know the only way that happens is from me providing first class advice and first class service, and I hope that at some point, you will trust me and the work I do well enough to tell others. Fair enough?”

10. By Referral Only. Have “By Referral Only” printed onto your business card. When you hand someone your card, write those words on it. It sends the message of importance and exclusivity.

It’s important that you’re not obnoxious about asking for referrals, and it’s equally important that you find soft ways to keep the topic lively in your clients’ awareness. Promoting referrals in the above ways will do just that. You’ll never hurt a relationship, you’ll plant a very powerful seed that can bear fruit later, and you will often walk away with referrals on the spot.

TOKYO (AP) – A medium-sized Japanese insurance company went bankrupt Friday, becoming the first Japanese financial company to collapse on the fallout from the global credit crisis.

“We are deeply sorry and offer apologies from the bottom of our hearts,” Yamato Life Insurance Co. President Takeo Nakazono said, bowing deeply on nationally televised news.

Most Japanese banking and other institutions have averted the serious damage of their U.S. and European counterparts from the U.S. financial crisis.

Yamato, with about 1,000 employees and 1 trillion yen (US$10 billion) in individual policy accounts, appears so far to be a relatively unusual case in Japan.

Nakazono said the company fell 11 billion yen (US$111 million) in the red because of an unusually swift and drastic fall in global stock prices stemming from the U.S. subprime mortgage crisis.

Nearly all of the insurance policies will be protected, according to Japanese media reports.

Yamato officials were not immediately available for comment.

The company was founded in 1911, according to its Web page.

Yamato racked up 269 billion yen (US$2.7 billion) in losses, largely from stock holding losses related to the U.S. financial problems, Kyodo News reported.

DUA jenis amalan menentukan peribadi seseorang Muslim iaitu amalan wajib dan amalan sunat. Wajib bermaksud sesuatu yang dituntut untuk melakukannya dan berdosa jika ditinggalkan seperti solat fardu, puasa pada Ramadan dan membayar zakat.

Sunat pula bermaksud sesuatu yang dianjurkan untuk melakukannya dan tidaklah berdosa jika ditinggalkan. Antara contoh amalan sunat ialah solat, mengucapkan amin apabila membaca fatihah dalam solat dan banyak lagi.

Walaupun meninggalkan amalan sunat tidaklah menyebabkan berdosa, ia adalah amalan sangat disukai Allah.

Abu Hurairah meriwayatkan bahawa Rasulullah SAW bersabda bermaksud: “Sesungguhnya Allah berfirman yang maksudnya: “Sesiapa yang memusuhi wali-Ku, maka sesungguhnya aku mengisytiharkan perang terhadapnya. Dan tiada seorang hamba-Ku yang bertaqarrub (beramal) kepada-Ku dengan sesuatu yang lebih Aku cintai hanya dari ia menunaikan semua yang Aku fardukan ke atas dirinya. Dan hendaklah hamba-Ku sentiasa bertaqarrub dirinya kepada-Ku dengan nawafil (ibadat sunat) sehingga Aku mencintainya. Maka apabila Aku telah mencintainya, nescaya adalah Aku sebagai pendengarannya yang ia mendengar dengannya, dan sebagai penglihatannya yang ia melihat dengannya, dan sebagai tangannya yang ia bertindak dengannya, dan sebagai kakinya yang ia berjalan dengannya. Dan jika ia meminta kepada-Ku nescaya Aku berikan kepadanya, dan jika ia memohon perlindungan kepada-Ku nescaya Aku lindungi.” (Hadis riwayat Al-Bukhari)

Antara ibadat sunat yang amat digalakkan selepas puasa wajib Ramadan ialah puasa enam hari semasa Syawal. Persoalannya, bilakah waktu terbaik melakukannya, dan bagaimanakah cara untuk menunaikannya jika puasa wajib belum lagi diganti atau diqada?

Puasa enam hari pada Syawal sebenarnya amat besar ganjaran yang ditawarkan Allah. Ia disebut secara jelas oleh Rasulullah SAW.

Dilaporkan daripada Abu Ayyub al-Ansari bahawa Rasulullah SAW bersabda bermaksud: “Sesiapa berpuasa sepanjang Ramadan, kemudian diikuti dengan puasa enam hari Syawal, maka seakan-akan dia berpuasa selama satu tahun.” (Hadis riwayat Muslim, Abu Dawud, An-Nasa’i dan Ibnu Majah)

Ini bermakna dengan berpuasa sunat selama enam hari pada Syawal selepas berpuasa wajib pada Ramadan, seolah-olah mereka berpuasa sepanjang tahun.

Dalam hadis lain, Rasulullah SAW bersabda yang bermaksud: “Allah telah menggandakan setiap kebaikan dengan sepuluh kali ganda. Puasa Ramadan setara dengan berpuasa sebanyak sepuluh bulan. Dan puasa enam hari Syawal yang menggenapkannya satu tahun.” (Hadis riwayat An-Nasa’i dan Ibnu Majah)

Hadis ini mempamerkan bahawa ganjaran diberikan Allah itu sepuluh kali ganda. Ini bermakna jika kita berpuasa selama 30 hari pada Ramadan, maka digandakan menjadi 300 hari, manakala puasa enam hari pada Syawal digandakan menjadi 60 hari. Ganjaran Allah adalah sebanyak 360 hari.

Persamaan yang lain, jika berpuasa selama sebulan pada Ramadan akan menyamai 10 bulan, kemudian diikuti puasa selama enam hari pada Syawal akan menyamai dua bulan. Justeru genaplah berpuasa selama setahun.

Ada dua pendapat ulama mengenai hal ini. Majoriti ulama berpendapat, puasa enam dilakukan secara berturut-turut selepas Hari Raya. Ia dimulai pada hari raya kedua dan seterusnya sehingga genap enam hari. Sebahagian ulama pula berpendapat puasa enam itu boleh dilakukan secara berselang-seli atau tidak terus menerus sepanjang Syawal.

Justeru, kita mempunyai kebebasan untuk membuat pilihan sama ada melakukannya secara berturut-turut ataupun berselang seli.

Bagaimanakah pula kaedah menunaikan puasa sunat pada Syawal jika puasa Ramadan masih belum diganti atau qada? Persoalan itu juga mempunyai beberapa pandangan. Pendapat pertama mengatakan adalah memadai seseorang yang ingin melakukan puasa qada dan puasa enam dengan berniat hanya puasa qada pada Syawal. Mereka akan mendapat dua ganjaran sekali gus dengan syarat dia perlu berniat puasa qada terlebih dulu. Ini kerana puasa qada adalah wajib dan puasa enam adalah sunat.

Hal yang sama berlaku ke atas solat tahiyatul masjid. Jika seseorang memasuki masjid dan terus melakukan solat fardu, maka dia akan diberi ganjaran dua pahala sekali gus.

Pendapat kedua ialah jika seseorang melakukan kedua-duanya secara berasingan akan mendapat kelebihan di sisi Allah kerana sebagai seorang hamba yang tunduk kepada Allah, maka memperbanyakkan amalan taqarrub dengan memisahkan antara yang wajib dengan sunat lebih menunjukkan kesungguhan diri sebagai seorang hamba.

Ada juga ulama berpendapat bahawa puasa enam seharusnya didahulukan kerana ia hanya boleh diamalkan pada bulan Syawal saja. Bagi puasa qada, ia boleh dilakukan dalam tempoh 10 bulan berikutnya sebelum tibanya Ramadan akan datang.

Lakukan ibadat sunat ini sama ada berpuasa secara berturut-turut atau berselang-seli. Begitu juga dengan puasa qada. Lakukanlah sama ada secara digabungkan puasa enam dengan puasa qada ataupun secara berasingan.

Terpulanglah kepada diri kita sendiri berdasarkan kemampuan masing-masing. Hal ini kerana ganjaran ditawarkan Allah amat besar. Ia juga adalah tambahan kepada kekurangan yang diimbangi oleh zakat fitrah.

* Dipetik daripada Berita Harian, oleh Zahri Hamat