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Uncompromised Independent |
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MOONSTONE MONITOR 3 September 2009 |
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Paul se Perspektief - Paul's Perspective Winning Ways - a habit worth acquiring. Accept what is inevitable Our liking or not of legislation is regrettably no reason to ignore it. Outsurance Advert Banned Mutual and Federal managed to get the advert withdrawn, but what about the damage already done? Monitor Mirth Australian Vasectomy? T: +27 21 883 8000 |
F: +27 21 883 8005 |
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PAUL SE PERSPEKTIEF / PAUL'S PERSPECTIVE
Registration for the annual
Moonstone
Winning Ways seminars from 12 to 16 October is now open. For
venues and more seminar information, click
here. While headlines over the past year spelt doom and gloom, we are convinced that there are sufficient positive signs, hence the theme An industry of Opportunity. Our carefully selected panel of speakers will provide delegates with overviews ranging from a global perspective right down to the mindset required in a practice to optimise the opportunities the immediate future holds. Over the next few weeks we will provide a brief overview of the different speakers and their specific topics. Dawie Roodt is chief economist of the Efficient Group, and will share with us What the economists don't tell you. Whatever your line of business, it is impossible to plan for the future without knowing how the global economy will impact on it. Dawie takes the wraps off the "econo-speak" and tells it like it is. To get a feel for what you can expect, please click here: http://www.bizcast.co.za/2009/06/25/dawie-roodt/ Competition Winners Our Find a Name competition for the new vacancy facility on Insurance Gateway drew 17 entries and 121 votes. Thanks to all who joined in the fun. Our winners of three bottles of quality wines each from Rupert and Rotschild, Stêrhuis and Dornier are:
Well done, and thanks for the interest. Now you need to utilise the opportunity, either to find talent or to advertise your services. There are currently four listings. Please click here to view the listings page. Sport Spot Die media haal vir Peter de Villiers aan as dat hy sou gesê het ons was nie klinies genoeg teen Australië verlede week nie, en gaan die naweek probeer om die foute te verminder. My voorgevoel sê dit gaan gebeur. Ondanks 'n sterker Aussie span is my voorspelling dat hul media die versoek tot meer aanskoulike rugby bitterlik gaan berou. Dit gaan dalk juis nie goed wees vir rugby in Australië as die Bokke hul volle potensiaal ontplooi nie. Jeff Corbett also sent me the following true story: One of my retired clients has just arrived back from Australia after trying to settle in Brisbane with her children. She told me a story of her grandson and the confidence the kids learn over there. He is 13 years old and was called up on the school stage to receive a top award for his outstanding rugby skills. The award was presented by some important rugby person who asked: “What do you want to do when you are older and more experienced in life?” He answered “I would like to be chosen to play for the Springboks” I think she had to leave Australia!! Lekker naweek. Paul Kruger |
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It is doubtful whether there is one person who can honestly say that he associates fully with each and every aspect of the FAIS Act. Quite frankly, that possibly applies to each and every piece of legislation, some more so than others. When contentious legislation is passed, one is obliged to abide by it, although, like in the case of the Firearms Act, protest can lead to a desired outcome. This may not happen overnight, but it is the correct way to approach it. With time running out for those still short of the required minimum 30 or 60 credits, I am very concerned that there are still folk out there who refuse to accept the inevitability of the final deadline of 31 December 2009. This applies if you were FIRST appointed as a key individual OR representative in an authorised FSP between 2004 and 31 December 2007 in terms of the Fit and Proper requirements. There are other permutations, but essentially those affected by this deadline, aiming for the minimum credits, will not be fit and proper and will have to cease practicing. Even scarier is the fact that in one instance that we are aware of, not one but two compliance practices in fact told a non-compliant key individual that the FSB is understaffed, and lacks the means to effectively stop him from conducting business from January next year. We can only assume that the intent of such advice was to get him to change his choice of compliance officer, which is a sad indictment on those supposed to monitor amongst other things, honesty and integrity. The simple answer is of course that the FSB does not need to send out a hit squad to remove him from his practice. Legislation forbids product providers from doing business with, or paying commission to, non-compliant practices. Unless the brokerage debars the individual, the whole FSP will see its commission frozen. Failure to do so by the product house/s could jeopardise its own license, something we believe they would be rather loathe to do. With the suspension of one's license comes several other embarrassing obligations:
Should the suspension be lifted you will face an uphill battle regaining your reputation. It simply does not make sense to go this route. It is not going to help to fight the inevitable by refusing to conform to the requirements. One has to remember that the deadline for obtaining the required credits has been extended several times, and those not in possession of the minimum requirements do not really have a leg to stand on after December 2009. In this case, it is truly "the right to do." |
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| Quote of the Week
Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to a better understanding of ourselves - Carl Jung. |
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Hereunder is an extract
from the Advertising Standards Authority webpage:
The
advertising agency The Firehouse, on behalf of Mutual and Federal,
lodged a competitor complaint against Outsurance’s campaign highlighting
the benefits of insuring through Outsurance. In each commercial, a
customer is seen having their insurance or claim approved. Three
gentlemen appear in the background laughing with an evil tone saying
things such as “they think they have fixed excess, little do they
know...” or “let’s make her wait ...” another man stops them and
clarifies some of the hidden conditions. While we applaud M & F, and cheer the result, the damage to the industry, which includes Outsurance, has been done. At the risk of sounding like a stuck record; what happened to decent business ethics and good old-fashioned manners? |
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After
having their 11th child, an Australian couple decided that that was
enough, as they couldn't afford a larger bed. So the husband went to his
doctor and told him that he and his wife didn't want to have any more
children. The doctor told him there was a procedure called a vasectomy that would fix the problem but it was expensive. A less costly alternative was to go home, get a large firecracker, light it, put it in a beer can, then hold the can up to his ear and count to 10. The husband said to the doctor, "I may not be the smartest guy in the world, but I don't see how putting a firework in a beer can next to my ear is going to help me with my problem." "Trust me, it will do the job", said the doctor. So the man went home, lit a cracker and put it in a beer can. He held the can up to his ear and began to count: "1, 2, 3, 4, 5,"at which point he paused, placing the beer can between his legs so he could continue counting on his other hand. This procedure also works in New Zealand and Tasmania. |
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