Researching Insurance and Wealth with the Knowledge Network: 7 Steps from Defining the Question to Verifying Sources and Engaging Professionals

The seven steps

1. Step 1: Define residency, place of residence and tax jurisdiction

   • Documents needed: passport, pass or identity documents; a list of family members' residency status; a record of days spent in Singapore (and other jurisdictions) over the past year.
   • Time: about half a day.
   • Who does it: you.
   • How: list each family member's status (citizen, PR, pass holder, non-resident) and main place of residence, then check them against the tax residence rules. According to IRAS, a foreigner who stayed or worked in Singapore for at least 183 days in the previous calendar year is a tax resident, and there are also administrative concessions (IRAS, accessed 2026-10). For the concepts, read hnwi.sg/tax-residence and hnw.sg/residency-tax-residence.
   • Common sticking points: equating "holding a pass" with "being a tax resident", or considering only Singapore and overlooking reporting obligations in the home country. For cross-border situations, obtain professional advice in the relevant jurisdiction.

2. Step 2: Choose a reading path and write down 3–5 specific questions

   • Documents needed: the residency list from step 1; a short list of existing policies, accounts and liabilities.
   • Time: about 1 hour.
   • Who does it: you.
   • How: read compare first to find the reader type closest to you, then the matching hypothetical profile in scenarios, then the relevant path page (such as path-new-residents or path-hnw-family-offices). Phrase your questions so they can be answered, for example "Does MediShield Life apply to my family?" or "Will my employer's group insurance lapse when I change jobs?", rather than "What is the best thing to buy?".
   • Common sticking points: chasing five or six topics at once and reading none of them in depth; it is better to follow one path at a time.

3. Step 3: Read the overview and glossary

   • Documents needed: the question list from step 2.
   • Time: 1–2 days (in several sittings).
   • Who does it: you.
   • How: start with this site's overview to understand how the network is organised, then read the overview page of the relevant sister site, such as xiaopoxian.com.sg/overview (Singapore insurance fundamentals) or hnw.sg/overview (HNW wealth planning). When you meet an unfamiliar term, look it up in this site's glossary; each entry notes which site holds the in-depth definition.
   • Common sticking points: skipping the terminology and going straight to product pages, then misreading concepts such as "guaranteed cash value", "non-guaranteed bonus" and "surrender value".

4. Step 4: Read the mechanics, fees and comparisons

   • Documents needed: the product summary, benefit illustration (Benefit Illustration / Policy Illustration) and fee disclosure provided by the institution; if you do not have them yet, read the public explanations of the format first.
   • Time: 2–3 days per product type.
   • Who does it: you, with a professional adviser helping to review where necessary.
   • How: read saving.com.sg/how-to-read-a-benefit-illustration first to understand the sections of an illustration, then read the structure and fees pages on the relevant site for each product type (see map-protection-savings and map-wealth-cross-border for which site covers what). Public information on Singapore life insurance products can be found on LIA's compareFIRST tool, which covers Direct Purchase Insurance (DPI), term life, whole life and savings products, and provides general information on investment-linked products (LIA, accessed 2026-10-24).
   • Common sticking points: looking only at illustrated returns without checking how guaranteed and non-guaranteed parts are split, the "effect of deductions" and the 0% illustration scenario. Illustrated figures do not represent future results, and should not be compared directly across products or jurisdictions to see "whose return is higher".

5. Step 5: Verify institutions and representatives with official tools

   • Documents needed: the institution's full name, the representative's name and representative number (if any), name card or contact details.
   • Time: 10–30 minutes.
   • Who does it: you.
   • How: under Directories on the MAS website, search in turn: the Financial Institutions Directory (FID) to confirm that the institution is regulated by MAS and which regulated activities it may carry out; then the Financial Institutions Representatives Register (FIRR) to confirm that the individual is a registered representative (MAS, accessed 2026-10-24). Then check the Investor Alert List. The list is not exhaustive, and as at 2026-09 the page indicates that MAS no longer publishes the names and online identifiers of impersonators on it, so "not on the list" does not mean trustworthy; confirm official contact details through the institution's own website or the FID. For Hong Kong policies, search the Insurance Authority (IA) Register of Licensed Insurance Intermediaries.
   • Common sticking points: judging status from a name card, a social media account or a personal introduction alone; or checking the institution but not the individual handling your case.

6. Step 6: Prepare documents and a question list

   • Documents needed: proof of identity and address; proof of income; explanation of source of funds and source of wealth; a list of existing policies (policy number, sum assured, beneficiaries or nominations); health records (such as past medical records and health check reports); tax identification numbers needed for the tax residency self-certification.
   • Time: 1–2 weeks, possibly longer for cross-border or HNW cases.
   • Who does it: you assemble them; licensed representatives and bank relationship managers tell you their specific requirements.
   • How: for the difference between source of funds and source of wealth and the usual supporting documents, read bankaccount.com.sg/source-of-funds-wealth; for a pre-purchase checklist, read xiaopoxian.com.sg/before-you-buy. Turn the questions from step 2 into a written list, go through them one by one at the meeting, and ask for written answers to the key questions.
   • Common sticking points: an incomplete source-of-funds explanation, which can hold up account opening, the policy application and financing at the due diligence stage all at once; incomplete health disclosure, which may affect claims later.

7. Step 7: Engage licensed professionals and use the free-look period to review

   • Documents needed: the written recommendation and needs analysis record, product summary and benefit illustration, policy documents, and fee and commission disclosures (as provided by the institution).
   • Time: 1–3 meetings; after signing, set aside time to review within the free-look period.
   • Who does it: the licensed representative handles product recommendations; a lawyer handles legal questions on wills, trusts and nominations; a tax adviser gives tax advice.
   • How: after signing, Singapore policies other than travel, car and maid insurance have a free-look period of at least 14 days, starting from the date you receive the policy documents. You can cancel by written notice and receive a refund of premiums, less costs already incurred such as medical examinations; refunds on investment-linked policies may also reflect changes in market value (MoneySense, page updated 2026-05-11). Free-look rules for Hong Kong life policies differ; see path-cross-border-families. If you are dissatisfied with the service, complain to the institution first: according to LIA's consumer guidance, life insurers acknowledge receipt within 2 working days and give a final reply within 30 working days. If you are not satisfied with the final reply, you may take the matter to FIDReC within 6 months of receiving the final reply letter. Filing and mediation are free; at adjudication, individuals pay a case fee of S$50, and each adjudicated claim is capped at S$150,000 (FIDReC Terms of Reference v2.2, 2025-07-01).
   • Common sticking points: not reading the policy documents promptly when they arrive and missing the free-look period; not knowing the complaint deadlines, or skipping the institution's internal complaint process.

Steps at a glance: time, responsibility and output

Typical times cover general reading and preparation only; they exclude the time insurers take to underwrite, banks to open accounts and lenders to approve loans.

How to keep research records

Set up a folder for each piece of research and keep at least four kinds of record: verification records (screenshots of FID and FIRR searches with the search date, since registration status can change); document versions (the formal versions of the benefit illustration, product summary and fee disclosure with their issue dates, since illustrations issued on different dates may differ as assumptions are revised); Q&A records (the written question list and the other party's written replies, with any verbal answers confirmed by email afterwards); and rule snapshots (the source page and access date for any rule you rely on).

Figures across this network likewise carry the institution and the date checked; the approach is set out in methodology and rule changes in changelog. Where anything differs from the latest official publication, the official source prevails.

What this process cannot replace

This process is a general research method with clear limits. It does not replace a licensed representative's written recommendation, a lawyer's opinion on the legal effect of wills, trusts and nominations, or a tax adviser's view on tax treatment across jurisdictions. It does not judge whether any product, institution or structure suits a particular reader, nor does it guarantee the outcome of a policy application, account opening, financing or residency application; these are decided by insurers, banks, lenders and government agencies under their own criteria.

Professional advisers can use this process as a framework for client conversations; the specific due diligence sequence is on path-advisers. If you need this interpreted for your own circumstances, you can register your needs through the contact details on this site.