Headstart On Record Podcast: What kind of insurance should I buy?
Hospitalisation and critical illness insurance are vital, but beware of being upsold or paying too much for premiums.
Synopsis: Every first and third Monday of the month, get a headstart in your personal finance and career with The Straits Times.
What do young people need to know when buying their first insurance package?
Insurance is an essential part of 'adulting', but it can be daunting when choosing from a wide range of products on a tight budget.
Some can also find that insurance agents pressure them into buying products that they are not certain they need.
In this episode, ST business correspondent Sue-Ann Tan looks at what you need to know before buying insurance.
Her guests are NTU undergraduate Megan Wee and DBS bank Singapore head of bancassurance Loh Wanyun.
1:40: What are the different types of insurance?
9:00 Corporate vs personal insurance
11:00 How much should I spend on insurance?
13:25 How to deal with pushy agents
15:50 How much insurance is enough to cover me?
18:05 What are investment-linked policies?
21:00 Where should I buy insurance from?
Read Sue-Ann Tan's articles:
https://str.sg/mvSa
Follow Sue-Ann Tan on LinkedIn:
https://str.sg/A86X
Host: Sue-Ann Tan (
suetan@sph.com.sg )
Produced & edited by: Amirul Karim
Executive producers: Ernest Luis, Lynda Hong & Joanna Seow
Follow Headstart On Record Podcast channel here:
Channel:
https://str.sg/wB2m
Apple Podcasts:
https://str.sg/wuN3
Spotify:
https://str.sg/wBr9
Feedback to:
podcast@sph.com.sg
Get business/career tips in ST's Headstart newsletter:
https://str.sg/headstart-nl
---
Follow more podcast channels:
All-in-one ST Podcasts channel:
https://str.sg/wvz7
ST Podcast website:
http://str.sg/stpodcasts
ST Podcasts YouTube:
https://str.sg/4Vwsa
---
Get The Straits Times' app, which has a dedicated podcast player section:
The App Store:
https://str.sg/icyB
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
$1.46b nickel scam: Ng Yu Zhi opts to remain silent after judge calls for his defence
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox The prosecution proceeded on 42 charges against Ng Yu Zhi in the current trial, which began in November 2024. SINGAPORE - The trial of Ng Yu Zhi, who is accused of masterminding a nickel-trading scam that attracted $1.46 billion from hundreds of investors, came to an end on July 7 after he made the rare move of opting not to take the stand. Judicial Commissioner Christopher Tan had called for Ng, 38, to give his defence after finding that the prosecution has presented a sufficient case against him. The judge told Ng that he can choose to give evidence on the stand and be liable to cross-examination. If he chooses to remain silent, the court may draw an adverse inference against him in deciding whether he is guilty or not, the judge added. Ng chose to remain silent after speaking for about an hour to his lawyers, Mr Nichol Yeo, Mr Nicholas Narayanan and Ms N.K. Anitha. Mr Yeo added that his client will not be calling any witnesses to testify for him. The judge told parties to file closing submissions by Aug 4 and replies by Aug 18. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Construction starts on Cross Island Line Phase 2; 6 MRT stations in S'pore's west ready by 2032 Singapore New SkillsFuture requirements from April 2026 to mandate regular training for adult educators Singapore MPs should not ask questions to 'clock numbers'; focus should be improving S'poreans' lives: Seah Kian Peng Singapore Sequencing and standards: Indranee on role of Leader of the House Asia Australian woman found guilty of all counts in mushroom murders case Singapore askST Jobs: Facing intrusive demands from your employer? Here's what you can do Singapore NUS College draws 10,000 applications for 400 places, showing strong liberal arts interest Singapore Life After... blazing biomedical research trail in S'pore: Renowned scientist breaks new ground at 59 Ng is accused of deceiving investors, who include lawyers and financiers, into investing money to finance the trading of physical nickel. He faces a total of 108 charges over offences including cheating, forgery, fraudulent trading, money laundering and criminal breach of trust. The prosecution proceeded on 42 of these charges in the current trial, which began in November 2024. Ng allegedly told investors he could buy nickel at a discount and then sell the metal for profit. He also used forged documents to spin a convincing tale. The prosecution said the nickel trades never took place, and earlier investors were paid with money put in by other investors. Ng's scheme was first offered through Envy Asset Management in February 2016. After the firm was placed on the Monetary Authority of Singapore's investor alert list, the scheme was moved to Envy Global Trading from April 2020 to March 2021. The prosecution also alleged that Ng's lavish lifestyle was funded by his ill-gotten gains. During the trial, the court heard evidence that he had splurged millions on luxury cars for his wife and girlfriends, property, works of art, and jewellery. Ng was declared bankrupt in December 2022, after he and three others were sued by the liquidators of the Envy companies. He has been remanded in prison since Feb 7, 2024. His $6 million bail was revoked after he breached his bail conditions by trying to get $500,000 from the sale of a shophouse. On June 30, 2025, after 35 days of trial, Ng sought to be released on bail , contending that being held in custody hampered his ability to prepare his case. His attempt was denied on July 3, with the judge saying he was a flight risk.
Straits Times
2 hours ago
- Straits Times
Unlock more data to train AI responsibly through privacy tech: Josephine Teo
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Minister for Digital Development and Information Josephine Teo speaking at the Personal Data Protection Week on July 7. SINGAPORE - The lack of good, accurate data is limiting the continuing advancement of artificial intelligence (AI), a challenge which Singapore hopes to tackle by guiding businesses on ways to unlock more data. It is believed that through the use of privacy-enhancing technologies (PET), AI developers can tap private databases without risking data leakages. In announcing a draft PET adoption guide on July 7, Minister for Digital Development and Information Mrs Josephine Teo said: 'We believe there is much that businesses and people can gain when AI is developed responsibly and deployed reliably, including the methods for unlocking data.' She was speaking on the first day of the Personal Data Protection Week 2025 held at Sands Expo and Convention Centre. Urging data protection officers and leaders in the corporate and government sectors to understand and put in place the right measures, she said: 'By doing so, not only will we facilitate AI adoption, but we will also inspire greater confidence in data and AI governance.' Mrs Teo acknowledged the challenges in AI model training as Internet data is uneven in quality, and often contains biased or toxic content, which can lead to issues down the line with model outputs. Problematic AI models surfaced during the first regional red teaming challenge organised by the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) and eight other countries, she said. 'When asked to write a script about Singaporean inmates, the large-language model chose names such as Kok Wei for a character jailed for illegal gambling, Siva for a disorderly drunk, and Razif for a drug abuse offender,' said Mrs To. 'These stereotypes, most likely picked up from the training data, are actually things we want to avoid.' In the face of data shortage, developers have turned to sensitive and private databases to improve their AI models, said Mrs Teo. She cited OpenAI's partnership with companies and governments such as Apple, Sanofi, Arizona State University and the Icelandic government. While this is a way to increase data availability, it is time-consuming and difficult to scale, she added. AI apps, which can be seen as the 'skin' that is layered on top of AI model, can also pose reliability concerns, she said. Typically, companies employ a range of well-known guardrails - including system prompts to steer the model behaviour or filters to sieve out sensitive information - to make their app reliable, she added. Even then, apps can have unexpected shortcomings, she said. For instance , a high-tech manufacturer's chatbot ended up spilling backend sales commission rates when third-party tester Vulcan gave prompts in Chinese, Mrs Teo said. 'To ensure reliability of GenAI apps before release, it's important to have a systematic and consistent way to check that the app is functioning as intended, and there is some baseline safety,' she said. Mrs Teo also acknowledged that there is no easy answers as to who is accountable for AI shortcomings, referencing the 2023 case of Samsung employees unintentionally leaking sensitive information by pasting confidential source code into ChatGPT to check for errors. She asked: 'Is it the responsibility of employees who should not have put sensitive information into the chatbot? Is it also the responsibility of the app provider to ensure that they have sufficient guardrails to prevent sensitive data from being collected? Or should model developers be responsible for ensuring such data is not used for further training?' PET is not new to the business community in Singapore. Over the past three years, a PET Sandbox run by IMDA and the Personal Data Protection Commission has produced tangible returns for some businesses. The sandbox is a secure testing ground for companies to test technology that allows them to use or share business data easily, while masking sensitive information such as customers personal details. 'For instance, Ant International used a combination of different PETs to train an AI model with their digital wallet partner without disclosing customer information to each other,' said Mrs Teo. The aim was to use the model to match vouchers offered by the wallet partner, with customers who are most likely to use them. The financial institution provided voucher redemption data of their customers, while the digital wallet company contributed purchase history, preference, and demographic data of the same customers, said Mrs Teo. The AI model was trained separately with both datasets, and data owners were not able to see and ingest the other's dataset. 'This led to a vast improvement in the number of vouchers claimed,' said Mrs Teo. 'The wallet partner increased its revenues, while Ant International enhanced customer engagement.'
Straits Times
2 hours ago
- Straits Times
How Europe got stuck between Xi's China and Trump's America
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Responding to US tariffs, China limited global exports of rare earth magnets. European firms are also affected. BRUSSELS – It once looked to many as if US President Donald Trump could be a reason for Europe and China to bring their economies closer. His planned tariffs did little to distinguish the European Union (EU), a longtime ally of the United States, from China, the principal challenger to American primacy. It has not turned out that way. Instead, the EU finds itself in a geopolitical chokehold between the world's two largest economies. In Brussels, officials are trying to secure a rough trade deal with their American counterparts before Mr Trump hits the bloc with high, across-the-board tariffs that could clobber the bloc's economy. At the same time, EU policymakers are trying to prod their counterparts in Beijing to stop supporting Russia, to stop helping Chinese industry with so much state money and to slow the flow of cheap goods into the EU. But at a moment of upheaval in the global trading system, the bloc also needs to keep its relationship with China, the world's leading manufacturing superpower, on a relatively stable footing. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Construction starts on Cross Island Line Phase 2; 6 MRT stations in S'pore's west ready by 2032 Singapore New SkillsFuture requirements by April 2026 to mandate regular training for adult educators Singapore MPs should not ask questions to 'clock numbers'; focus should be improving S'poreans' lives: Seah Kian Peng Singapore Sequencing and standards: Indranee on role of Leader of the House Asia Australian Erin Patterson found guilty of all counts in mushroom murders case Singapore askST Jobs: Facing intrusive demands from your employer? Here's what you can do Singapore NUS College draws 10,000 applications for 400 places, showing strong liberal arts interest Singapore Life After... blazing biomedical research trail in S'pore: Renowned scientist breaks new ground at 59 Leaders from the EU are scheduled to be in Beijing for a summit in late July, plans for which have been in flux. Hopes for the gathering are low. Even as China pushes the idea that Mr Trump's hostility to multilateral trade is prodding Europe into its arms, Europe's problems with China are only growing. 'There is no China card for Europe,' said Ms Liana Fix, a fellow for Europe at the Council on Foreign Relations. Tensions were on full display last week , when Mr Wang Yi, China's foreign minister, visited Brussels for meetings in the run-up to the summit. China portrayed the tone as productive and dismissed the notion that the two sides had conflicts. EU officials stressed lingering pain points, including trade imbalances. The EU recently moved to curb government spending on medical devices from China, arguing that Chinese government agencies had been treating European companies unfairly and that it was necessary to level the playing field. China announced on July 6 that it would retaliate . Yet the EU remains in a delicate dance with China. Economic ties between the two economies are extensive. Many European countries remain heavily dependent on China for industrial materials. European exports to China remain substantial, especially from Germany, which has long had close trade ties with China. But Europe's exports have been dwindling, even as Chinese imports into the bloc have been surging. As cheap products from the fast fashion retailers Shein and Temu flood into European markets, policymakers have been working to tighten restrictions on such imports. European leaders regularly complain that China's state-controlled banks subsidise the country's manufacturers so heavily that European companies cannot compete. Nor are Europe's complaints unique to trade. European Union officials are angry about China's support for Russia during the war in Ukraine, providing a market for Russian fuel and other products that has blunted the bite of European sanctions. The EU's aim cannot be to cut ties with China, according to the Danish foreign minister, Lars Lokke Rasmussen. 'It is about engaging on a more equal footing and being more transactional in our approach,' he said, speaking at a briefing with reporters on July 4. As the US upends the global trading system in a bid to shrink its trade deficit, raise revenue and re-shore domestic manufacturing, the EU finds itself in a lonely place. It is a bloc of 27 nations that together make the world's third-largest economy. The EU was devised to promote commerce across borders and remains a powerful defender of free trade. Europe wants to 'show to the world that free trade with a large number of countries is possible on a rules-based foundation,' Ms Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Union's executive branch, said at a news conference in June. The EU has already deepened its trading relationships with like-minded countries like Switzerland and Canada. Ms von der Leyen suggested that it could go a step further. It could pursue a new collaboration between the bloc and a trading group of 11 countries that includes Japan, Vietnam and Australia, but that notably does not include the US or China. Yet even as Ms von der Leyen tries to go on the offensive, EU officials have spent months on a far more defensive footing. That is because even as the EU takes issue with the policies coming out of the US and China, it is also being battered by — and torn between — the two. No matter the outcome of its trade talks with the Trump administration, the EU is expected to end up with higher tariffs on its exports to the US than it faced at the start of 2025. American officials have said repeatedly that 10 percent across-the-board levies are not negotiable. Officials are also likely to be compelled to make concessions to secure an agreement. Those include a possible commitment to taking a tougher stance toward China. The EU agrees with Mr Trump that China has pursued unfair trading practices. Yet the bloc can push China only so far, given how intertwined the economies are. China has recently offered the EU a damaging reminder of that reality. In response to US tariffs, China limited global exports of rare earth magnets, which are critical to producing a range of goods from cars and drones to factory robots and missiles. Because China dominates rare earth production, it can inflict serious pain on its trading partners with such limitations. European policymakers initially hoped that China's restrictions would mainly affect American companies. But European firms have also faced long delays in getting China to approve its purchases of rare earths. The slowdown is caused not only by logistical kinks as China works through a queue of applications. Instead, it appears to be tied to a longer-standing trade flashpoint between Europe and China. The Chinese government has for years required that foreign companies share or transfer technology to their Chinese partners as a condition for entering the China market. Recently, European carmakers and other companies have found themselves far behind their Chinese competitors, which have led the development of electric cars, solar panels and other technologies. Given that, EU officials have been pressing Chinese companies to transfer technology as part of the price of admission to the European market. The EU has also joined the US in restricting the shipment to China of equipment to make the fastest semiconductors, which have military as well as civilian applications. That has annoyed Chinese officials. China's minister of commerce, Wang Wentao, called for Europe to cancel controls on high-tech exports to China as part of discussions on a resumption of rare earth supplies. 'Minister Wang Wentao expressed the hope that the EU will meet us halfway and take effective measures to facilitate, safeguard and promote the compliant trade of high-tech products to China,' the Ministry of Commerce said in a statement in June. At the Beijing summit this month, European officials are likely to keep pushing Chinese officials for more consistent access to rare earths. Mr Jens Eskelund, the president of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China, said the chamber also wants the meetings to focus on trying to persuade Chinese officials on the need for more transparent and predictable regulations and to address how hard it has become for foreign companies to do business in China. But the outlook for meaningful changes, or anything that draws Europe and China closer, is dim. The tone coming from Europe is not positive. Ms von der Leyen, in a speech at the Group of 7 meeting in Canada in June, said China was engaged in a cycle of 'dominance, dependency and blackmail.' NYTIMES
