AXA Agent Awarded RM12.6 Million - Damages

SINGAPORE: The High Court has awarded $4.026mil (RM12.6mil) to a former insurance agent after a scathing letter of reference from a previous employer cost him the chance to join the insurer Prudential.

The award was for loss of earnings from the negligence on the part of AXA Life Insurance Singapore for whom the agent, Ramesh Krishnan, had previously worked.

Justice George Wei noted on Monday that the stands of both parties had been "polar opposites" when it came to damages.

Ramesh had sought $63mil (RM199mil), while AXA urged he should be awarded only a nominal sum of $1 (RM3.15).

The Court of Appeal had asked the High Court to determine the damages after ruling last year that AXA had breached its duty of care to Ramesh.

The 47-year-old, described as "one of AXA's best-compensated advisers", had accused AXA of defaming him in 2012 when providing references on his work performance.

He lost the defamation suit in the High Court in 2015, but the Court of Appeal later ruled that AXA had breached its duty of care to him.

Industry sources had then said the apex court ruling was significant in making clear the standard of care an employer was required to observe while preparing a reference.

Reasonable care had to be taken to ensure that the requirements of truth, accuracy and fairness were met.

The Court of Appeal had also noted AXA's breach of duty led Prudential Assurance Company Singapore not to hire Ramesh.

When Prudential asked AXA for the reference, it wrote back to say that his outfit "showed a very poor 13th month persistency rate" - meaning that many of his clients did not stick with their policies - and "we are very concerned as to whether the clients have been provided with proper advice".

The Court of Appeal said this would have given the mistaken impression that Ramesh was not competent, and did not square with the evidence that he was one of AXA's best financial services directors and it had earlier persuaded him not to resign.

Ramesh's lawyer Eugene Thuraisingam argued that Prudential would have hired him but for AXA's negligence.

However, AXA's counsel Pillai Muralidharan countered that he would merely have stood a chance of being hired.

Justice Wei decided to use the package conditionally offered by Prudential as a conservative guide.

Starting from April 2011, this included a commencement allowance of $675,000, and an initial monthly salary of $65,625 for the first 12 months and $43,750 for the following months till July last year.

He also looked at loss of future earnings between August last year and July next year at a discounted rate.

From this, the judge deducted the salary Ramesh earned from working, in the meantime, at a vegetarian cafe.

An AXA Singapore spokesman said yesterday it is seeking legal advice on the judgment.

"Providing for and protecting our policyholders is our top priority and we remain committed to ensuring that our appointed representatives are fit and proper and meet the competency, financial soundness and integrity standards required by us and the MAS (Monetary Authority of Singapore)."

Ramesh said: "People must know that justice is served. Somebody must go out there and make a point."

He hopes to kick-start his 15-year-long insurance career again.

AXA Little Napoleon

The smallest life insurer in Malaysia albeit massive losses (in excess of RM20 million) and low morale amongst staff and agent. Axa Affin Life Insurance Berhad is rotting at the bottom of a cesspool and dying from terminal cancer as a result of Bully & Toxic Mis-management. Hundreds of staffs/agents are thrown under the bus and thousands have bolted to join competitors that are professionally manage.

Bully Management – a psychopath appointed as chief agency officer – persistently and continuously bully, intimidate, humiliate, cheat and lie to its agency force. 4 years of dictatorship, rampant bullying & mis-management have brought axa affin on its knees with massive losses. Hundreds of staffs & agents terminated due to personal reason. Thousands bolted to join competitors.

Limited Branches – axa affin have only 10 branches nationwide. Policyholders & agents find it difficult and challenging to obtain services due to limited number of branches. Most Agency Leaders (Agency Manager) without room and forced to sit in an “open-air” space. Training room lacking facilities. Agency space poorly maintained and poorly equipped. Toilets are filthy. Broken chairs and tables. You will be ashamed to invite customers or recruit prospective agents to axa affin office. AXA branches are inadequately understaffed (usually 2 or 3 staffs only per branch). Customers and agents have to wait (standing as there the reception area has limited sofa/chair) a very long time for service.

Agency Training – axa affin does not believe in agency training & development. Trainings for agency are extremely rare and trainers lacking basic knowledge accompanied with poor attitude. Axa is more interested to push and/or squeeze production from agents versus developing agency force. Budget are diverted to push contest, challenges, campaign for agents with trips to Thailand (Bangkok, Phuket, Pattaya, Chiangmai – where chief axa acts as the official pimp of axa sex trip to Thai’s karaoke, pubs and whores).  

Dodgy Product – Chief Bully forces agents to sell dodgy life insurance product to unsuspecting customer. This product is designed with so-called high rate of return accompanied with high premium and low sum assured. This is a savings product (banking product) but disguised as life insurance product. Un-cooperative Agency that refused to sell this dodgy product are marginalized and subsequently terminated.  

A washed-out dinosaur with outdated idea on agency management resulted in axa agency rotting away at the bottom of the life insurance industry. Agency find it difficult to recruit and retain productive agents. Axa agency suffers from low productivity and low income. In addition to the daily bullying, intimidation, humiliation, names calling (traitor, penderhaka, pengkhianat, kurang ajar, keeling-kia, bodoh, stupid, lousy leadership, jamban – shit-house). Within 4 years – axa dived into the bottom of cesspool.