The Bull about colour

Scotopic Sensitivity Syndrome is an illness where the persons having it has difficulty in reading amongst others black writing on white paper.  It can also be described as "restricted field of clear vision", and has a common name : Irlens disease.  This is treated with very good effect by introducing other colours into the equation.   That is the first definition I need to explain here.  The second one can be called " Constricted field of vision"  it's common name being tunnel vision.  My perseption is that it is not really treatable.  You do not see the sides of the tunnel - just the little light at the end of the tunnel.  The latter is figuratively speaking whilst the first one is a physical illness. Both however can be used figuratively as I am going to do here. 

Getting back to Irlen: It shows that colour is of the utmost importance, whilst the problem mainly lies in black and white.  I am not going discuss the definition of certain colours here and I am also referring to white and black as colours.  Colour is a fact of life and the spectrum is enormous.  The reference to "people of  colour" normally refers to people that are not white.

Traditionally in the Western world people of colour have been suppressed and oppressed a lot, also in South Africa. During the last century or so things have slowly started to change to the extend that the mightest of nations now has a president of colour. The whole government in South Africa now basically consist of "people of colour"  

Now it is a fact that "people of colour" are very sensitive about the colour of their skin and any reference to it will immediately be labled as "racist"    The previous government introduced labour reservation which basically reserved certain work for Whites only.  Come the new government they just relabled it and tweeked it a bit and called it "Affirmative action"  Any student of the latter definition will know that the definition as it was originally created in the USA actually stated the opposite of what it is used for here. (The colour of your skin cannot influence your job application.)

In forums where I am involved in on the internet it is evident that the colour issue has not and probably will not in the near  ( or even distant ) future be laid to rest.  Terms like white supremists and black consciousness are quite often mentioned.  You will see that I am quoting these things with no feeling for whatever colour is involved.  I feel nothing for one of the terms. It is being kept alive by laws of a visionless government with visionless leaders. Their ability to see the outside from anywhere but the tunnel they are in is totally constricted. Hence the referal to tunnel vision. ( I have argued the point about BEE and its sister Affirmative action before and still contend it to be the core of sustained rascism )

Lastly (for now anyway) the issue of perceptions.  It cannot be argued away that certain perseptions are being kept alive by all sorts of people and the press.  Some of these are : "People of colour are more likely to be a criminal"  As you all know : The truth has nothing to do with this , it is only the perception that counts.

Now people make videos and films on this and try and proof a point whilst the film or video actually creates the perception.  Another one :  " White doctors are better"   Says who ? In the past black doctors did not have a chance to proof themselves but the perception will live on for probably another 100 years or so.

I think it is necessary that black and white accept they have to introduce some other colours into their lives:

Light red represents joy, passion, sensitivity, and love.

Pink signifies romance, love, and friendship. It denotes feminine qualities and passiveness.

Dark red is associated with vigor, willpower, rage, anger, leadership, courage, longing, malice, and wrath.

Brown suggests stability and denotes masculine qualities.

Reddish-brown is associated with harvest and fall.

Red-orange corresponds to desire, passion, pleasure, and thirst for action.

Gold evokes the feeling of prestige. The meaning of gold is illumination, wisdom, and wealth. Gold often symbolizes high quality. 

 I can quote another 50 or so but hopefully you are getting my drift.

To be continued...................................Next chapter :  The total lunacy and stupidity of the South African government relating to the situation in Libia .

The Bull about direct insurance

Reprinted from Moonstone's weekly news letter in the public interest

Myth 2: Financial adviser commission inflates premiums of intermediated product


Willem Roos, the CEO of direct insurer OUTsurance was quoted in Business Report as saying:

“But certainly on average our research indicates we offer better value for money than the intermediated businesses and it’s particularly because the acquisition costs are much lower ... they are not necessarily always the cheapest because you get risk differentiation. We tailor make a premium for each and every client so depending on your risk profile we might actually charge more than an intermediated business.”
FAnews said:

The second myth grew out of the specific theme of direct short-term insurers' advertising. They claimed their pricing 'edge' was due to "cutting out the middle man" and not paying over commission to the intermediary. Consumers bought this claim 'hook, line and sinker' and so it comes as no surprise that the direct life insurers are 'peddling' the same lie. The reality, says Discovery Life, is that higher marketing budgets and operational expenses among direct players, including call centre salaries and sales incentives, replace the commissions paid by traditional insurers to intermediaries. A quick look at the Financial Mail Adfocus, published November 2010, confirms that the country's direct insurers spend heavily on advertising. Six direct insurers feature among South Africa's Top 100 advertisers!

The Discovery research showed that, in their sample, the average premium of direct insurers was 9% higher than that of the intermediated products.

The claim that Discovery used selected market sections rings hollow. The direct houses chose to blame intermediary commission as the reason why they were cheaper. They did not differentiate then, so to use this excuse now won't wash.

What they are focusing on, in my view, is the misguided perception by clients that they can handle their own insurance needs. Consumers are woefully unaware of the cost of their own ignorance when it comes to claims. They only discover the real cost at claim stage.

I must admit to a certain degree of glee when I see statistics like this. The clever Johnnies who burn their fingers when it is revealed that they are not as clever as they thought.

Just this week, Martin Klopper of Worcester shared some hair-raising stories about the cavalier way in which direct short-term insurers tried to rip off a client. Through Martin’s intermediation the client got a fair deal in terms of what he was insured for.

One has to ask how many others who are too obstinate to ask for help get fleeced in this manner.

The intermediated option offers underwriting at application stage; the direct option at claims stage. Is it any wonder then that the following statistics are published in the Discovery study?:

“… the direct insurer had paid R6m in claim, while Discovery had paid R1.12bn. On the other hand the particular direct insurer had R38m in rejected claims, while Discovery Life’s had R23m in rejected claims…”

A common response to the FAnews article was a call for more public exposure of the findings of the survey.

We have in the past refrained from following this route out of concern for the damage this could cause the image of the industry. Times have changed.

As the old saying goes: you should not go into a gun fight with a knife.

If you want to throw mud, expect a backlash.

Client services in perspective : Banks

The following words are used in the banking world and these are undeniable facts: The explanation of the words are generic accepted definitions

1. Client Someone the bank has done business with or is doing business  with.

2. Client Services Something to be delivered to the person mentioned in 1 above.

If applied right this should be the ultimate purpose and vision of a any bank.

3. Profit Although not necessarily contained in their mission and vision statements the actual ultimate purpose of a bank.

4. Loss  : What the bank suffers if they are not paid their fees and interest. At all costs this must be avoided.

5. Client information :   The information the bank should have to be able to manage the relationship with the person in 1. above.

6 FICA :   A South African law governing the relationship of “know your Client."  This is minimum information the bank must have of its Client. Not meant to be a client relationship tool.

Banks have all very impressive advertisements, sayings and probably some of these are actually meant to work in the way it is intended. However hard they try their real purpose of existence is making money and supersedes all other intentions. The love of money and profit when it supersedes everything else can in the most appropriate way be described as “Greed”. So now we are at the point where the statement can be made that banks are in the first instance greedy.

Banks do business in a confrontational manner. Every document you are given to sign, every condition that is enforced on a client, every system* utilized , every action concerning a client is an absolute rule. You cannot negotiate. You cannot change the wording on any document. This is how you do it. This is where you stand or sit when you have to see someone. You have to go into one of the branches if you need to do something. The fact that there are 60 persons already waiting is a non issue. Wait ! I like to call it “hitlerization” Hitler did not understand that he was setting an example. It was only recently perfected when the modern banks came along.

Here is a paragraph strainght out of client service training manual 101 chapter 1 page 1:

“ When a prospective new client walks into the bank you will smile. You will greet him politely. You will determine the purpose of his visit. ( It is very important that these actions be concluded as soon as possible. It must NEVER exceed 2 minutes.) During this period you need to determine the level of this prospective client’s actual Wealth. The bank needs to determine how much money we will be making out of him.

If he wants to open a savings account refer him to enquiries as soon as possible. If he wants a loan he is prime target. The bigger the loan the better.

Should a client want to speak to a consultant about possible defaults or arrears you must understand that although the client might think he is still a client he is not. He is now the enemy. He is the personification of evil. He steals your bonus at the end of the year. Treat him in a manner that he understands he is not a very likeable person anymore. Refer him to the collections department who is specially trained to make him feel guilty , get him to sign new

Promisary notes or even consent to summary judgment. They know how to do this without him actually knowing what he is signing “

Your status as prime client changed to that of criminal the moment you defaulted on something and are now actually costing them money. “You must come and see a consultant” “I am sorry but I will not” Ooh aches and pains “Ok when and where can the consultant see you at a place and time that will suit you sir ? “

Suddenly an attitude change : They might actually lose money now if they do not play to the customers tune !

The big swear word causing all the commotion of course is “Credit” If a potential client visit a bank with the purpose of opening a savings account he will be asked to fill in a form. Hitlerization requires the bank to check his credit record. What the.....hell for? He is not borrowing money ?

Fica sir. Yes Fica you too! Fica does not require the bank to check your credit record but big brother needs to keep track of what you do with your money.

You have to build a “credit record” sir . Why? So you can buy a house or a car on credit – you know we need the interest ( and the funny little costs )

Banks that used to be there to keep you money safe have now created a paperless economy with funny money. They call it “credit” Government even created a new law called the “Credit act”

What was the purpose of this act ? Apparently it was to safeguard the client. Who has been safeguarded apart from the banks ? Pray tell me !

Banks now use this act to their advantage. They pry every little personal detail out of their prospective clients. Nothing is sacred anymore. For them to give you a R 1000 loan they require of you to fill in an umteen forms and documents. Even trying to open a cheque account that does not require any credit facility goes through the same grueling process.

To be continued – These narritives are part of a book being written on banks by the author and is a lighthearted but very serious relay of what is actually going on with the business of the guys that should be looking after your money ( You only think it is still yours – They have misappropriated some of it to their advantage long ago)





*http://bewarethebul.blogspot.com/2010/11/un-human-factor.html