Before getting pregnant, I had no idea just how many freebies expectant ladies could redeem! There’s everything from free maternal milk tins (not just sachets!) and diapers from well known brands like Friso, Wyeth, Similac, Dumex, Huggies, etc. And from reading various blogs, I found that there are baby bundles and goodie bags you can receive after meeting insurance agents to learn more about maternity a.k.a pre-natal insurance. And when you attend baby fairs, there’s usually a goodie bag you can claim if you’ve pre-registered. There’s everything from diapers to wet wipes and even chicken essence in those bags!
Here are some of the brands you can Google for then request for their freebies:
FREE milk powder and other things like nursing covers, etc: Friso, Wyeth Nutrition, Similac Mum, Dumex, Enfamama, Nestle Baby Club
FREE diapers: Huggies, Beaba
By week 25 of my pregnancy, I’d already met up with 7 insurance agents and attended 2 baby fairs. (And gotten a total of 6 milk bottles, among other things, so that’s one less thing to purchase before baby arrives :P) Why 7 insurance agents, you might ask? Well, on IG ads, they don’t state which company they are actually from and you won’t know till you’re seated directly across from them. They’ll tell you over the phone that they are from “ABC Group” or a representative from (insert baby fair name) and later you’ll find out they represent A** the insurer. So 4 out of the 7 turned out to be from the same company – the A company. The other 3 were from P, G and M. Make a guess what those are. XD
*If you’d like to check out all the freebies I’ve received thus far, you can pop by my new IG account @therealtigermom 
Baby Fair Goodie Bags
Obviously, not all goodie bags are equally attractive. And not all baby fairs are as enjoyable.
The Mummys Market baby fair was the first such event I’d ever attended. And with the benefit of hindsight, I realise now just how well-organised it was. Expo Hall 5 was packed with exhibitors and while the queue outside the hall was long, it moved quickly. We simply showed the email with the QR code for staff to scan, collected our goodie bag on the spot, and were free to roam about the hall.
In contrast, the Mitas Baby Show goodie bag collection was more… disorganised. In the picture above, you see that we queued outside Hall 5 in the 3rd ‘column’, then showed staff the email and got a paper wristband, then did a long walk as indicated by the red and white arrows, before we could finally enter the Hall… then proceeded to queue (yet again) in front of the Lazada redemption counter. That’s not all. We then had to scan a QR code provided, read the T&Cs and submit a form, then show the acknowledgement page to staff at the counter, get the wristband cut off, then FINALLY get our goodie bag. OMG. So much waiting and walking and pointless wearing-then-cutting-off of the paper wristband.
Supermom Baby Fair (5-7 Aug 2022, MBS)…
The Supermom x Shopee Baby Fair was interesting in that it was held at Marina Bay Sands Expo. This rather ‘central’ location probably attracted more visitors. We’d parked at the open air carpark across the road so when we walked over, we noticed there was a queue of maybe just 5 people at one of the entrances to the Hall. Meanwhile, at the other entrance, there was a queue of perhaps 50 people! Seems like people tend to follow others blindly. We joined the shorter queue of course, and while the goodie bag was a major disappointment (as pictured above) mainly because it required minimum spending of $100 in order to be claimed, we (thought we) scored a good deal on a car seat (the Joie Tilt, which we purchased for just $149, U.P. $199). And we also bought some of the $1 deals: Gudetama Mittens & Booties for $1, and face mask sets at $1 for 10pcs.
After the event, the Joie Tilt was retailing for $127 in the (online) clearance sale… (@_@) By 9.9, it was going for $120.65… what in the world…
Final baby fair I attended before my delivery: the Mummy’s Market October 2022 edition, held at SG Expo from 7th to 9th October 2022. This time round, you get a wristband almost as soon as you reach (which could be half an hour before the event actually starts) so you are guaranteed a goodie bag. You can either state your mobile number (if staff are holding just a handphone) or show the QR code for staff behind the counter to scan and verify that you have registered. Once you have the wristband, you can leave for makan or whatever then enter Hall 5 and go about shopping when it’s officially open for the day, and collect the goodie bag at the Cordlife booth when you’re ready to leave.
On Day 1, we found that the Cordlife booth was next to the Prudential booth, and for once, it was possible to feel real fear walking past a whole line of Pru agents who were eyeing the people in the goodie bag queue. *shudder* On Day 2, I managed to speak with one Pru agent and received two freebies – isauchi hot&cold gel pack and breast milk storage starter pack. The Prudential agents (or rather, their taggers) were handing out Pigeon milk bottles too. AIA and Manulife, however, were offering small packs of wet wipes and balloons / stickers. <- MEAH~ I did not stop to chat with them. 
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Meeting Insurance Agents To Get Free Goodie Bags – Some “Highlights”
My pet peeve when meeting people for the first time is when they show up late. It’s worse when they ask to reschedule to a later timing when I am already on the way / at the venue! Best of all, they phrase it such that it’s to my benefit so I won’t have to rush. (Me… rush? More like you don’t want to rush over. Hello???)
As always… my favourite article on the WWW is Forbes’ – ‘5 Minutes Early Is On Time; On Time Is Late; Late Is Unacceptable‘.
Before pregnancy, I’ve already made it a point to be early for appointments. Since I got pregnant, I’d leave the house even earlier, factoring in extra time taken to waddle walk to Waterway Point.
If you’re meeting insurance agents, make sure you bring a book to read. Because there is a pretty good chance that they’ll be late. Just stay cool, grab the goodie bag, then don’t sign anything. If they can’t even be trusted to be punctual, they can’t be trusted with anything else.
Also… the goodie bag could really suck…
I popped by their office in Woodlands to collect this ginormous box (that supposedly can be used for baby to sleep in) and it measured some 65cm x 40cm. Very unwieldly. When I got home, my darling unzipped the mattress cover and found that roughly 50% of the mattress was discoloured. What’s that dark yellow stain? Looks like pee. The agent said she had checked after I let her know, and it’s due to placement near a window. Sunlight does this?! (@_@) Anyway, I threw out the box and mattress, and kept the other items. WLE! Make me lug this monstrous thing all the way home – from Woodlands to Punggol.
I think what intrigued me the most after meeting so many agents is that there is a fair number of them who are male, unmarried and have no children. What are they doing hawking maternity insurance?! Are the commissions THAT attractive? *I’ll come to that part in a bit.
How Much Do The Insurance Agents Earn From Maternity Plan (Bundles)?
Here’s my experience from meeting two agents from AIA. Agent A is a father who’s relatively new to the industry and was supposed to show up together with his manager but the latter was preoccupied with assisting a client with some claim issues and could not pop by. Agent A was not too pushy and allowed me to state my preference for Whole Life plans (vs Investment-Linked Plans) and offered two options:
[Agent A] AIA’s Whole Life Plan (25 Years) distribution cost is $2369. Monthly premium (with riders) is $158.99 and when transferred to child, covers him/her for $150K.
AIA’s Whole Life Plan (15 Years) distribution cost is $1822. Monthly premium (with riders) is $209.90 and when transferred to child, covers him/her for $150K.
There’s minimal difference in distribution cost a.k.a commissions so I think he didn’t mind which one I picked. (*Note: The agent will not get the full sum stated as the “distribution cost” since they have their own internal bandings within the company. SO a more senior agent may get perhaps 80%(?) of that while a junior one may get 60+%?)
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Agent B is a young, unwed lady who’s been in the industry for about 6 years. And instead of $150K coverage (as with the Whole Life Plans that Agent A recommended), she sent me the quote for $200K coverage. So at $2819, the distribution cost is higher than the $1822/$2369 that I would have paid if I’d selected Agent A’s recommendations. She also decided to propose both Whole Life and ILP…
[Agent B] AIA’s Whole Life Plan (20 Years) distribution cost is $2819. Monthly premium (with riders) $216.20 and when transferred to child, covers him/her for $200K.
AIA’s ILP distribution cost is $8463 (!!!) over 30 years. In the first year alone, it’s $3720, and $1800 in the second, $720 in the third year, and thereafter, it’s about $100+/yr.
And it’s pretty evident why agents would push for you to purchase ILPs, whether it’s truly in your benefit to do so or not.
And if you do decide to get an investment-linked plan (ILP), you can *cough* squeeze the agent a bit for extra freebies. I did not know this till one agent said he could offer me a free stroller if I got the Whole Life Plan or pay for the rider (around $369) if I picked the ILP. Actually… IF (and that’s a big if) I’m purchasing the ILP, I’ll probably request for a free stroller, free rider, free car seat and more. Hahaha!
*Some agents are a bit more crafty in that besides maternity plans, they’ll want to sell you a CareShield Life supplement too. Those whose memories are a bit iffy when it comes to insurance-related stuff and whether or not we have bought something (like me!), are at a disadvantage. They earn around $200+/- per year for the first 2 years when you get the supplement payable via MediSave. And even if you have already bought the supplement (like I have), they’ll still want you to switch to their company, and then you pay for the other (original) policy in cash since there can only be 1 deduction per year from your MediSave for this. <- This is what I’ve heard some unscrupulous agents get unwitting customers to do, so consider yourself warned.
~ I Wanted To Buy A Maternity Plan BUT I GOT REJECTED ~
If you’re 13 weeks pregnant, it’d be a great time to get a maternity plan. Get it NOW before doing all the other tests which may reveal medical issues that will make the insurers reject you.
Manulife rejected my application as I had a large ovarian cyst detected via ultrasound at 7 weeks gestation… and I HAD to declare this during the application. And once one company has rejected me, it’s unlikely that any other company will accept my application without imposing exclusions or increased premiums. So… long story short… I did not get a maternity plan.
But what I want to share in this blogpost is how to select an agent that’s right for you:
- Caring: The right agent will not try to hard-sell you an ILP when he/she knows that a Whole Life plan is more suitable for your finances and your needs. A good way to find out if the agent is simply viewing you as a “carrot to chop” is to ask “In my shoes, which would you buy – Whole Life or ILP?” OR “Which plan would most people buy?” then wait for the person to reply. The one who’s all about the money, money, money will most certainly push you to get the ILP.
- Knowledgeable: There were a couple of agents I stumped with this question – “If I get the Maternity + Whole Life /ILP bundle, and something bad happens to the baby, then will your company give me a full refund?” Because when you get a bundle, you may already have a whole life plan for yourself even before getting pregnant, and this new plan you get is to be transferred to baby when baby is born. SO what happens when there are complications (such as in the NUH case where the woman who was 36 weeks pregnant lost her baby after a 2-hour wait to see a doctor)? There’s no baby for this new plan to be transferred to. So do you have to keep paying or will the insurer kindly give you a full refund? There were a few lazy-ass agents who decided to wing it and verbally promise me that for sure, the insurer would refund all my monies paid “OUT OF GOODWILL”. And when I probed further about what if there are admin fees, one agent actually said “If the insurer charges you a fee, I’ll pay you out of my own pocket, no worries!” LOL!!! *Anyway… people, the right answer is: *jiang jiang jiang* You can keep the policy (that would be heart-breaking) and continue paying as per normal OR surrender it and get $0 back. Yup… it’s considered an early termination so you don’t get a cent back. I would think that any woman who has lost her baby would also want to terminate the policy, or else every payment would be a somber reminder of what was lost and what continues to be an emotional and financial drain.
- Clickable: I don’t know about you but I think someone who’s unmarried and doesn’t have kids would be a strange person to buy a maternity plan from. It’s like buying combs from a monk or steaks from a vegan person. Even for those who are married and have kids… sometimes a difference in opinion can be rather jarring. For example, one agent who’s a father could not appreciate the fact that both his wife and I prefer having daughters. Yes, he has a daughter when he’d very much prefer a son. I’m like… meah… you don’t carry the baby in your belly for even 1 day out of the freaking 40 weeks… you have no say. At most… you’re just the sperm donor. Muahahaha…
All in all, take your time to shop around, collect all the freebies you can get and if you need a recommendation for an agent to purchase maternity insurance from, you can ask me via email – I’ve met so many of them that I might just have the right one for you.
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And if you spot any freebie you’re keen on, over at my new IG account @therealtigermom, you can PM me on IG and I’ll see if I can put you in touch with the person/company I got it from then you can claim the same freebie too. 