Late last year, when someone in our extended family passed away, I became familiar with some of the death benefits available for beneficiaries in the Philippines. In my extended family’s case, some of these benefits were claimed successfully while the others were denied for various reasons.

Here are some death benefits in the Philippines:

SSS – SOCIAL SECURITY SYSTEM (For employees of private companies)

- Funeral benefit of 20,000 pesos regardless of number of monthly contributions, given to the person who spent for the funeral
- Monthly pension or lump-sum cash benefit for the legal spouse and legitimate, illegitimate or legally adopted children younger than 21 years old (up to 5 children), and older children with permanent disabilities

Pension is for the primary beneficiaries of deceased members who have contributed at least 36 monthly contributions before the semester of death.
Lump-sum is for primary beneficiaries of members who contributed less than 36 monthly contributions before the semester of death.

If there are no primary beneficiaries (no spouse and no children), the dependent parents receive the lump-sum cash benefit).

Pension amount or lump-sum amount depends on the number of credited years of membership and average monthly salary credit.

- For members who died in a workplace accident or due to an occupational illness, additional Employee Compensation benefits are given to beneficiaries.

Note:  File your claim at the SSS branch nearest where you live.

PAG-IBIG or HOME DEVELOPMENT MUTUAL FUND (HDMF)

- The death benefit amount is a percentage of the Total Provident Benefits.  The Provident total is the sum of the member’s monthly contributions, employers’ contributions for the member and dividends. Yong death benefit sabay na ibinibigay sa Total Provident Benefit. Isang claim form lang siya.

Note:  File your claim at the branch where the member’s records are kept.

OWWA (For OFWs)

- Burial benefit of 20,000 pesos
- Insurance benefit of 100,000 pesos if death is due to natural cause or 200,000 pesos if death is due to accident

OWWA
Insurance & Health Care Benefits Division
7th Street cor. FB Harrison St. Pasay City
Monday to Friday, 8 am to 5 pm
(or go to your OWWA Regional Welfare Office)

Note: If you’re an OFW, make sure your membership is always current. My relative paid his OWWA membership for the almost 30 years he worked abroad, but because he worked for two straight years during his last contract, he was not able to pay his OWWA membership, so his family’s claims were denied by OWWA.

You pay your OWWA when you pay your OEC or Overseas Exit Clearance or Balik-Manggagawa (BM) papers at the POEA or at any accredited OEC payment center or service. The OWWA membership fee is 25 US dollars, payable in pesos.

PRIVATE INSURANCE

-  This refers to life insurance policies purchased from private insurance companies such as Philam, Insular Life, and BPI-Philam Life (formerly Ayala Life), Sun Life, Manulife, PNB Life and others.

PRIVATE INSURANCE linked to BANK ACCOUNTS

-  There are life and accident insurance policies offered by banks as added benefits to certain special bank accounts and time deposits.

- An example is the BPI Get Started Savings Account with Life Insurance. The account comes with a free BPI-Philam Life insurance equivalent to 5 times the account’s balance, up to 2 million pesos.
Balance means the average month-to-date average daily balance of the past three calendar months prior to the death ofthe insured.

PRIVATE INSURANCE linked to CREDIT CARDS

- This is for credit cardholders who have purchased credit life insurance and life insurance policies from or through their credit card issuers.

- Examples are the Assure and Saver life insurance programs of Axa Philippines, a joint venture between Metrobank and Global AXA Group of France.

INSURANCE linked to MEMORIAL PLANS

- Some memorial companies give financial assistance or death benefits to the beneficiaries of those who pass away while still paying their memorial plans in monthly, quarterly or yearly installments.

- For instance, the St. Peter Life Plans with Return of Premium policy gives cash assistance to beneficiaries if the planholder dies during the paying period or within 5 years after full payment. There’s also additional benefit for death or loss of limbs or eyes due to accident.

HMO

- HMOs provide primarily hospitalization benefits, but most of them also provide death benefits to HMO members’ beneficiaries.

- An example is the INTELLICARE corporate HMO program of Asalus Corp. This HMO plan gives cash assistance of 10,000 pesos for natural death and 20,000 pesos for accidental death to the beneficiaries of principal HMO cardholders.

LOCAL EMPLOYER

- Separate death benefits for employees of companies with retirement, incentive or insurance programs for their employees. Usually ang mga big local companies and some foreign multinationals ang merong ganitong Death Benefits in the Philippines.

I looked at Book 4 of the Labor Code of the Philippines (titled Health, Safety and Social Welfare Benefits) and I saw that the only mandatory employee benefit related to death is that given by SSS. Mandatory for employers na tapatan nila ang SSS contribution ng employees. And later, naging mandatory rin yong employers’ share sa PAG-IBIG contributions.

OFW EMPLOYER

- Some OFW employers give death benefits, especially to the beneficiaries of long-time employees. If the OFW passes away while on vacation, the primary beneficiary should email the employer, together with a copy of the death certificate and a copy of marriage or birth certificate, and request for any financial benefit.

COOPERATIVES

- There are some cooperatives that provide death benefits or financial assistance to the beneficiaries of members. An example is the Center for Community Transformation (CCT), which has a group insurance partnership with Philam Life.

BARANGAY ASSOCIATIONS

- In our barangay and nearby barangays in our province in the North, there is an association called SARANAY. Whenever someone in the barangay dies, each family in the barangay contributes a certain amount of money (the same amount for all families) to accumulate money for the bereaved family. A total of 10,000 pesos (50 pesos times 200 families) is already a big help in the province.  I am proud of my mother, who is now in her 80s, because she and her friend were the ones who started this program years ago in our rural area, and now this program has spread out into other barangays.

May death benefit ba na nakukuha sa PHILHEALTH?
Sori, WALA, kasi hospitalization or medical treatment cost assistance ang focus ng Philhealth.

GSIS, AFP, PNP

Note:  We are not familiar with death benefits provided by the GSIS, AFP or PNP, so we will not be able to answer questions about these benefits.

GSIS (For government employees)

- Burial benefit of 20,000 pesos, given to the spouse or to the children (if spouse is already deceased)
- Survivors’ monthly pension or cash benefits to primary beneficiaries (legal spouse and minor children up to 5). If there are no spouse and children, death benefits are given to secondary beneficiaries.
- For members who died in the course of work or due to an occupational illness, additional Employee Compensation benefits are given to beneficiaries.
- Proceeds of compulsory and/or optional life insurance policies and/or educational policies and/or accident insurance policies for beneficiaries of members who participated in these optional programs.

Note:  GSIS has several retirement and life insurance options, kaya iba-iba ang pag-compute ng amounts of death benefits received by beneficiaries.

If you’re in the Muntinlupa area,  and you would like to purchase a St.  Peter Life Plan or St. Peter Memorial Plan, just make a comment below, and I’ll email you the name and cell phone no. of a St. Peter agent.  Sabi ng agent na ito, bibigyan daw ako ng referral fee or konting deduction sa monthly payment ko sa plan ko kung meron akong mai-refer.

Sa dami ng pre-need na naba-bankrupt, bakit ako nagre-refer ng memorial plan?  Baka sakali lang na naghahanap ka ng ganitong plan at meron kang tiwala sa St. Peter.  Hindi naman sila na-bankrupt noong kasagsagan ng pre-need collapse. At hindi naman sila focused sa pera, kundi sa memorial chapels, caskets at memorial services. Meron daw silang malawak na taniman ng mga trees (forgot the tree name) which they use to make caskets.

Hindi natin alam, baka ma-bankrupt din ang St. Peter, kung ma-mismanage (of course, hindi sana), pero nakita ko kasi yong hirap nang namatayan, kaya kumuha rin ako ng plan, para hindi mahirapan ang anak ko, lalo na at only child siya. Pero lagi kong ipinagdarasal na pahiramin pa ako ng Panginoon ng mahaba-habang buhay para mapagtapos ko pa siya sa college, at makatulong pa ako sa extended family members.

Death Benefits in the Philippines

If we count 9 case rates payment packages implemented since 2003, there are now 31 medical and surgical cases paid by Philhealth under its Case Rates Payment scheme. Other cases are paid under the regular Fee-for-Service scheme.

The fixed Philhealth payments are made directly to the hospitals or clinics. The fixed Philhealth payment is deducted from the total hospital bill and the balance will be paid by the patient.

Philhealth said that the Case Rates basis of payments for SURGICAL CASES  is applied to cases managed at Levels 2 to 4 hospitals (bigger hospitals), with certain exceptions.

For sponsored members and their dependents, the No Balance Billing Policy will apply when they are confined in government hospitals or clinics. It means the Philhealth payments will be adequate to cover their expenses for these 22 medical and surgical cases and they don’t need to pay anything. In cases where patients are asked to buy certain drugs or supplies, they will be reimbursed.

These are the selected medical and surgical cases and the fixed amounts that Philhealth is going to pay to hospitals or clinics, implemented for patients admitted starting September 1, 2011:

MEDICAL CASES

The source of the ranking is a report published by the Insurance Commission on its website. IC mentions that the report is also tentative as of June 2011.

Two insurance firms, BF Life and National Life, have not submitted their premium income report. National Life is no longer in the list of life insurance companies licensed for 2011.
BF Life is part of the Banco Filipino group of companies whose key member Banco Filipino was closed by Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas in March 2011.

Related Articles:
Life Insurance Companies in the Philippines With Licenses Renewed for 2011
Licensed Insurance Companies in the Philippines 2010

Ano ba ang pneumonia? Ang pneumonia ay pagka-infection ng baga dahil sa germs — puedeng bacteria o virus. Itong sakit na ito ay serious at puedeng ikamatay kapag hindi naagapang gamutin.

Here are the top illnesses based on the number of Philhealth claims paid from January to December 2010.  Data was sourced from the Philhealth website. Note: Technically, No. 4 and No. 6 are, of course, not illnesses.

These are the symptoms of Pneumonia:

• High temperature
• Coughing, could be with pleghm or could be without
• Phlegm can be white and frothy or yellow green
• Difficulty in breathing
• Chest pain
• Blue nails and blue lips
• Hallucination

If you experience the last four symptoms, you should go to a doctor, clinic or hospital immediately.

What causes pneumonia?

You get pneumonia if germs enter your lungs and multiply there. They could be bacteria or viruses.
The most common bacteria are the pneumococci.

Related Articles:

Top 10 Causes of Death in the Philippines
Philhealth Requires Nine Months of Prior Payments
Late Philhealth Payments — Can I Make Retroactive Payments?
Philhealth Branches — Membership Reactivation

• Ace Insurance
• APEC Plans
• CAP Education
• CAP Pension
• Generali Pilipinas
• Golden Haven Memorial
• GreatLife
• Grepalife
• KC Fraternal
• Loyola Plans
• Manila Memorial
• Manulife
• Manuplan
• Paramount Insurance
• Philamlife
• Pramerica
• Prulife UK
• Sunlife of Canada
• Sunlife Financial

It’s news to me that CAP Education payments are still being collected.  So, when I saw the list at Southmall’s Bills Payment section, I wondered. Does this mean that CAP education policies are still being paid and that the benefits will be fully paid?

Kasi hindi naman magbabayad ang planholder kung walang assurance na naayos na ang problem ng CAP. Will research.  My niece’s CAP benefit was only partially paid at delayed na delayed.

I looked at the IC website, but the news is not yet posted there. Perhaps because the list is not yet complete. The BusinessWorld report said that there are still 4 firms whose applications are pending, and that the deadline for license application is the end of February 2011.

The pre-need firms missing in the 2011 list which were in the SEC list as of December 2009 are:

1. Abundance Providers and Entrepreneurs Corporation (APEC) (formerly Pacific Plans)
2. Cocoplans
3. Danvil Plans (formerly Berkley International Plans)
4. First Country Plans
5. Grayline Plans
6. Trusteeship Plans

——————————————————–

UPDATE as of Feb 25, 2011:

The 18th and 19th pre-need firms licensed to sell plans this 2011 are Trusteeship Plans  and APEC, based on a report by BusinessWorld.  APEC, however, is authorized to sell only life plans, not pension and educational plans as its educational portfolio is still under a rehabilitation plan. APEC though is servicing its pension and fixed-value educational plans.

——————————————————–

It’s a relief to know that the IC examined the finances of the 17 pre-need firms before giving them their licenses and that these firms passed them. This means that these firms are strong because they survived the tumult in the pre-need sector. It’s also great that the IC is making sure that the remaining 4 firms with pending applications pass the requirements.

Based on the report, the IC examined the following:

• trust funds of the pre-need firms
• financial statements
• response to claims by planholders
• minimum paid-up capital
• types of investments

For those wondering about Danvil Plans, I don’t know if it’s among the 4 with still pending license applications. If the report is true that its portfolio was acquired by Philippine Prudential Life Insurance Company (PPLIC or Prudentialife), then it makes sense that it’s no longer in the list.

It was PPLIC which processed my benefit claim last October 2010. And it’s still processing Danvil Plans claims, from my latest update. PPLIC is an insurance firm — it’s in the list of 30 firms with renewed licenses for the year 2011. It’s also among those with highest premium profits.

I’ll post the final list of firms licensed to sell pre-need plans in the Philippines when the list is already on the IC website.

Here’s the list of firms licensed to sell pre-need plans in 2010:

Pre-need Companies in the Philippines Now under Insurance Commission
Life Insurance Companies in the Philippines With Licenses Renewed for 2011

Cash value is the amount you get from your insurance policy or pre-need plan
when you discontinue, cancel and surrender your policy or plan. It could range from zero to
a certain percentage of your total plan payments or your insurance face amount.

Cash value is often less than your total payments or your face amount,  since you’re getting it before maturity date or before the insurance is due.

Cash value is a provision that is not applied only in the Philippines; it is a practice around the world. It is not a scam. It may not be fair, but it’s a legal business practice.

Cash value is also the basis of computation if you’re applying for a loan from your insurance or pre-need plan.

The term Cash Value is more often associated with life insurance policies as the term commonly used in pre-need plans is Termination Value.

For many insurance policies, the Cash Value is ZERO for the first two or three years. However, there are now policies that have Cash Value in the second year.

How is cash value calculated for insurance policies?

Among the pages of your insurance policy is a Table of Non-Forfeiture Values, usually with this note: For each 1,000 pesos of Face Amount.

Go to the table of your Age at Issue (your age when your policy was issued — You can check your Issue Age on the front page of your policy.) Look for the columns End of Year and Cash Value, and get the corresponding number.

Divide the Face Amount of your insurance by 1,000. Multiply this result with the number you got from the table of Non-Forfeiture Value. That is your Cash Value.

How is cash value computer for pre-need plans?

Look for the Termination Values section in your contract. The following is an example:

If you have paid less than 20 percent of plan cost, you get ZERO
If you have paid 20 percent to 39.99 percent of plan cost, you get 20 percent of total payments made.
If you have paid 40 percent to 59.99 percent of plan cost, you get 30 percent of total payments made.

Take note that you’re getting a percentage of the total payments you made, and not a percentage of maturity benefits.

For the 2011-2012 license year, the 34 life insurance companies licensed for the past year have renewed their licenses.  There was only one change in the industry —  Grepalife Financial, Inc. became Sun Life Grepa Financial, Inc. The Philippine unit of Canadian firm Sun Life Financial bought 49 percent of Grepalife and assumed management control in October 2011.

In 2010, there were 35 life insurance companies whose licenses were renewed or issued.  For the year 2011, there are 34 firms. One is missing from the list.

There’s one new name on the list:

CLIMBS Life & General Insurance Cooperative (It’s not explained in the Insurance Commission’s 2011 list, but further research says that this is formerly Coop Life Insurance and Mutual Benefit Services, which is on the 2010 list)

There are two name changes:
Ayala Life Assurance Inc. to BPI-Philam Life Assurance Corporation
Great Pacific Life Assurance Corp. to Grepalife Financial, Inc.

There’s one missing company on the 2011 list, which was on the 2010 list:

National Life Insurance Co. of the Phil.  (I’ve been researching what happened to this firm.  So far, I’m not getting any result aside from its Ayala, Makati address.)

Following are the 34 Licensed Life Insurance Companies for the year 2011:

Four of these firms offer both life and non-life insurance policies. These are:

1. AsianLife and General Assurance Corporation
(name before 2003 was ATR Professional Life Assurance Corporation)
2. CLIMBS Life & General Insurance Cooperative
3. Paramount Life & General Insurance Corporation
4. Philippine American Life and General Insurance Company

These 30 other firms offer only Life Insurance Policies:

1.  AsianLife Financial Assurance Corporation
(name before 2003 was All Asia Life Assurance Corporation)
2.  Banclife Insurance Company, Inc.
3.  Beneficial Life Insurance Company, Inc.
4.  BF Life Insurance Corporation
5.  BPI-Philam Life Assurance Corporation
(formerly Ayala Life Assurance, Inc.)
6.  CAP Life Insurance Corporation
7.  Caritas Life Insurance Corporation
8.  Cooperative Insurance System of the Philippines
9.  Country Bankers Life Insurance Corporation
10.  First Life Financial Company, Inc.
(name before 2007 was First Guarantee Life Assurance Co.)
11.  Fortune Life Insurance Company, Inc.
12.  Generali Pilipinas Life Assurance Company, Inc.
13.  Great Life Financial Assurance Corporation
(name before 2007 was Nippon Life Insurance Company of the Philippines)
14.  Grepalife Financial, Inc. (became Sun Life Grepa Financial Inc. in November 2011)
(formerly Great Pacific Life Assurance Corp.)
15.  Insular Life Assurance Company, Ltd., The
16.  Manila Bankers Life Insurance Corporation
17.  Manufacturers Life Insurance Company (Phils.), Inc., The
18. Manufacturers Life Insurance Company (Branch), The
19.  Manulife Chinabank Life Assurance Corporation
(formerly The Pramerica Life Insurance Co., Inc.)
20.  Philam Equitable Life Assurance Company, Inc.
21.  Philippine AXA Life Insurance Corporation
22.  Philippine Prudential Life Insurance Company, Inc.
23.  Philippines International Life Insurance Company, Inc.
24.  Pioneer Life Inc.
25.  PNB Life Insurance, Inc.
26.  Pru Life Insurance Corporation of U.K.
27.  Sony Life Insurance (Phils.) Corporation
28.  Sun Life of Canada (Philippines), Inc.
29.  United Coconut Planters Life Assurance Corporation
30.  United Life Assurance Corporation

Related Article: Licensed Life Insurance Companies in 2010, with lists of top-performing companies

The increase is from 300 pesos per quarter to 600 pesos per quarter, or 1,200 per year to 2,400 pesos per year. The premium will further increase to 900 pesos per quarter, or 3,600 pesos per year after the first year of implementation.

Despite having assets worth 115 billion pesos and just 6.2 billion in liabilities as of July 2010, Philhealth decided to implement an increase. Philhealth officials explained that the increase will affect only professionals whose family income is more than 25,000 pesos a month. To be exempted from the increase, a professional must submit a copy of his/her latest Income Tax Return (ITR).

Professionals earning over 25,000 pesos per month and who are already members will start paying the increased premiums in their next year of membership.

The following professionals earning over 25,000 pesos a month are affected by the increase, according to Philhealth Circular No. 24, s. 2010,released on September 27, 2010, signed by Philhealth President and CEO Rey Aquino.

• Accountant
• Architect
• Criminologist
• Customs Broker
• Dentist
• Dietician
• Engineer

Aeronautical
Agricultural
Chemical
Civil
Electrical
Electrical Communications
Geodetic
Marine
Mechanical
Metallurgical
Mining
Sanitary

• Geologists
• Landscape architect
• Law Practitioner
• Librarian
• Marine Deck Of fleet
• Marine Engineer Officer
• Master Plumber
• Medical Technologist
• Medical Doctor
• Midwife
• Naval Architect
• Nurse
• Nutritionist
• Optometrist
• Pharmacist
• Physical and Occupational Therapist
• Professional Teacher
• Radiologist and X-Ray Technician
• Social Worker
• Sugar Technologist
• Veterinarian
• Agriculturist
• Artist
• Businessman/Business Owner
• Consultant
• Environmental Planner
• Fisheries Technologist
• Forester
• Guidance Counselor
• Interior Designer
• Industrial Engineer
• Media

Actor and Actress
Director
Scriptwriter
News correspondent

• Professional Athlete, Coach, Trainor, Referee, and Related Profession

Related Articles:

Philhealth Requires Nine Months of Prior Payments

Philhealth Branches — Membership Reactivation

Philhealth Branches in South Metro, Laguna, Cavite, Batangas, Lucena

Philhealth will pay a portion of your hospital bill if you were confined in a Philhealth-accredited hospital. It could pay one-fifth or more of your bill, depending on the category of the hospital, the kinds of treatments performed on you, your room rate, your doctor’s fee, your medicines, your laboratory fees and the gravity of your sickness.

For each type of cost, Philhealth will help you pay, but only up to a certain point. But taken altogether, Philhealth can lower your total bill.

How can you be a member since you never worked for a company or you no
longer work for a company?

You can be a Voluntary or Individually Paying Member.
Visit any branch of Philhealth, bring your IDs, a xerox of your IDs, and original and xerox copies of your birth certificate.
If you have dependents, bring your marriage certificate (for a non-Philhealth-member spouse), birth certificates (for unmarried children) and birth certificates or any proof of age (for parents aged 60 years old or older and who are not lifetime members.) For each of these certificates, bring the originals and copies. If the originals are not available, bring certified true copies.

Bring also 300 pesos for your first quarter of payment (100 pesos per month). You can also pay for six, nine, 12 or more months in advance.

QUEZON CITY
PhilHealth Regional Office NCR Central – Quezon City
F.R. Estuar Bldg., 880 Quezon Avenue,
Quezon City
Tel Nos: 332-3021, 332-3022, 332-1550, 332-1551

CALOOCAN CITY
G/F Remcor Bldg., Rizal Ave. Extension bet.
10th & 11th Ave., Caloocan City
Tel Nos: 365-2012, 365-2014, 365-0464

MANDALUYONG
#94 P. Cruz St., 2/F Rustans Express, Boni Avenue,
Brgy. San Jose, Mandaluyong City
Tel Nos: 532-0095, 532-0449

MALOLOS, BULACAN
PhilHealth Regional Office III – Branch B
Feliza Jazza Commercial Building, Sumapang Matanda,
Mc Arthur Highway, Malolos City, Bulacan
Tel Nos: (044) 7961559, (044) 796-1464

Servicing Office
Javier Bldg., (beside Glori’s Supermarket)
Sumapang Matanda, Malolos City
Tel Nos: (044) 6790-6692

STA. MARIA, BULACAN
Angelica Bldg., Gov. F. Halili Ave., Bagbaguin,
Sta. Maria, Bulacan
Tel Nos: (044) 641-1156, (044) 641-1684

Related Articles:

Philhealth Requires Nine Months of Prior Payments
Philhealth Branches — Membership Reactivation
No Philhealth Payments Prior, No Philhealth Benefits
Philhealth Branches in South Metro, Laguna, Cavite, Batangas, Lucena