List of the 35 Life Insurance Companies in the Philippines Whose Licenses Were Renewed for the Year 2009 to 2010

1.  AsianLife and General Assurance Corp.
(formerly ATR Professional Life Assurance)
2.  AsianLife Financial Assurance Corp.
(formerly All Asia Life Assurance Corp.)
3.  Ayala Life Assurance Inc.
4. Beneficial Life Insurance
5.  BF Life Insurance Corp.
6.  BancLife Insurance Co.
7.  CAP Life Insurance Corp.
8.  Caritas Life Insurance Corp.
9.  Cooperative Insurance System of the Phil.
10.  Coop Life Insurance and Mutual Benefit Services
11.  Country Bankers Life Insurance Corp.
12.  First Life Financial Co.
(formerly First Guarantee Life Assurance Co.)
13.  Fortune Life Insurance Co.
14.  Generali Pilipinas Life Assurance Co.
15.  Great Pacific Life Assurance Corp.
16.  Great Life Financial Assurance Corp.
(formerly Nippon Life Insurance Co. of the Phil.)
17.  Insular Life Assurance Co.
18.  Manila Bankers Life Insurance Corp.
19.  Manufacturers Life Insurance Co. (Phil)
20.  Manufacturers Life Insurance Co. (Branch)
21.  Manulife Chinabank Life Assurance Corp.
(formerly Pramerica Life Insurance Co.)
22.  National Life Insurance Co. of the Phil.
23.  Paramount Life and General Insurance Corp.
24.  Philam Equitable Life Assurance Co.
25.  Philippine American Life and General Insurance Co.
26.  Philippine AXA Life Insurance Corp.
27.  Philippine Prudential Life Insurance Co.
28.  Philippines International Life Insurance Co.
29.  Pioneer Life Inc.
30.  PNB Life Insurance Inc.
31.  Pru Life Insurance Corp. of UK
32.  Sony Life Insurance (Phils.) Corp.
33.  Sun Life of Canada (Philippines) Inc.
34.  United Life Assurance Corp.
35.  United Coconut Planters Life Assurance Corp.

Based on paid-up capital as of Dec 31, 2009, the top ten firms are:

• Philam Life and Gen
• Sony
• BPI Philam Life (Philam and Ayala Life of BPI)
• United Cocolife
• Sunlife
• Great Life Financial
• Manulife Chinabank
• Manulife Phils
• Beneficial PNB (Beneficial Life and PNB Life Insurance)
• Grepalife Financial

Philippine Prudential Life is ranked 22nd among 35 insurance companies based on paid-up capital.

Based on net worth as of Dec 31, 2009,the top ten firms are:

• Philam Life Gen
• Insular Life
• Sunlife
• United Cocolife
• Manulife (Branch)
• Grepalife Financial
• Manulife (Phils)
• Phil. AXA
• Beneficial PNB
• BPI Philam Life

Philippine Prudential Life is ranked 28th among 35 insurance companies based on net worth.

Based on premium income as of December 31, 2009, the top ten firms are:

• Philam Life and Gen
• Sunlife
• Insular Life
• Phil AXA
• BPI Philam Life
• Pru Life
• Generali Pilipinas
• Manulife (Phils)
• Grepalife Financial
• United Cocolife

Philippine Prudential Life is ranked 17th among 35 insurance companies based on premium income.

UPDATE:  List of Licensed Life Insurance Companies in the Philippines for the year 2011

Prudentialife President Jose Alberto Alba has responded to the SEC’s suspension of its license to sell new pre-need plans by saying that the firm will continue to operate as a servicing firm for its preneed plans.

He said the firm will continue to pay benefits to planholders.

He also said Prudentialife Market Resource Corp. will continue to sell health plans, mutual funds and other insurance products and will continue to pursue new opportunities beyond the preneed industry.

I’m just bothered by the last statement in the article, saying that only 2 preneed firms submitted their capital build-up plans before the deadline of April 15 — Prudentialife and Cocoplans. Cocoplans’ proposal was approved while Prudentialife’s plan was not.

What about the other preneed firms?  What are their capital build-up plans?

In a related article, SEC Chairperson Fe Barin was quoted as saying that planholders affected by the suspension of Prudentialife’s license to sell pre-need plans should go to the SEC for advice.

Source/Reference:  Hannah L. Torregoza, author
SEC revokes license to sell of Prudential Life Plans, firm airs side

Manila Bulletin     mb.com.ph

She said SEC Chairwoman Fe Barin gave some more time to the 24 pre-need firms licensed for 2009 to build up their capital. She gave a deadline of up to April 15.  Danvil Plans is one of the 24 pre-need firms listed in the article.

Here’s the link to Ms. Doris Dumlao’s article:   Pre-need firms to get relief package.

Nakakakaba yong sinabi ni Jose Miguel M. Vazquez, Federation of Pre-need Companies of the Philippines president, noong February 20 tungkol sa business na pre-need.

Nag-research uli ako ng news ngayong umaga about pre-need sa Internet noong nakita ko sa ABS-CBN  news kagabi yong pagsasalita ni Vazquez habang ini-interview siya.

Ini-extend kasi ng SEC mula February 15 hanggang April 15 yong deadline ng mga pre-need companies para dagdagan ang capital nila.

Ang sabi ni Vazquez ay kailangan pa nila ng mas mahabang time para isipin kung magpapatuloy pa sila na mag-business. Iisipin daw nila kung profitable pa raw  ba ang business na pre-need. Ano ba yon?

Vazquez’s exact words:
“Is it enough time? Probably not, since each company is assessing whether to continue, should continue and can continue. It is not just a question of capital. Each company is reviewing whether there is still a future [in this business] and this cannot be determined in such a short time.”

According sa news na ito of Business World online, the group said some pre-need companies were considering stopping operations and were just trying to pay plan holders due to their huge trust fund deficits.

In the same TV news, nagsalita rin si Philip Piccio, the head of the PEP Coalition. Ina-accuse niya yong mga pre-need companies na sinasadya raw nilang ipakita na nalulugi na sila kahit hindi para hindi nila ibigay yong full values ng pre-need plans.

Source:

BusinessWorld   February 21, 2009

1. Four more pre-need companies are nearing bankruptcy, according to Philip Piccio, president of the Parents-Enabling Parents Coalition (PEP), a group of parents fighting for their open-ended plans with Pacific Plans. Piccio named Pryce Plans as one of the four, but didn’t name the three other pre-need firms in trouble.

2.  SEC chairwoman Fe Barin told congressmen that SEC issued 2009 licenses to only 24 of more than 50 pre-need companies.

3.  The proposed transfer of pre-need regulation from the SEC to the Insurance Commission has been approved by members of the House Committee on Banks and Financial Intermediaries. The transfer is included in a pre-need draft by Aurora Representative Juan Edgardo Angara.

4.  Jose Miguel M. Vasquez, president of the Philippine Federation of Pre-Need Plan Companies (PFPPCI) and Permanent Plans, denied they invested in companies abroad which later became bankrupt because Philippine law prohibits them.

5.  Cocoplans President Caesar T. Michelena said his firm has informed planholders that their trust fund, worth over P1.5 billion, can pay claims worth P500 million over five years.  It is interesting to note that Cocoplans was the only pre-need firm that released trust fund figures during this particular pre-need meeting of more than 10 members.

6. ABS-CBN News obtained documents showing that preneed firms have a deficit of almost 47 billion pesos in trust funds. It says that 11 pre-need firms have been losing since June 2008 because of the fall in the rates of return from 12 % to only 6% for their investments in government securities, in blue-chip stocks and other financial instruments. Another reason is the drastic drop in sales of pre-need plans.

7.  PFPPCI President Vasquez said pre-need companies can increase their capital over the next three years under relaxed SEC rules or stop selling new pre-need plans and undergo restructuring.

8.  Parents Enabling Parents (PEP) Coalition, an organization of owners of Pacific Plans open-ended plans, said that none of the pre-need firms under rehabilitation such CAP and Pacific Plans has been punished for mismanagement.

9.  PFPPCI President Vasquez will ask the SEC and the Central Bank to allow the pre-need industry to invest up to 10% of their total investments in dollar-denominated securities. Currently, the pre-need industry is allowed to invest only in peso-denominated securities.

10.  The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines, through its secretary general Ernesto Herrera, has called on legislators to pass without further delay the Preneed Industry Code to protect pre-need planholders.

11.  A list of 19 pre-need firms willing to increase their capital in 2009 to cope with difficulties in the financial markets is included in Salve Duplito’s article on Inquirer.net Money Smarts.  One of them is Danvil Plans.
It’s interesting to note that there are 6  licensed pre-need firms for 2009 that are not in this list. They are:
AMA Plans
Caritas Financial
CityPlans
Destiny Financial
First Country

In the case of AMA Plans, it’s new in the 2009 pre-need dealer’s list, so it’s safe to assume its capital is adequate. It is also interesting to note that Pacific Plans and Ideal Pension Plans are not licensed to sell in 2009, but they are included in this list of pre-need firms willing to increase their capital.

The article said that Philam Plans didn’t sign the 19-firm agreement because its trust fund is more than adequate to pay its planholders.

Advice From Journalists to Planholders:

1.   Know your options.

2. Avoid panic. Negative news will worsen the pre-need firm’s operations.

3. Do your own research. Ask SEC about your firm.