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.

Why am I posting it?

First, because I want to share some rays of sunshine to my fellow Danvil planholders who are still to claim their maturity benefits.  According to the PhilPrudentialife Insurance (PPLIC) officer who handed me my check (PPLIC has been processing Danvil’s claims as part of an agreement), the last maturity dates of Danvil plans will be in 2013 — those pre-need plans issued under the Berkley/Family Life partnership, later purchased by Danvil Plans.

I took his explanation to mean that those plans sold by Danvil and which are maturing after 2013 are PPLIC plans, which are insurance plans, since PPLIC is an insurance company.  (By the way, PPLIC has launched its new website. Type in danvil.com.ph and you’ll arrive at PPLIC’s website.)

Secondly, I posted the check to show that pre-need firms can fulfill their promises to their planholders if only they manage their firms well. All the pre-need firms in the Philippines suffered through the same global financial meltdown, but Danvil and the others have been able to survive. Why did the others collapse? Because they touched their trust funds, they invested in unsaleable memorial-lot and other real estate projects and they went overboard in their administrative expenses.

Sabi ng ibang pre-need firms, kasi global financial crisis, kasi bumaba ang interest rate, kasi…  Bakit?  Kung bumaba ba yong interest rate, bumababa rin ba yong principal?  Kung di ninyo gagalawin yong trust funds, andon pa rin sila, makakapag-antay sila ng time na tataas uli yong interest rate.  Hindi naman sila stocks.

Sabihin ng ibang pre-need firms, hindi ganong kasimple… Ganon? Ang mga simpleng tao na nagpakahirap para lang makaipon para may pambayad sa premiums (at hindi naman sana sila nagpakahirap na magbayad sa inyo kung hindi ninyo sila binola, in the first place),  ano na sila ngayon?  Yong iba nga, umaasa na sana makuha nila yong claims nila at pambili na lang ng gamot, o kaya pangtawid sa araw-araw kasi nawalan sila ng trabaho.

These past weeks, it’s been painful to read comments from Ideal Pension planholders as they ask me about how to pursue their claims. They live in Mindanao, in the Mountain Province, in the Visayas — how can they travel to Makati and attend the bankruptcy/insolvency hearing for Ideal Pension?  At para saan ang hearing na yan?  Paano na yong mga walang pamasahe at time para mag-submit ng claims?  Yong mga walang lawyers?  Sino ang tutulong sa kanila? At bakit bankruptcy?

That’s why I’m glad that it’s not Ideal Pension people that made bola to me years before, or the other failed pre-need firms, but Berkley/Family First/Danvil Plans.  At least, kahit overboard yong marketing nila noon, they fulfilled naman their promise to me, giving me the exact amount of maturity benefits promised, on the date promised. Danvil has been paying benefits since the first plans matured in 2008.

To Mr. Daniel Villanueva of Danvil Plans and the other Danvil officers, although it’s your legal  duty to pay our maturity benefits, and therefore there’s no need for thanks, in light of what happened in the pre-need industry, I thank you for:

1.  listening to advice and didn’t pursue the almost-done sale of Danvil Plans’ pre-need portfolio to Legacy.

2.  not touching the trust funds and not putting our money in uncertain investments (presumably, kasi natanggap naman namin ang mga checks namin at nag-clear.)

Businesspeople with INTEGRITY and MORAL VALUES,  sana dadami pa kayo.

Related articles:

Danvil Plans — Claiming Your Maturity Benefits

Pre-need Companies in the Philippines Now under Insurance Commission

Ideal Pension Plans Corp. Planholders — Time to Unite

The sign on the outside was also already PPLIC, short for Philippine Prudential Life Insurance Co.  PPLIC and Danvil have been partners since PPLIC bought Danvil’s insurance portfolio in 2007, and probably before 2007, so whatever relationship they have now is not surprising. When you ask reps about the Danvil-PPLIC thing, you get different answers, so it’s enough for me that they’re processing Danvil claims while selling PPLIC plans.

Danvil Plans is strict about IDs — which is good, baka may mag-claim na iba, so prepare your IDs. If you lack IDs, get a postal ID or a TIN digitized ID now.

These are the requirements in filing your claim for maturity benefits:

1. Original copy of Policy Face Page (the separate one-page summary that contains details about the planholder, beneficiaries and amount)
2. Original copy of Certificate of Full Payment
3. Original copy of Contract Provision
4. Photocopy of Cedula or Community Tax Certificate (Current Year)
5. Photocopy of two primary IDs  or  one primary ID and two secondary IDs

Valid Primary IDs:

• Passport
• SSS Digitized ID
• Company ID (current)
• Driver’s License
• PRC ID
• School ID (current)

Valid Secondary IDs:

• Postal ID
• TIN Digitized ID
• Senior Citizen ID

The processing of claims takes 45 to 60 days, so file your claims about two to three months before your maturity date.  When claiming your check, bring the originals of the photocopies you submitted. Bring the required IDs and your cedula.

For planholders abroad or OFWs who are not able to file and claim in person:

– Choose a representative who is of legal age.

– Go to the Philippine Consulate in the country where you are, and obtain a Special Power of Attorney (SPA).  Danvil Plans specifies your SPA to be consularized.  The SPA should state that you are:

• authorizing the representative to transact and process the maturity benefit claim in your behalf
• authorizing the representative to claim the maturity benefit check and sign the release, waiver and quitclaim form in your behalf.

Your representative should present:

1. two primary IDs, or one primary ID and two secondary IDs
2. cedula (current year)
3. photocopy of the IDs and the cedula

You can request Danvil Plans for the check to be made payable to your representative, so he/she can encash it for you, or deposit in his/her account for subsequent wiring to your foreign account. But make sure your representative is a person of integrity. Remember, cash can disappear like magic. If you choose this option, include this request also in your SPA.  Check that you’re writing the correct name/spelling of your representative in your SPA.

Update as of August 15, 2010:

I filed my claim this afternoon. As described by others who filed last year and this year, the process was easy. Ganon pa rin… na ang unang step is to sign a small sheet of paper stating your purpose for visiting the office. Then you are ushered inside.

The time I was there, marami pa ring kinakausap. Makikita mo pa rin yong usual na nakikita noong Family First pa –  yong mga katatapos lang nag-grocery, kasi may mga SM grocery bags under the tables, mga spouses/bfs/gfs/children waiting, at yong walang kamatayang Iced Tea! Pero, in fairness, okay naman yong Iced Tea nila compared sa Max’s. The rep and I nagtsika konti, tapos kinuha at tsinek niya documents, then binigay sa akin one copy of the checklist/receipt for the claim filing.

Before I left, I asked the rep why the sign outside the office was already PPLIC, and no longer Danvil Plans. It seemed that this rep was more informed than the others because he was more confident in his answers. He said that Danvil Plans is still an existing firm, separate from PPLIC, and that PPLIC has not acquired Danvil. He explained that Danvil is no longer selling Danvil plans; it’s only servicing existing planholders. He said that Danvil and PPLIC have a special partnership, helping each other in the processing of claims and in the marketing of PPLIC plans.

Related Articles:

Philippine Prudential Life Insurance Company

Pre-need Companies in the Philippines Now under Insurance Commission

List of Other Articles on Danvil Plans

From planholder Hill:

February 16

Planholder din ako ng Danvil Plans and in fact magma-mature na ang plan ko this March 2009. One last payment na lang sa March 1 ang kulang.

February 21

Originally, 5 years to pay and 10 years after ang maturity yung plan ko pero I had it changed to 10 years to pay. Kaya, March 1, 2009 ang last payment at sa March 25, 2009 naman yung maturity date nung plan ko. Kaya nga inaayos ko na ang mga requirements.

March 5

Bale galing ako kaninang umaga sa Danvil Plans office sa SM Megamall para i-submit mga requirements in claiming maturity benefit. Bale wait lang ng 10 working days para sa clearing ng PDC check issued for March. And then 20 working days pa para sa check naman ng benefit ko.

April 7

I was at SM Megamall last Thursday, April 2 with former coworkers. And since I am already there, I decided to follow up if the check for the maturity benefits of my policy with Danvil Plans is already there. Lo and behold, to my surprise. Nandun na nga. Kaya that same day nakuha ko na check. And of course I deposited it to my bank account the following day. Di ko in-expect na nandun na check that time, kasi sabi sa akin nun, mga April 13 pa available. I’m thankful at mas napaaga. Praise God. At kanina nga sa bank I follow up kung credited na ba. Nagulat ako at hindi pa. Pero sabi naman ng bank clerk ay bukas cleared na ito at credited na sa account ko.

April 26

Gusto ko lang i-inform na na-clear na yung check na in-issue ng Danvil Plans. Happy and relieved talaga ako. Praise GOD. Yun lang. GOD BLESS.

From planholder Jun

May 5

I’m a Danvil planholder and I chanced upon your site since I’m also worried about my plan like many of the planholders. After reading the blogs, my hopes got renewed as Danvil seems to be not in danger of closing shop. I visited Danvil’s website to check on my plan and the status indicates that it is fully paid although the maturity date is on May 21, 2009. I’ll come back here to share with you and other planholders if i’m able to collect. Wish me luck…

May 6

I just filed my claim today at the North Edsa branch and I was told to wait for 20 working days for the release of the check, so that’s about a month from now or around June 6. Before I went there, I already heard about the bad news on Danvil. So while I’m hopeful that I’ll be able to collect, I cannot help myself from getting nervous. I don’t know how the news would affect the operations of Danvil, though when I was there, business seemed as usual and there were even few announcements of new planholders. So maybe its not as bad as depicted in the news.

June 5

As promised, I’m back to share with you if I’m able to collect my maturity benefit. Well, yes I was able to collect. I filed my claim on May 6 and got the check on June 2 and deposited it the following day. When I checked my account today, the check has already cleared. Just to share with you, the check was issued by the Cash/Trust Dept. of Land Bank Head Office and not by officers of Danvil Plans. My guess is Danvil approves the claims and sends them to Land Bank for issuance of the check. So I think for as long as the trust account in Land Bank has money, all claims that come will be paid. Now the question is how much money does the trust account contain? We don’t know that because Danvil Plans is not announcing it unlike Cocoplans. For now, we’ll just take SEC’s word that all the pre-need companies with licenses can meet their obligations. So I hope my report would somehow help the other planholders in deciding whether or not to continue with their policies.

Thank you so much, Hill and Jun, for sharing your experiences. I hope other Danvil planholders out there who have filed claims and who have encashed their checks take the time to share their experiences here to reassure other planholders of Danvil Plans.

Related Articles:

• Updates on Danvil Plans and Other Pre-need Firms from March toMay 2009

• So Sad About Permaplans or Permanent Plans
• Prudentialife Plans Inc. Is Different From Philippine Prudential Life Insurance Co. Inc.
• Danvil Plans, Other Pre-Need Firms: Updates
• Danvil Plans, Coco Plans,AMA Plans Deficient in Their Trust Funds