The pre-need law was passed in December 2009 and the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) were signed in March 2010.

Visit the website of the Insurance Commission at insurance.gov.ph, and you will see the pre-need code and the IRR already published on the site.

You will also see the list of the 23 pre-need firms under Directory of the IC  home page.  However, the list on the IC was still the list previously prepared by the SEC.

The list includes the 23 pre-need firms that were licensed to sell pre-need plans as of December 2009:

1. Abundance Providers and Entrepreneurs Corporation (APEC) (formerly Pacific Plans)
2. AMA Plans
3. Ayala Plans
4. Caritas Financial Plans
5. CityPlans
6. Cocoplans
7. Danvil Plans (formerly Berkley International Plans)
8. Destiny Financial Plans
9. Eternal Plans
10. First Country Plans
11. First Union Plans
12. Grayline Plans
13. Himlayang Pilipino Plans
14. Loyola Plans Consolidated
15. Manulife Financial Plans
16. Mercantile Careplans
17. Paz Memorial Services
18. Philplans First (formerly Philam Plans)
19. Provident International Plans
20. St. Peter Life Plan
21. Sun Life Financial Plans
22. Transnational Plans
23. Trusteeship Plans

The only two changes from the May 2009 list are:

• the addition of APEC to the list
• change of name of Philam Plans to Philplans

For those who have complaints, inquiries or claims, you can address them to:

Public Assistance & Information Division

523-8461 to 70 local 102, 103, 105

pubassist@insurance.gov.ph

At the Senate hearing on pre-need firms, former Legacy executive Carolina Hinola accused SEC Commissioner Jesus Enrique Martinez of covering up Legacy’s financial problems after accepting gifts from Legacy, including a 5-million-peso house and lot and a 1.5-million Ford Expedition from Legacy head Celso de Los Angeles.

Insiders also claimed that Martinez tried to broker the sale of Danvil Plans to the Legacy Group. The sale did not push through after Danvil Plans backed out of the deal allegedly upon the advice of other top pre-need executives.

(Martinez died on May 6 due to colon cancer complications.)

April 21

SEC has canceled the license of Prudentialife Plans Inc. to sell preneed plans because of its trust fund deficiency.

Prudentialife however said that its estimated trust fund of 12 billion pesos is enough to cover its obligations to about 400,000 planholders.

Prudentialife said it is still allowed to sell their other products like life insurance, health plans and mutual funds. Prudentialife President Jose Alberto Alba insisted that his firm will survive the crisis because of its 31-year history of strong performance, including survival of the CAP collapse and the 1997-1998 crisis.

April 22

Permanent Plans or Permaplans has decided to stop its operations  because of trust fund losses in 2008.  In response, SEC canceled Permaplans’ license. Permaplans said it will pay all its planholders (about 10,800) in the form of cash and other types of assets in the next 4 to 6 months.

April 27

Paranaque Representative Roilo Golez condemned CAP for giving only about 400 pesos per sem to most of about 700,000 CAP planholders under a court rehabilitation program.

Chit Baita, head of a group of CAP planholders, questioned court-appointed receiver Mamerto Marcelo for allowing CAP to sell its MRT III bonds and use the proceeds to pay off other firms owned by CAP owners, the Sobrepenas, instead of using the money to pay planholders.

May 1

CAP responded to the report that it is giving out only 400 to 500 pesos per sem to planholders by announcing that it has paid over 220 million to planholders since 2007 and that it is following court-approved schedules for paying planholders in installments up to 2011 and then full payments starting 2012.

CAP instructed planholders to check its list of 147,000 planholders on its website www.cap.com.ph for 334,000 checks ready for release.

May 1

Investigators said fraudulent schemes and fund diversions led to the collapse of Legacy’s banks and pre-need firms. Legacy’s pre-need firms owe about 1.3 billion pesos to its estimated 50,000 pre-need planholders, including more than 12,000 soldiers and police officers who have paid over 320 million pesos through monthly salary deductions by the AFPSLAI.

May 6

Coco Plans said it has 1.4 billion in its trust fund and it is able to cover maturing policies within the next 9 years, according to Coco Plans president

Caesar Michelena. He said the deficiency of 190 million will be covered within 3 years under a program submitted to the SEC.

May 7

The SEC announced that three preneed firms — Coco Plans, AMA Plans and Danvil Plans — had trust fund deficiencies. Coco Plans and Danvil Plans have

already submitted their plans on how they can restore their trust funds to adequate levels.

May 7

Caesar Michelena, president of Coco Plans and  newly-elected head of the Philippine Federation of Pre-need Plan Companies, expressed his hope that no more pre-need company will shut down.

Previous PFPPC President Juan Miguel Vasquez resigned after his firm Permanent Plans decided to cease operations.

May 7

Some Permanent Plans planholders complained at the Senate hearing that Permaplans is offering a 60/40 payment scheme — 40 percent of their maturity value in cash and 60 percent in food and health supplies and lots at a burial site in Payatas.

In a statement made on April 22, Permanent Plans President Juan Miguel Vazquez reiterated that the contracts held by Permaplans planholders allow the company to change the mode of settlement or payment of plans.

May 7

PDIC President Jose Nograles revealed at the Senate hearing that there are still more than 35,000 unclaimed bank accounts under the failed Legacy Group. Senator Mar Roxas asked PDIC to inform the depositors through the mail.

May 12

President Arroyo ordered SEC Chair Fe Barin to determine the financial condition of the preneed firms to ensure that they can meet their obligations

as the plans mature. Arroyo demanded that criminal prosecution be taken against erring firms.

May 13

Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez said there are loopholes in the law of receivership, allowing failed pre-need firms and other businesses such as condo developers to walk away from their obligations.

May 14

Coco Plans announced that it has paid all its obligations to all its educational planholders this school year.

May 17

The SEC assured pre-need planholders that the 22 licensed preneed firms, including Danvil Plans, are financially stable enough to pay their obligations to their planholders. SEC said it has reviewed the financial records of the pre-need firms.

The 22 pre-need firms with licenses to sell plans this year include AMA Plans, Ayala Plans, Caritas Financial Plans, CityPlans, Cocoplans, Danvil Plans, Destiny Financial Plans, Eternal Plans, First Country Plans, First Union Plans, Grayline Plans, Himlayang Pilipino Plans, Loyola Plans Consolidated, Manulife Financial Plans, Mercantile Careplans, Paz Memorial Service, Philam Plans, Provident Plans International, St. Peter Life Plan, Sun Life Financial Plans, Transnational Plans and Trusteeship Plans.

May 19

About 525,000 educational planholders have been trying to get money for their children’s enrolment this school year from 5 failed pre-need firms: CAP, Pet Plans, Platinum Plans, Pacific Plans and TPG Corp.

Meanwhile, Pryce Plans, still solvent but low on cash because it invested in real estate, memorial lots and listed equities, has been issuing checks in queues and paying in kind to consenting planholders.

May 27

President Macapagal-Arroyo returned the SEC under the supervision of DTI, nine years after she placed SEC under DOF. Observers said the transfer was caused by SEC’s failure to prevent the collapse of preneed companies owned by Legacy.

May 29

SEC has required pre-need firms to increase the percentages of their trust fund deposits.  For every peso paid by a pension and education planholder during the first year, the pre-need firm must deposit 70 cents, a big increase from the previous 5-cent requirement.  This requirement will apply only to new plans. Required increases percentages for other plans were also issued.

Above notes were gleaned from various articles and videos published on Inquirer.Net and GMANews.TV.

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

On the SEC website, there are instructions on how to file a complaint. There is also a complaint form which can be downloaded.
But you can use your own format as long as you include all the necessary details.

Here is a simplified version of the SEC procedures:

1. You can file your complaint against any  pre-need company in the Philippines at the SEC office along EDSA in the Greenhills area. Submit your complaint to the Central Receiving and Record Division (CRRD).

2. Who can file a complaint?
The planholder, or the legal representative, or the beneficiaries (if the planholder is deceased)

3. Where is the complaint filed?

Submit your complaint to the Central Receiving and Record Division (CRRD) of the SEC.

4. Contents of the complaint

The complaint should be written. You can use the SEC complaint format which can be downloaded from the SEC website.

• name, address and contact number of the complainant
• name of the pre-need company, main address of the company, name of the person contacted (example: name of the salesperson)
• brief statement of facts: type of plan, effectivity, number of installments paid, total payments paid, significant dates, and other facts that will support your complaint

5. Issues to be resolved

The examples of issues are:

• non-payment of claim
• non-registration of pre-need company
• non-registration of pre-need plan
• refusal to reinstate pre-need plan
• inaccurate termination value
• mismanagement of trust fund
• illegal closure
• any other fraudulent act or misrepresentation done by the pre-need company, its representatives or salespersons

6. Brief statement of relief or solution being claimed by the complainant

In short, what do you want the pre-need company to do for you?

7. What happens after submission to CRRD?

The CRRD is mandated to forward the complaint to the Non-Traditional Securities and Instruments Department (NTD) within 24 hours or not later than the same hour of submission on the next working day.

8. What Happens at the NTD?

The NTD is mandated to number and docket your complaint. This will add your complaint to a list or register of complaints with codes for easy reference.

9. Mandatory mediation hearings

The NTD orders you, the complainant, and a representative of the pre-need company to appear in a mediation hearing not later than 15 days from receipt of complaint. The NTD will send a notice of mediation at least 5 days before the hearing.

If you fail to appear at the hearing without prior notice and justifiable reason, your complaint will be dismissed. If you attend the hearing, but the pre-need company representative fails to appear, NTD will resolve the issue according to your documents.

10. What happens if the mediation fails?

Both you, the complainant, and the pre-need company file position papers within 10 days from date of failed mediation hearing.

The position paper includes:

• statement of facts
• statement of issues to be resolved
• presentation of arguments (refer to documents and affidavits you attached)
• claims or solutions

11. Decision

The NTD will issue a decision not later than 10 working days from the date following receipt of the filing of the position paper. The NTD must state the basis of the decision.

The NTD will also forward a copy of the decision to the Compliance and Enforcement Department (CED) of the SEC within five (5) days from date of decision.

12.  Appeal

The complainant or the pre-need company can file an appeal of the decision within 10 days from receipt of the decision.

Lastly, the downloadable SEC complaint form has a notary public portion.  So, if you use your own format, it is advisable that you have your complaint notarized.