Email Address of Danvil Plans

April 24, 2009 · Filed Under Danvil Plans · 10 Comments 

After reading more comments about Danvil Plans not answering
emails, I tried to send my own inquiries to Danvil Plans at mypolicy@danvil.com.ph last Tuesday April 21.

I asked why Danvil Plans has not been answering emails when email is the most affordable way to contact them, especially for Danvil Plans planholders working hard abroad.

To my pleasant surprise, the next day Eleazer L. Francisco, Danvil Plans customer service supervisor, replied and here is part of the response:

Thank you for your e-mail of 21 April 2009.

Our record shows that your plan under policy number FPN401756 is already fully paid.

Thank you for deliberating your concern with us, rest assured that we are doing our best to serve our policy holders with their concerns. Blogs are open to all to post their opinions, and they are not filtered out even if it is true or not.

Please feel free to e-mail us again should you have anymore concerns.

Best regards,

Eleazer L. Francisco
Customer Service Supervisor
Customer Relation Group
Danvil Plans, Inc.
(632) 755-1521

I emailed back Mr. Francisco and asked him about Ms. Aurora Dino, the Danvil Plans executive I was communicating with last year about my own preneed plan.  He said Ms. Dino is no longer with Danvil Plans.

So there, try sending your inquiries to Danvil Plans at
mypolicy@danvil.com.ph, and then kindly write about them here.

Prudentialife Plans — License to Sell Pre-need Plans Suspended

April 20, 2009 · Filed Under Pre-need · 6 Comments 

SEC Chairperson Fe Barin reported that SEC suspended the license of Prudentialife to sell new pre-need plans because its capital buildup plan did not pass the requirements of the SEC.

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

How to File a Complaint Against Any Pre-Need Plan Company in the Philippines

March 21, 2009 · Filed Under Pre-need · 2 Comments 

Are you planning to file a complaint against a pre-need plan company in the Philippines?

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

Read more

Akala Ko Naghihirap ang Pre-Need Industry

March 14, 2009 · Filed Under Pre-need · 1 Comment 

pre-need preneed philhealthI thought the pre-need industry is struggling. Hindi naman yata masyado. Nagulat ako noong nakita ko sa website ng PhilHealth na nag-donate ang PFPPCI (the Philippine pre-need association) ng 100,800 pesos sa PhilHealth to help 168 low-income families from various places in the country get PhilHealth coverage. Noong February 4, 2009 ito.

Pero, come to think of it, baka indication rin ng paghihirap nila yong amount ng check. Bakit 100,800 pesos lang?

Anyway, kahit naman yata tayo, kahit naghihirap tayo, nagbibigay pa rin tayo kahit konti kung may nanghihinging nangangailangan talaga?

20 pre-need firms ang na-mention doon, including Danvil Plans.

PhilHealth receives P100.8K from the
Federation of Pre-Need Plan Companies – February 4, 2009

To Danvil, From a Hurting OFW in Japan

March 8, 2009 · Filed Under Danvil Plans · 2 Comments 

By Lemmor Adsiv, an OFW in Japan

March 7, 2009

It is of great help for me it you could answer me on this inquiry. I finished paying my Danvil plan and it will mature in 2019. Actually I paid it in advance so as not to miss payments. But I’m having many sleepless nights because of many doubts about how pre-need companies are doing in the market today. I am having second thoughts about waiting for my plan to mature. Any idea on this? How much money would I get in return if I apply for early reimbursement of my payments? Much as I would like to inquire personally at the Danvil office regarding the matter, I’m here in Japan working hard to make both ends meet for my family. It was hard earned money that I used to pay for my plan. That’s why I am really bothered and annoyed by different news I heard about the pre-need business.

Dalawa ang aking plans sa Danvil. Sad to say na noong kinuha ko yon sa SM Southmall, di ko naintindihan masyado ang paliwanag. Kadarating ko lang noon, galing ako sa work ko abroad and I’m only on my vacation. Actually, I can say na forced and pressured lang din ako ng Danvil employee. Para bang para makauwi na lang ako kumuha na lang ako, then bahala na. Parang ganoon ang nangyari sa akin.

Read more

Pre-Need Philippines: Kabado Na Naman?

February 20, 2009 · Filed Under Pre-need · 3 Comments 

Pagkatapos na ma-assure tayo na licensed pre-need dealer for 2009 ang Danvil Plans at isa siya group of pre-need firms na willing to increase their capital, ito naman ngayon…

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

Danvil Is Still Berkley on Pre-need Federation Website

February 15, 2009 · Filed Under Danvil Plans · 3 Comments 

Just like Danvil Plans, the Philippine Federation of Pre-Need Plan Companies Inc. (PFPPCI) doesn’t also update its website. The latest post on the site was posted two years ago. Is this one of the signals of the difficult conditions of the pre-need industry? They don’t have people to update their web sites, or they don’t have something to say?

Anyway, according to what’s on the website, as of 2007, there are 48 members. But when one looks at the list of members, there are only 29. These are:

1  Ayala Plans Inc.
2 Berkley International Inc.
representative: Alan Michael Rafe, president
alternate: Daniel Villanueva evp, CFO

3 CocoPlans Inc.
4 CAP Pension
5 CAP Assurance
6 Destiny Financials
7 East Asia Plans
8 Eduplan Inc.
9 Eternal Plans
10 Excel Memorial Life Plan
11 First Union Plan
12 Himlayang Pilipino Plans
13 Ideal Pension Plans
14 Loyola Plans
15 Mercantile Care Plans
16 Manulife Financial
17 Paz Memorial
18 Permanent Plans
19 Philam Plans
20 PETPlans
21 Primanila Plans
22 Provident Plans
23 Prudentialife Plans
24 Redeemer Life Plan
25 St. Peter Life Plan
26 Sun Life Financial
27 TPG Corp.
28 Transnational Plans
29 Trusteeship Plans

The following firms are not listed, but they are included on the home page’s flashing ads:

30 AMA
31 Classic Plans
32 Gillamac
33 Lifetime
34 Millennium
35 Platinum Plans
36 Pryce

It’s interesting to note that the three failed Legacy pre-need firms are not on the list.

Same with Pacific Plans. It’s not in the list. However, according to Chino S. Leyco’s article in the January 28, 2009 issue of “Manila Times,” Noel Oñate, the businessman who acquired Pacific Plans from the Yuchengcos, was elected to the board of the PFPPCI on January 27. Oñate’s company Abundance Providers and Investments Corp. bought Pacific Plans in December 2008 for 250 million pesos.

The one we see speaking on television speaking for the pre-need industry these past weeks, Juan Miguel Madrigal Vazquez, has been president of the PFPPCI since 2005, possibly earlier. I can’t find info on when he was elected president. His educational and professional background is on the site. He’s the president and CEO of Permanent Plans.

PFPPCI web site

Pre-Need News — Philippines: Key Points

February 15, 2009 · Filed Under Pre-need · 3 Comments 

Here are some pre-need news during the month of February 2009 that could interest Danvil planholders:

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.

Danvil Plans, Other Pre-Need Firms: Updates

February 14, 2009 · Filed Under Danvil Plans, Pre-need · 240 Comments 

Just like you, I got so bothered when I read on Inquirer.net that 4 pre-need firms are about to collapse. Philip Piccio, president of PEP Coalition, named one of the four as Pryce and then challenged the SEC to name the 3 other firms. One top SEC executive denied there are 3 other failing firms, but the other one confirmed it.

And this after the collapse of 3 Legacy pre-need firms, and long before them, the collapse of CAP and Pacific Plans. Although Pacific seems to be okay now, since Noel Oñate’s Abundance Providers Investments Corp., the new owner of Pacific, promised to buy back Pacific plans at 15% yearly interest. Piccio and his group, however, plan to pursue their case against the original owner of Pacific.

These are some info that I gathered as of today, February 14:

1. On SEC website, Danvil Plans is one of the 24 pre-need corporations with 2009 dealer’s license. Compared to the list of September 2008, the pre-need firms removed were:
Ideal Pension
Legacy
Pacific Plans

There is one new firm on the list: AMA Plans.
On another page there are three other firms with 2009 dealer’s license:
IMG Insurance Brokers
Prudentialife Market Resources, both linked to Prudentialife and
Jardine Lloyd Thomson Insurance Brokers, linked to Philam Plans

2. Philip Piccio, president of the Parents-Enabling Parents Coalition (PEP) who is campaigning for
Pacific Plans open-ended educational planholders, was generous enough to reply to my text about Danvil. He texted back that Danvil Plans is not one of the 4 pre-need firms about to collapse.

3. Jack of Danvil Plans in Makati said that Danvil is very stable. Jack was the one who answered me on the phone when I called the Danvil office in Makati on February 13. I asked him if he knows about the 4 pre-need firms being mentioned about to collapse, and he said that he doesn’t know. He said that what he knows is that Danvil is stable and that it has been paying claims as of date. I asked him why Danvil is not updating its web site, and he said that he will relay my concern to management.

4. According to a list provided by Salve Duplito on her article on Inquirer.net Money Smarts, Danvil Plans is one of the 19 pre-need firms who have signed a document expressing their willingness to increase their capital in 2009 to cope with anticipated difficulties due to low investment rates in the financial markets.  The bigger pre-need firms are on the list.

5. My conclusion is that the 4 pre-need firms being reported about to collapse includes Ideal Pension because I read one planholder complaining that Ideal Plan has not given him the proceeds of his plan which has matured in 2008. The other one would be Pryce Plans, which most everybody knows by now has already collapsed way back in 2007. But in fairness to Pryce, it’s doing its  best to give something to its planholders. My friend who is a Pryce planholder is getting some benefits through Pryce’s other companies, such as hotel stays, etc. She has also received some amounts of money for tuition.

As for the other two pre-need firms, I’m still checking. I’ll update this article again today after I get home from church. Happy Valentine’s Day to all Danvil planholders.

Pre-Need Corporations With 2009 Dealer’s License as of January 28, 2009

1  AMA Plans Inc.   (pension)
2  Ayala Plans Inc.  (education, pension)
3  Caritas Financial Plans Inc.  (pension)
4  CityPlans Inc.  (pension)
5  Cocoplans Inc.  (education, life, pension)
6  Danvil Plans Inc.  (formerly Berkley International Plans, educational, pension)
7  Destiny Financial Plans Inc.  (pension)
8  Eternal Plans Inc.  (education, life, pension)
9  First Country Plans Inc.  (pension)
10  First Union Plans Inc. (pension)
11  Grayline Plans Inc. (pension)
12  Himlayang Pilipino Plans Inc. (education, life, pension)
13 Loyola Plans Consolidated (education, life, pension)
14  Manulife Financial Plans  (educ pension)
15  Mercantile Careplans  (educ life pension)
16  Paz Memorial Services (life)
17  Permanent Plans  (life, pension)
18  Philam Plans  (educational, life, pension)
19  Provident International Plans  (life, pension)
20  Prudentialife Plans  (educational, life, pension)
21  St. Peter Life Plan  (life)
22  Sun Life Financial Plans   (educational, pension)
23  Transnational Plans   (educational, pension)
24  Trusteeship Plans  (educational, life, pension)

Additional List of Pre-Need Firms With 2009 Dealer’s License as of January 28, 2009
IMG Insurance Brokers Corp.
Prudentialife Plans Inc.
Jardine Lloyd Thomson Insurance Brokers Inc.
Philam Plans Inc.
Prudentialife Market Resources Corp.
Prudentialife Plans Inc.

Removed from the Licensed Dealer List of January 2009

Ideal Pension Plans
Legacy Consolidated Plans
Pacific Plans

Listed in the February 2007 list, but no longer licensed since 2008
Classic Plans
Eduplan Phils
Millennium Plans
Primanila Plans
PrimePlan
sources:

SEC List of Pre-Need Firms With 2009 Dealer’s License

Article by Salve Duplito on Inquirer Money Smarts

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