"You mean they're different?!" Well, I'm not a mind reader but I know that's what a lot of people think. Even my husband (at first)! :)
So, to help ease the mind of my dear friends and to you who just stumbled our blog, here are some information that I have come across in my 5 years in the insurance industry.
Identifying a pre-need company to be the same as an insurance company, would be like saying that an orange is the same as an apple. YES! They are both fruits, but they are not of the same kind... The same goes with the pre-need industry and the insurance industry.
First and foremost, a list of the life insurance and pre-need companies operating in the Philippines.
LIST OF LIFE INSURANCE COMPANIES WHOSE CERTIFICATE OF AUTHORITY WERE RELEASED FOR LICENSE YEAR 2011-2012
As of 18 January 2012
1. AsianLife Financial Assurance Corporation (Formerly: All Asia Life Assurance Corporation -name changed effective 31 March 2003)
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. (Formerly: First Guarantee Life Assurance Co.-as of 2007 )
11. Fortune Life Insurance Company, Inc.
12. Generali Pilipinas Life Assurance Company, Inc.
13. Great Life Financial Assurance Corporation (Formerly: Nippon Life Insurance Company of the Philippines as of 2007)
14. Insular Life Assurance Company, Ltd., The
15. Manila Bankers Life Insurance Corporation
16. Manufacturers Life Insurance Company (Phils.), Inc., The
17. Manufacturers Life Insurance Company (Branch), The
18. Manulife Chinabank Life Assurance Corporation (Formerly: The Pramerica Life Insurance Co., Inc.)
19. Philam Equitable Life Assurance Company, Inc.
20. Philippine AXA Life Insurance Corporation
21. Philippine Prudential Life Insurance Company, Inc.
22. Philippines International Life Insurance Company, Inc.
23. Pioneer Life Inc.
24. PNB Life Insurance, Inc.
25. Pru Life Insurance Corporation of U.K.
26. Sony Life Insurance (Phils.) Corporation
27. Sun Life Grepa Financial, Inc. (Formerly: Grepalife Financial, Inc. name change November 8, 2011)
28. Sun Life of Canada (Philippines), Inc.
29. United Coconut Planters Life Assurance Corporation
30. United Life Assurance Corporation
LIST OF AUTHORIZED PRE-NEED COMPANIES 2010-2011
1. Abundance Providers and Entrepreneurs Corp. (under the business name of APEC Plans, formerly Pacific Plans, Inc.)
2. AMA Plans, Inc.
3. Ayala Plans, Inc.
4. Caritas Financial Plans, Inc.
5. CityPlans, Inc.
6. COCO Plans, Inc.
7. Danvil Plans, Inc. (formerly Berkley Int'l Plans, Inc.)
8. Destiny Financial Plans, Inc.
9. Eternal Plans, Inc.
10. First Country Plans, Inc.
11. First Union Plans, Inc.
12. Grayline Plans, Inc.
13. Himlayang Pilipino Plans, Inc.
14. Loyola Plans Consolidated, Inc.
15. Manulife Financial Plans, Inc.
16. Mercantile CarePlans, Inc.
17. Paz Memorial Services, Inc.
18. PhilPlans First, Inc. (formerly Philam Plans, Inc.)
19. Provident Internation Plans, Inc.
20. St. Peter Life Plan, Inc.
21. Sun Life Financial Plans, Inc.
22. Transnational Plans, Inc.
23. Trusteeship Plans, Inc.
(For the complete list of details of the listed Pre-Need companies, you may check them out here.)
Now, what have you noticed among the listed companies? Have you noticed that 90% of the pre-need companies have a PLAN within their name? While the insurance companies have either "life assurance" or "life insurance" within their names... That's one big indication that there is a difference between an insurance company and pre-need company. Going back to the company recently declared bankrupt, is it a pre-need company or a life insurance company? "PRUDENTIALIFE PLAN, INC. bankrupt, seeks corporate rehabilitation" .
Now, what have you noticed among the listed companies? Have you noticed that 90% of the pre-need companies have a PLAN within their name? While the insurance companies have either "life assurance" or "life insurance" within their names... That's one big indication that there is a difference between an insurance company and pre-need company. Going back to the company recently declared bankrupt, is it a pre-need company or a life insurance company? "PRUDENTIALIFE PLAN, INC. bankrupt, seeks corporate rehabilitation" .
By stating just the first part of the company name, you are actually misleading yourself. It's like omitting a family name. Instead of implying a pre-need company, just by saying PRUDENTIALIFE, you are subconsciously referring to either Philippine Prudential Life Insurance Company, Inc. / PPLIC
(The company behind the products sold by the people in a particularly big mall who would ask you if you have a credit card and if you do, they'd invite you to their office and won't stop talking to you not until you've decided to get a plan from them. Well, my experience with them will be another post in the future. :) )
Or Pru-Life of U.K. as the implied Prudentialife since Pru Life of U.K. is known as Prudential outside of our country.
Other than the obvious names indicating one from the other, here are some other points that you need to know about the insurance industry and pre-need industry.
Table 1. Before 2009
After the issues experienced in 2009, the government enacted the Pre-Need Code of the Philippines, which appointed the Insurance Commission (IC) as the regulator of the pre-need industry. So, 2009 onwards we can expect more pre-need companies to be under strict regulation and inspection of the IC (and more news of pre-need companies declaring bankrupt?) I hope not, for the sake of all the planholders and for those who don't know the difference of a pre-need company from that of an insurance company.
For the issues and factors that contributed to the pre-need problems, that will be another post. But for those who would like to read ahead a Policy Brief regarding the pre-need industry prepared for the senate back in 2009, you can check it out here.
So, to answer the question in the title above, should you worry?
Well, you should worry if:
- you have personal investments in Prudential Life Plan, not in insurance companies; or
For the issues and factors that contributed to the pre-need problems, that will be another post. But for those who would like to read ahead a Policy Brief regarding the pre-need industry prepared for the senate back in 2009, you can check it out here.
So, to answer the question in the title above, should you worry?
Well, you should worry if:
- you have personal investments in Prudential Life Plan, not in insurance companies; or
- you bought a pre-need plan prior to the enactment of the Pre-Need Code; or
- you feel that your pre-need company had some malpractices with respect to the company funds; or
- your company is not included in the list above. ;)
If you don't belong to any of those group, then you don't have to worry. ;)
- your company is not included in the list above. ;)
If you don't belong to any of those group, then you don't have to worry. ;)
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