Loyola plan holders in Visayas in limbo

While Loyola Plans Consolidated Inc., vowed to settle the P238.3 million trust fund deficiency, plan holders in Cebu and other neighboring provinces are left hanging, as its Cebu office had been closed since December 31 last year.

The insurance firm's Cebu office located at the Cebu Holdings Inc., corporate building at the Cebu Business Park advised plan holders, through an advisory coursed through the building's security guard, to transact with their head office in Manila.

Earlier this week, Loyola plan holders in Manila have aired their concerns through social media after the pre-need company failed to pay their claims on time.

Since the news broke out that the insurance company has gone “bankrupt”, plan holders from as far as Bohol, Leyte, and other neighboring provinces have flocked to the Loyola Plans Cebu office hoping to get a chance to talk to a company official for a clarification about the real status of the company and how to go about their policies.

However, Lawyer Benjamin Tañedo, Jr., Loyola Plans’ AVP for Corporate Relations, assured that the company is not bankrupt.

“We will be addressing the concerns. We guarantee payment of claims. We are not bankrupt, we are not insolvent,” Tañedo said in a report.

Loyola Plans Consolidated Inc. has until Monday to inform the Insurance Commission (IC) how it can cover its trust fund deficiency, if it hopes to avoid being placed under conservatorship.

Insurance Commissioner Emmanuel F. Dooc announced Thursday that Loyola Plans’ top officials had already committed to settle the amount, having learned that the company’s net worth could still cover for the deficiency.

As of end-March, the commission has received 95 complaints from Loyola Plans’ policyholders.

The Commission decided to give Loyola Plans the benefit of the doubt and ordered the pre- need firm to explain within five days why it should not be placed under conservatorship.

The company’s trust fund stood at P1.5 billion. But Loyola Plans needs P1.7 billion to cover its plan holders.

Based on the company’s end-2014 financial statement, the pension plan was deficient by P120.7 million; the life plan by P66.8 million; and the educational plan by P50.9 million.

Reportedly, the company has a net worth of P282.9 million, which means it still has real estate and service assets that can be transferred to the trust fund.

Trustees may liquidate the assets to generate the cash needed to cover the trust fund, the official said.

According to IC, if Loyola Plans could not comply, the commission would appoint a conservator.

The company was founded by Senator Gil J. Puyat Sr. in 1968. It stopped selling education and pension plans and has focused on life and memorial plans.