Loyola Plans set to release tuition benefits

MANILA, Philippines - Loyola Consolidated Plans Inc., one of the pioneers of the pre-need industry, said it is ready to release first semester 2009 tuition benefits as early as April 15 or two months ahead of schedule.

Loyola Plans, which has been in the business for 41 years, said this is the third consecutive year it is making an early release of tuition benefits.

Planholders who will avail for the first time are requested to file their claims at the Loyola branch office nearest to them or text 0920 9569652 (Smart) and 09178519997 (Globe) for more information.

“Having grandchildren, I know that many schools request advance deposits even before the school year starts. Making advanced releases eases the burden of parents most especially in these hard times,” said Jesusa Puyat Concepcion, president of Loyola Plans.

Puyat-Concepcion said the company has no liquidity problem because it stopped selling open-ended pre-need plans since 1981.

For “open-ended” plans, pre-need companies promise, in effect, they will take care of the tuition of the kids of whoever will be holding the plan forr 10 or 20 years from now, even if, by then, the tuition will be so many times larger than the previous years.

“We never sold open-ended education plans, even if they were the easiest product to sell,” Puyat-Concepcion said.

She stressed that the company has been very compliant to SEC rules and has faithfully contributed more than the required amount to its trust fund.

The company has four memorial chapels in Metro Manila: Sucat, Guadalupe, Cubao and Marikina.

With a P1.21 billion surplus over time, Loyola Plans used part of these funds to expand and improve its facilities.

Loyola Plans recently built a full- service memorial chapel and crematorium in Los Baños, Laguna.

It is currently constructing a chapel along Commonwealth Avenue with over 100 parking slots and planning to purchase two advanced cremation machines in addition to the seven it has now.

“We have improved the look and feel of our chapels from dark and dreary places into sanctuaries that celebrate the life of the deceased. We believe that these investments will not only improve service for our customers but also help us reduce our costs,” Puyat-Concepcion said.

Aside from this, Loyola Plans plans to launch new products that are designed to help the Filipino people cope with the effects of the ongoing global economic crisis.

According to Puyat-Concepcion, these products will address uncertainties in life which a planholder may encounter and ensure the delivery of the plan’s benefit on or before the plans maturity.

 “We have been serving our planholders for three generations and plan to keep serving them for years to come, and we always put integrity above all,” she said.

Loyola Plans has consistently been one of the Philippines’ Top 1000 corporations with over P5 billion in assets and 74 offices nationwide.