IC: Loyola Plans can’t operate yet

The Insurance Commission (IC) still won’t give Loyola Plans Consolidated Inc. a license to operate even if it has already paid its dues to several of its planholders.

The latest list of pre-need firms with certificates of authority for license year 2016 as of May 4 showed 14 companies offering education, life and pension plans, but troubled Loyola Plans was not on the IC’s list.

“We are still monitoring their compliance. For instance, we were still getting some complaints from some planholders,” Insurance Commissioner Emmanuel F. Dooc said in a text message last Saturday.

The IC received 95 complaints regarding the pre-need firm’s non-payment of matured benefits. Last month, the regulator ordered Loyola Plans to immediately settle the claims.

“We continue to meet with the owner and its management to ensure that claimants were duly paid,” Dooc said.

“We have been pressing them to speed up the sales of their assets to generate enough cash to be able to pay the claims as they fall due. They have sold more than a couple of assets and we expected Loyola to sell more to achieve the desired liquidity level,” Dooc added.

The firm avoided being placed under conservatorship after its owner, Jesusa Puyat-Concepcion, offered to sell real estate assets worth P1.8 billion to cover a P238.3-million deficiency.

Dooc said IC would only release Loyola Plans’ license once operations were “back to normal.”

“The company is not insolvent, but illiquid,” Dooc clarified.

Loyola Plans’ trust fund stood at P1.5 billion, but P1.7 billion was needed to cover obligations to planholders.