Press Release
February 3, 2009

CHIZ WANTS INSURANCE COMMISSION TO TAKE CARE
OF PRE-NEED INDUSTRY

Senator Francis "Chiz" Escudero on Tuesday said he will support any move to amend the Securities Regulation Code to take out from the regulatory reach of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) the country's ailing pre-need industry.

In a statement before leaving for Washington, D.C. last Monday, he said the Insurance Commission (IC) is decidedly the better regulator over the industry as it is more equipped in ensuring that the interest of planholders are protected and investments are preserved.

Escudero, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Banks, Financial Institutions and Currencies and co-chair of the day-long hearing on the state of the pre-need industry, made the recommendation after the SEC practically admitted during the hearing that it has no actuaries to countercheck the figures and financial projections of the companies it regulates.

"This is unacceptable. How can you regulate a highly-specialized industry, one where the numbers are as important as the integrity of the company itself, when you can't even tell if what they present to you is accurate?" Escudero said.

He added that since preneed plans can be likened to insurance policies, the IC is in a better position to gauge the reliability and dependability of preneed firms since this is its area of expertise.

"The IC has an army of actuaries who are independent and who can tell you if these preneed firms are in sound financial condition given their figures and financial projections," he explained.

Escudero further said that the IC is more stringent in ensuring that the planholders of these preneed firms get what they were promised by just looking at the numbers.

"With the IC as regulator, the payment due to the planholders is ensured because the commission's expertise is to determine whether or not a company's business plan is viable," he stated.

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