FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

1)[-]What is Life Insurance?

Answer:

Life Insurance is a contract between you and a life insurance company, which provides your beneficiary with a pre-determined amount (called face amount or insurance coverage) in case of a conditional event during the contract term.

Buying insurance is extremely beneficial for breadwinners of the family. In case something unfortunate happens to you, your family can remain financially secure because of the life insurance policy that you have purchased.

Life insurance policies are usually perceived to be of use only upon the death of the owner-insured. However, a number of life insurance plans today are also used as tools to effectively plan for retirement, to invest and grow wealth, to save up for a dream house or a dream vacation and to prepare for children’s future studies.

2)[-]What is an Endowment Policy?

Answer:
An Endowment Policy is a combination of savings along with risk coverage. These policies are specifically designed to build up your savings and accumulate wealth while at the same time, cover your life.

This type of insurance is issued for specified time periods (usually for short periods only such as 15 or 20 years) during which you pay a regular premium. 

If something unfortunate happens to you during the term or life of your policy, your beneficiaries will receive the sum assured (face amount) along with the accumulated benefits. 

If you outlive your policy’s term, on the other hand, you will receive the sum assured along with accumulated bonus additions (if any).

3)[-]What is Term Insurance?

Answer:

Term Insurance is the cheapest and the simplest form of insurance. Here, we agree to pay your beneficiaries the sum assured (face amount) in the event of your untimely demise. However, if you survive until the end of the policy term, no amount will be payable to you. This policy has no savings component and the premiums you pay are purely a cost to buy your life insurance coverage.

This type of insurance is recommended if:

You are looking for a low cost life cover without any savings benefits attached.

You are at that stage in life where you want to avail of protection coverage but you cannot afford to pay high premiums due to low income or other financial priorities.

4)[-]What is Variable Unit-Linked Insurance or Variable Universal Life Insurance (VUL)?

Answer:

Variable Universal Life Insurance (VUL) is a type of cash-value life insurance that offers both a death benefit and an investment feature.

The premium amount for a VUL plan is flexible and may be changed by the consumer as needed, though these changes can result in a change in the coverage amount. 

The investment feature usually includes “sub-accounts,” which function very similar to mutual funds and can provide exposure to stocks and bonds, thus diversifying one’s investment portfolio. This offers the possibility of an increased rate of return over a normal universal life or permanent insurance policy.

5)[-]How much does life insurance cost?

Answer:

In order to buy a life insurance policy, you must pay premiums to the life insurance company. The amount of premiums payable depends upon the type of policy, term of policy contract, face amount and your insurance age.

For most insurance plans, you have the option to pay monthly, quarterly, semi-annually, annually or pay once only depending on your budget.

6)[-]Is insurance only about death benefits?

Answer:

No. There are insurance plans that can provide you benefits for your retirement, education of your kids (if any), investment or savings. With these plans, you can receive benefits that you can enjoy while you are still living.

7)[-]How safe is buying a life insurance plan from Philam Life?

Answer:

Philam Life has consistently been committed to empowering Filipinos achieve their dreams for more than 60 years. Our company performance and achievements for more than six decades lay testament to our commitment to our valued clients.

Inspired by the extraordinary stories of our policyholders and beneficiaries, our 2011 multi-media campaign features OFW Daughter Deorie Caraca and Cancer Survivor Connie Dizon, just two of the many real-life stories of how the country’s number one life insurer was able to help its policyholders and beneficiaries.

Deorie is one of 40,000 students who benefited from Philam Life’s education pay-outs. Her dad invested in an educational plan, Scholar Gold, for her and her sister Ginger. This plan will provide cash benefits every semester for their college education.

Connie is just one of thousands of policyholders who was able to rely on Philam Life’s insurance plans. Connie’s policy is Excelife Gold with Lifeline rider that provides cash for hospital and medical expenses upon diagnosis of a critical illness like cancer.

By consistently delivering on its commitments to its policyholders, Philam Life continues to be one of the most trusted names in the Life Insurance Industry.

8-]What are riders?

Answer:

Riders, also called optional or supplementary riders, are additional benefits that can be attached unto your basic life insurance plans. These features give you the benefit of increasing your coverage in case of certain events.

For instance, if you have taken an Accident Death Benefit rider and the cause of your death is due to an accident then your beneficiaries can get an additional sum on top of the policy’s face amount.

There is a variety of riders addressing different contingencies like Critical Illness, Hospitalization Benefit, Permanent Disability Benefit, etc. There are also riders available that waive your future premiums in case of death or disability of the payor. This is extremely useful for parents paying for their children’s educational plans.

These riders come at an extra cost and different plans have different riders that can be attached. Check our Products and Services pages to see which riders you can attach to your basic plan to increase your coverage.

9)[-]What are the different premium paying options available?

Answer:

You can pay annually, semi-annually, quarterly, monthly or via single-payment.

Some plans give you the option to pay the premiums only for a limited time and not for the full policy term.

[-]What are Top-ups?

Answer:
Top-ups are one-time payments for VUL (investment-linked) policies. You have the flexibility to make an additional investment through a top-up, which is over and above your regular premium payments whenever you have extra cash on hand. 

You can make a top-up at any time while your policy is in force. The applicable norms for top-ups may differ for every product. 

You may get in touch with your Philam Life Financial Advisor or through our Customer Hotline at (02) 528-2000 to know more about this feature.

-]What will happen to my policy if I miss a premium payment due date?

Answer:
We offer a grace period of 31 days after the payment due date for paying the any outstanding premium.

If you fail to pay the premium on your policy within this grace period, your policy will lapse. You can revive your lapsed policy by paying your outstanding premium. 

You may get in touch with your Philam Life Financial Advisor or our Customer Hotline at (02) 528-2000 to know more about reviving your lapsed policy.

Are there any advantages in buying insurance at an early age?

Answer:
Yes. The premium that you pay on your insurance policy is mainly dependent upon two things - your age and the life of your policy. The younger you are, the lower is your insurance premium amount.

Based on mortality and morbidity tables, people at younger ages are healthier physically. Therefore it is advisable to buy insurance at an early age to reduce the cost of insurance. Nevertheless, the insurance policy your will purchase may still require you to undergo a medical test.

1)[-]Who can enjoy Group Life Insurance Benefits?

Answer:

Employer-Employee Groups
Professional Associations
Cooperatives
Labor Unions

2)[-]What are the benefits available under Group Life Insurance?

Answer:

Group Yearly Renewable Term (GYRT) Life Insurance
Provides life insurance protection Anytime, Anywhere and for Any cause of death.

Accidental Death & Dismemberment (AD&D) benefit
Provides an additional benefit on top of the life insurance benefit, if the insured dies or is dismembered due to an accident.

Total & Permanent Disability Income Benefit (TPDIB)
Advances the GYRT benefit thru a monthly income in case of total and permanent disability.

Hospital Income Benefit (HIB)
Provides a fixed daily benefit to supplement income lost for each day of hospital confinement due to illness or accident up to 365 days in a year.

Terminal Illness Benefit (TIB)
Advances 50% on the GYRT benefit up to a maximum amount if the individual is found to be terminally ill.

Critical Illness Benefit
Pays a benefit if the member is diagnosed to have contracted a critical illness or undergone a covered surgery.

3)[-]Who can enjoy Credit Life Protection?

Answer:

Banks: Universal Banks, Commercial Banks, Development Banks, Thrift Banks, Rural Banks
Lending Institutions: Savings and Loan Associations
Credit Cooperatives, Unions and Associations
Companies offering employee loans
Pre-Need Companies
Schools
Appliance Centers offering installment schemes
Manpower agencies offering placement loans
Other types of Creditor-Debtor groups: Real Estate Companies, Credit Card Companies

4)[-]Why are the advantages of Credit Life Insurance?

Answer:

For the lender

Protection and the assurance of loan repayments
Income opportunities through the receipt of service fees
You can extend these benefits to your clients:
Easy and simple enrollment
Collateral-free loans
Reasonable premiums for high insurance coverages
No worry of property repossessions
For the borrower

Peace of mind that debt will be paid and not shouldered by his family

5)[-]What Credit Life benefits can you avail of?

Answer:

Credit Life Yearly Renewable Term (CLYRT) Insurance
Provides Life Insurance protection Anytime, Anywhere and for Any cause of death.

Accidental Death & Dismemberment (AD&D) Benefit
Provides an additional benefit on top of the Life Insurance benefit, if the insured dies or is dismembered due to an accident.

Total & Permanent Disability Income Benefit (TPDIB)
Advances the Life Insurance benefit thru a monthly income in case of total and permanent disability.

Joint Life Rider
Allows shared protection for two co-borrowers.

Critical Illness Benefit
Pays a benefit if the member is diagnosed to have contracted a critical illness or undergone a covered surgery.

6)[-]What benefits should you sign-up for in our Group Accident Insurance?

Answer:

Protect your employees with these comprehensive benefits:

Accidental Death
Accidental Dismemberment and Loss of Use
Accidental Permanent Total Disability
Flying Coverage
Renewal Bonus

Enhance your protection with the following supplementary benefits:

Accident Medical Reimbursement (AMR) Benefit
Hospital Income Benefit (HIB
Accident Weekly Income (AWI) Benefit
Special Compassionate Benefit (SCB)