@jesuspleasesaveme I want to resurrect this post because I'm on the look out for a good memorial plan. I also think this is something that is not much discussed here. My goal is to lessen (if not completely avoid) out-of-pocket expenses for my family when I die.
So I'm also looking for a good plan that has the following features:
- Direct Cremation Service
- Pick-up and Transportation of Remains
- Optional Rider for Chapel Viewing or Use of Mortuary Chapel after Cremation
- Processing of All Necessary Government Permits
- Assistance of a Funeral Director/Family Counselor (or basically a point person for all memorial concerns up to inurnment)
- Assignability/Transferability of Plan
- Term Life Insurance/Cash Benefit
- Flexible Payment Terms (Installment, Bank Transfer)
- Immediately Usable
- Waiver of installment payments upon death
Any recommendations?
I also did my own research and so far the top memorial plans I keep seeing are:
St. Peter Life Plan and
PhilPlans. I heard good things about these two but I still have some reservations. Popular death care companies usually have their own pre-need companies like Loyola, La Funeraria Paz, Eternal, and others.
For one, St. Peter memorial plans are on the expensive side. I think this is primarily because they're designed for traditional Filipino families. All of their plans (even the cremation plans) come with at least three (3) nights use of their viewing chapels. I think this is really where they earn. If I remember correctly, one night rental of a viewing chapel already costs Php 10-15k a night.
Another issue I have with St. Peter is that you're basically tied with St. Peter Chapels. I'm not sure how to deal with overbookings or overflows. But, there's a high chance that planholders are bound to use their chapels.
St. Peter also depends on their agents for payments. They still don't they accept bank transfers.
Mano-mano pa rin ang singilan. But I heard, St. Peter's services are all-in.
Iiyak ka na lang daw talaga.
On the other hand, PhilPlans has a good number of accredited mortuaries and you basically decide on how much your plan would cost/cover. When it comes to service, it's hugely dependent on the accredited mortuary that the planholder contracts with. So it's easier to customize one's funeral arrangements and pay only what is really needed. However, I observed that PhilPlans tend to favor their sister companies—Heritage and Nacional.
So I'm still on the fence regarding this.
