Pre-need sales continue to dip

MANILA, Philippines - The sale of pre-need plans continued to dip in the first four months of 2008 as the industry struggled to regain consumer confidence amid competition by other investment products. From January to April, the total pre-need sales dropped by 21.08% to P5.14 billion from P6.51 billion last year, data from the Securities and Exchange Commission showed. This occurred amid a 3.48% increase in the number of plans sold, to 71,631 from 69,221 year-on-year. Life plans sold during the period were up 45.1% to P1.83 billion from P1.26 billion, but sales of education and pension plans remained negative at 53.09% and 31.94%, respectively. Consumers lost their confidence in the industry following a controversy involving some pre-need firms selling educational plans that failed to serve the clients. Among these firms were Professional Financial Plans, formerly TPG Corp., and College Assurance Plan Philippines, Inc. - BusinessWorld