For the fourth straight year now, Berkley International Plans obtained a PRS A plus corporate credit rating from the Philippine Rating Services Corporation, a local affiliate of Standard and Poor's.
At a time of challenges for the pre-need industry, this rating serves to reassure anew all planholders and prospective clients of Berkley's “ ABOVE-AVERAGE CAPACITY TO MEET ITS FINANCIAL COMMITMENTS” compared to other Philippine corporations .
Berkley holds the distinction of being the first and only pre-need company thus far to have submitted its financial books for scrutiny and credit rating by an objective third party. The company first applied for a rating in 2001 and has renewed its credit rating application yearly hence. Berkley President, Mr. Alan Rafe, stated that their yearly application for a credit rating is a testimony to their confidence that the company's financial books will repeatedly reveal its strength and stability, a fact that, in turn, should reinforce the trust of the public in general and of their planholders in particular.
In assigning the rating, PhilRatings considered Berkley Plans' adequate level of investment in its trust fund relative to its actuarial reserve liabilities; its compliance with SEC guidelines and reportorial requirements; its rank as 4th in educational plans; the improvement in its margins in year 2004 despite the fluctuations experienced by the pre-need industry; and its adequate capitalization level. Berkley Plans is exclusively distributed in the Philippines by marketing innovator Family First, Inc.
For
more information, pls. contact:
Ms. Gina D. Cruz
Corporate Communications Director
Tel. No. 755-1500 loc. 1112