Thursday, March 11, 2004

I see that the Treasury Select Committee report into the endowment policies mis-selling scandal has come out today.

The report has accused the financial services industry of a myriad of failings including:

  • Failings in policy sales


  • Failings in asset management


  • Failings in informing people


Apparently, a staggering 80% of policies now face shortfalls. The grand total of these shortfalls is expected to come to £40BN. That, in my view, could have a pretty serious effect on the British economy.

The Association of British Insurers (ABI), by all accounts, has said that they are “disappointed” that the changes made in the industry have not been recognised.

Not withstanding that “robust” response from the ABI; more alarmingly, the report notes that the problem will worsen over the coming years as the endowment policies mature.

In my view, this is a time bomb under the already overheated housing market.

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