The Endowment Rip Off

The Endowment Rip Off

Underlying funds held by insurance companies have risen by an average of 6% over the last year. This in theory should be good news for the millions of people holding useless, underperforming with-profits endowment policies.

Unfortunately, as with all endowment policy matters, what at first appears to be an opportunity for the hapless policy holder to earn a respectable return turns out to be an opportunity for the life insurance companies to take "a dip".

The biggest and the "best" of Britain's life insurers have in fact reduced their payouts by 3% last year (remember the funds they "manage" on our behalf have actually risen by 6%).

This cut in payouts has cost the endowment policy holders around £8BN, according to The Times.

The Times quote Tom McPhail, at Hargreaves Lansdown:

"Stock markets have risen substantially since the end of the bear market in 2003, but final payouts keep on falling.

It just doesn't add up."

That's putting it politely!

We would be better off having "invested" our money in a "bog standard" savings account over the last 10 years.

• A 10 year endowment policy from Friends Provident has returned a mind numbingly small 0.9% a year, compared with 1.6% from a 90 day deposit account.



• Prudential's fund grew by 7.2% last year. However, a typical maturing £50-a-month, 25 year Prudential endowment policy will now pay out £44,515. This represents a 5% cut on the £46,695 paid out on an equivalent plan that matured in 2007.



• A typical 25 year Commercial Union endowment policy will pay out £40,737. This is 7% down on the £43,697 paid out on an equivalent plan last year.

Why is that the insurers are able to take "a dip", and not pass on the increased returns to their policy holders?

Simple!

Because they can!

Insurers have discretion over how much of the gain they pass on, therefore they choose to keep the money for themselves.

A report for the trade body Actuarial Profession expects payouts to continue to fall by 3% per annum until 2020.

We are being ripped off by the insurance companies, and no one in the regulatory authorities is doing anything about it.

Scottish Widows

Scottish Widows

Lats year holders of endowment policies with Scottish Widows were bitterly disappointed to be told that they would not be receiving any bonus on their policies, in spite of the fact that the underlying with-profits fund grew by 10%.

However, this year Scottish Widows, despite only showing a return of 5%, has added bonuses to 239,000 polices.

Needless to say, what is given with one hand is taken with the other, the final payout to mortgage endowment customers has fallen compared to 2007.

A typical 25 year, £50 a month mortgage endowment policy maturing in January paid out £38,136 this year, last year it paid out £38,758.

A mind numbing 88% of Scottish Widows endowment policy holders will not receive payouts large enough to cover the mortgages that their policies were designed to cover.

The blindingly obvious question therefore arises, what is the point of these policies if they do not do what they were designed and sold to do?

Dwindling Returns

Dwindling Returns

The Times offers some advice to those who hold underperforming endowment policies which look like missing their targets:

"In the light of dwindling returns, investors should be asking themselves whether they want to keep their with-profits policies or head for the exit."

In essence, it is a keep or sell decision.

Pass The Parcel

Pass The Parcel

The endowment scandal has created a legal version of pass the parcel as policyholders claim damages from those who mis-sold these useless products and they, in turn, claim damages from insurance companies etc.

Legal Week recently reported that Reynolds Porter Chamberlain (RPC) is facing a multimillion-pound negligence claim relating to its involvement in a case brought by Standard Life.

Standard Life Assurance recently won a case against AON, and stands to be awarded up to £75M.

Aon has brought its own negligence claim against RPC, as a third party to the proceedings, and a second trial will now take place to decide whether or not the firm was negligent.

Aon's claim against RPC argues that the firm did not recognise that the wording of the policy meant claims could not be grouped together.

Now don't you think that all this trouble, time and expense could be avoided if the life assurance companies simply underwrote these useless, underperforming and badly managed polices?

Sir Nicholas Montagu

Sir Nicholas Montagu

Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesman, Vince Cable, has questioned the impartiality, effectiveness and independence of the Norwich Union With-Profits Committee (set up to protect the interests of policyholders).

He is concerned about Norwich Union's plans to distribute a proportion of its inherited estate to policyholders over three years, as opposed to a one off lump sum payment.

Mr Cable wrote to Sir Nicholas Montagu, chairman of the committee, questioning the committee's role in allowing the special bonus to be phased over three years.

Quote:

"Your committee has been established to protect the interests of policyholders and yet in your first public act you seem to have destroyed any prospect of being seen as a credible champion for them."

Montagu, a former civil servant who presided over the Inland Revenue during a period of bungles and who now gives after-dinner speeches for £5K a time, is seemingly reluctant to answer questions from "This Is Money" about this decision.

However, Montagu is paid from policyholders' funds to safeguard their interests therefore he is obliged to answer questions from policyholders.

Policyholders should send their complaints, comments and any queries relating to his role to:

Sir Nicholas Montagu,
Norwich Union With-Profits Committee,
Norwich Union Life,
2 Rougier Street,
York
YO90 1UU.

With-profits committees, if they are to really serve the policyholders that they claim to represent, need to be independent, impartial and effective.

It would appear that some fall short of this.

Call For Evidence

Call For Evidence

In a move designed to ensure that another endowment related scandal does not occur, the Treasury Select Committee has called for written evidence as part of its inquiry into the orphan assets (Inherited Estate) held by life companies' with-profits endowment funds.

The call comes as concerns are raised over the actions of AXA, Prudential and Norwich Union as they attempt to re attribute their Inherited Estates.

These assets are worth billions of pounds yet, despite these funds being contributed by policyholders, some insurance companies have been using a portion of them for the benefit of their shareholders rather than policyholders.

In 2000 AXA paid out a paltry 31% of its inherited estate to policyholders, this gave rise to the FSA to creating the post of Policyholder Advocate.

Claire Spottiswoode, Policy Advocate, is currently acting on behalf of Norwich Union policyholders.

Ms Spottiswoode, who is not happy with the current plans by Norwich Union (eg to pay the policyholders their share over 3 years), has welcomed the call for evidence:

"Foremost among the issues will be the way in which the FSA allows companies to subsidise the writing of new business, which has the effect in a re attribution of transferring value from the estate directly to shareholders.

Further, the way in which the FSA allows companies to pay shareholder tax from the estate is costly to policyholders and requires explanation."

The committee would like to hear about the following areas:

• The regulatory definition of the inherited estate in a with-profits fund.



• The extent to which life assurance companies should be permitted to diminish inherited estate in order to subsidise corporate activity, including financing new business, making strategic investments, paying shareholder tax and paying the costs of compensation for mis-selling.



• Whether allowing life assurance companies to use inherited estate to subsidise corporate activity has any adverse effects on competition.



• The principles that should guide the division of inherited estates in 90:10 funds between policyholders and shareholders upon re attribution of the estate.



• The appropriate sharing of inherited estate between current and future policyholders.



• Whether policyholders' reasonable expectations of distributions from inherited estate should be zero or have a positive value.



• Whether any distribution of benefits from the inherited estate should be made in a single payment or phased over several years.



• The role and responsibilities of the Policyholder Advocate.



• The framework for negotiation between the Policyholder Advocate and the life assurance companies.



• The role of the with-profits committees of life assurance companies.



• The approach of the Financial Services Authority to the issue of inherited estate.

Written evidence should be sent to the committee at this address Parliamentary Committee.

Sauce For The Goose

Sauce For The Goose

It is refreshing to read for once a story about a life assurance company suing a broker for mis-selling, rather than an endowment policy holder suing a broker or life assurance company.

In this particular case Standard Life sued brokers Aon for advising it to take out the wrong indemnity insurance, to cover claims for mis-selling of mortgage endowments policies.

I would venture to suggest that had they not mis-sold the policies in the first place, they would not have needed to take the cover out!

Standard Life won the case and stands to gain £75M, the final amount will be determined at another hearing.

The judge ruled that Aon had been negligent, as no reasonably competent broker could have concluded that Standard Life's needs were clearly met by the policy.

I can't but help feel a small amount of shadenfreude over this.

Now at least one life insurance company may know what the millions of us, who were sold these useless underperforming endowments, feel like.

Norwich Union - Eligibility For Reattribution Payment

Norwich Union - Eligibility For Reattribution Payment

In order to find out whether your with profits Norwich Union policy is eligible for a Reattribution Payment, please visit this site.

Which? Campaign Against Norwich and Prudential

Which? Campaign Against Norwich and Prudential

Which? has launched a campaign against Norwich Union's and Prudential's plans for reallocating the assets of their respective inherited estates.

Which? does not mince its words, and refers to the schemes as "rip offs".

"Which? is calling on the Financial Services Authority (FSA) to act to prevent £7 billion of with-profits policyholders’ money being 'reallocated' to shareholders.

Without a change in FSA policy, millions of Norwich Union and Prudential policyholders could lose out. Which? believes it is unacceptable for the Government and FSA to stand by and do nothing to stop this smash and grab raid."

Which? are asking for people who hold with profits policies with Norwich Union and Prudential to contact them at withprofits@which.co.uk

I have a policy with Norwich Union, and most certainly be in contact with them.

Norwich Union Windfall

Norwich Union Windfall

Some good news for over a million Norwich Union endowment policyholders. They have been promised a share of a £2.1BN arising from Norwich's "orphan assets" or "inherited estate" surplus.

Norwich Union has agreed to hand back almost half the £5.4BN surplus in its two main with-profits funds.

Individual payouts will vary, depending on the size of investment and how long it has been in force. However, projections indicate that policyholders should see the value of their assets increase by 10% by 2010.

It is also estimated that approximately 50,000 holders of Norwich Union mortgage endowment policies, currently projected to shortfall, will be reassigned a "green light" over the next three years.

Policyholders will receive 90% per cent of the £2.3 billion being distributed. The remaining 10% will go to shareholders.

Norwich Union have tabled a separate offer of a cash payment to policyholders in exchange for renouncing their claims on the rest of the estate (£3.1BN).

Clare Spottiswoode, the policyholder advocate responsible for securing the best deal for Norwich Union customers, is not entirely happy with the arrangement. She is quoted in the Times as saying:

"The money is available now, so how on earth can it be fair to deny it to policyholders now?"

She also called on Norwich Union to backdate payouts to cover customers who have cashed out of policies since November, when Norwich first said that it would press ahead with a distribution.

IFA's who have paid out compensation, because of Norwich Union's mis-selling of endowment policies, are also not that happy. They are asking why, if the policies now look like thy are going to revert to surplus, should they have been penalised.