Time to take a stand - Published:30/11/06
Thousands of endowment policyholders may have now weeks to register mis-selling complaints - or lose the chance of getting recompense for everMajor insurers including Prudential, Standard existence, Norwich Union and Friends Provident have imposed occasion bars on policyholders - and some of these are about to take effectUnder the Financial Services power (FSA) rules, policyholders have three years from when they became aware of the problems with their policy to complainUsually, it is supposed that this awareness stems from when the policyholder first received a correspondence warning that their policy may not disburse off their mortgageTime-barring started after companies complained that they could not reasonably expect to have to contract with endowment mis-selling complaints for years to comeBut the system now say the insurer must write to policyholders caution them when there's six months to go until the time saloon approachs inThe letter will approach from the insurer who provides the policy, but the complaint must be made to whoever sold the policy, be it an cover salesman, a bank or building society or an consultant As a huge number of deficit warning letters were sent out in 2003-04, the drawbridge is now being raised for many policyholdersPrudential wrote to 110,000 policyholders - roughly not whole of whom were Scottish Amicable clientele - this summer warning they had six months left in which to complain The first of these time bars will come into effect at the finish of February Norwich amalgamation will by the end of this year have time-barred 150,000 of its 11m policyholders Its actuary David Riddington says that about 50 policyholders a week are being barred from complainingHe adds: 'We're allowing our clientele a year's grace before time-barring them We write and tell them when they have a year to go and we also write to them once more to remind them'We want everyone to have every opportunity if they feel they have a mis-selling subject to pursue it - but we university teacher't want this to go on for ever and ever'Standard existence, which has 11m mortgage endowments, mainly sold by self-governing financial advisers, says that by March next year, 420,000 of these will have been time-barredAnother 190,000 start to be timebarred from May next year However, even when the barrier has come down, there could still be comebackThe Financial Ombudsman Service is receiving an rising number of complaints from policyholders disputing when the clock underway tickingA spokesman says: 'Just because you've had a letter proverb you've been time-barred does not stop you from disputing it'We're considering complex influence on how the time-barring decision was made - such as whether the correspondence detailing a potential shortfall was sufficient caution of a problem and thus should it mark the begin of a complaint'To gain compensation you must prove that you should never have been sold the endowment in the first place Someone with a suitable mis-selling complaint should be able to answer yes to at least one of these questions• I was not told the policy was invested in the stock market and as such, there were risks concerned that weren't made clear to me• I was single and/or was an employee in a corporation pension scheme at the time of the sale and therefore did not require the life cover afforded by an donation• The policy matures after I retire and no check was made on how I'd afford the premiums after I give up work You won't succeed if you middle your complaint on the projected shortfall Always protest first to the company which sold you the endowment This won't necessarily be the insurer: it could be a have an account, building society or adviserThe company has up to eight weeks to deal with your grievance If it's not resolved to your satisfaction, you can then go to the OmbudsmanSelect a loan term 12 months (1 day 24 months (2 natural life 36 months (3 natural life 48 months (4 natural life 60 months (5 natural life 72 months (6 natural life 84 months (7 years) 96 months (8 years) 108 months (9 years) 120 months (10 years)Please select a type of cover Life cover Home and inside Car Breakdown services Health - medical Health.
Read More:
Time To Take A Stand >>
Norwich Union Global Property Fund introduced - Published:21/11/06
Norwich Union Global Property finance has been launched in a bid to give its customers the possibility to invest in property in North America, Asia, Australasia and EuropeThe new finance will be available to customers on November 27th this day and invests in between 50 and 75 real land investment trusts (REITs)Norwich Union is collaborating with both Morley Fund organization and CBRE Global Real Estate Securities to offer the finance and REITs provide investors with the ability to move their cash in and out of the commercial property market with effortlessnessAlongside the Norwich Union Global Property Fund, the company offers four manager of manager funds, the enlargement and Value Fund and the particular Situations Fund, among othersREITs are essentially a collective asset that enable the investor to put money into a variety of properties without actually purchasing the property in the traditional senseA sum of 80 per cent of the Norwich Union worldwide Property Fund is invested in REITs in 13 countries and the fund boss will be Paul van.
Read More:
Norwich Union Global Property Fund Introduced >>
The Norwich Union Pay As You Drive insurance to be launched - Published:17/11/06
Norwich Union's Pay As You Drive insurance policy is put to be introduced and will consequence in customers paying premiums that reflect their specific driving habitsThe Norwich amalgamation Pay As You Drive insurance relies on satellite direction-finding whereby cars will be fitted with a 'smart fight' that, according to Norwich amalgamation's website, will monitor "how often, when and where you drive"The Sunday Times reports that the corporation is to announce a brace of Norwich Union Pay As You Drive products this week, one meant at young drivers and the other at the older end of the market, next a pilot schemeexclamation to the Sunday Times, Simon Machell, chief executive of Norwich Union Insurance, stated: "We think at least not whole of all the UK's drivers will be interested in disburse As You Drive]""We had so many people who wrote in and asked to take part in the pilot; we set up a usual newsletter for Pay As You Drive fans to keep them updated on developments," he additionalAllied to a fixed-rate fee, drivers will then be expected to pay additional according to the amount of miles they drive and when they drive For instance, late night-time drives, when more accidents occur, will cost moreOther benefits of the smart fight system used in the Norwich Union Pay As You force insurance includes technology that can locate a means of transport if stolen and an itemised bill that will let customers to keep track of.
Read More:
The Norwich Union Pay As You Drive Insurance To Be Launched >>
