Press releases and articles of interest relating to endowment policies (UK only)

*Please note* This site is for information purposes only - we are not accepting any new cases from January 2007 - Here we provide a snapshot of recent news and developments in the endowment claims sector.

Consumers now turning to financial planning in a bid to avert the worst effects of the credit crunch.

More people are looking to maximise their money by seeking advice on investments and new ways to generate income. There has also been an increase in requests for life insurance cover and income protection quotes as more people fear of losing their jobs in a severely disrupted economy - 10.09.08

Nationwide will introduce a time bar from 8th May 2006. from "the Guardian"

Nationwide Building Society has announced that it plans to time-bar endowment claims from May 8. [30 April 06]

Until now it has, along with Prudential, been the only leading provider to have an open-ended commitment to dealing with complaints. Legal & General also joined the time bar club in March 06.

But in what many will regard as a U-turn, it has decided to join rivals in prohibiting compensation payouts if customers have not complained within three years of receiving an endowment shortfall warning letter.

Prudential - which, following its takeover of Scottish Amicable, has hundreds of thousands of endowment customers - is also believed to be considering closing the doors to complaints. A Prudential spokesman said its position was "under review".

[30 April 2006] Unfair time bar arguments The Mail on Sunday highlighted the plight of many thousands of customers caught by the time bar ruling.

They carried an article that discussed one case involving the Nationwide who time bar where they believe that a customer "ought to have known" that a policy was likely to produce a shortfall. The Ombudsman states that you can only time bar after three years from the date of the first red warning letter. But since 2004 the regulator has introduced a ruling that stipulates providers must remind customers of the approaching time bar deadline six months before the date expires. If the provider fails to comply with these rules, the time bar argument may be invalid.

[17 April 06] Legal & General join the time bar club Legal & General were one of a dwindling group of insurers who did not invoke the time bar rule.

A recent shift in policy means that they will now refuse to deal with time barred cases. All plan update letters sent out during 2006 will provide a six month deadline for complaining about mis-selling. This leaves the Nationwide Building Society and Prudential as the only two main players who do not invoke the time bar rule. [Mar 06] Customers continue to receive a poor service and a poor deal from Providers endowment Justice the complaints handling service have recently conducted a survey which revealed a consistently poor performance from key providers in dealing with customer complaints.

The Abbey were found to be the worst culprits with 99% of claims they rejected being upheld when referred to the Financial Services Ombudsman (FSO). This was the result of a sample of complaints assessed by endowment Justice. Up to 81% of rejected complaints by the Halifax were also upheld by the FSO. Legal & General came third in the list with 78% of rejected complaints being overturned.

There are a few interesting sites below where you can find out more about endowment complaints:

• Financial Ombudsmans official site
• Consumer information from the FSA
• Building Societies Association

Or read our additional pages here: Grounds for complaint (more detail) - endowments compensation claim - Claims procedures - endowment complaint articles - compensation injury claims - personal injury claims - accident claims - criminal injuries compensation - Law Society of England & Wales - industrial injury - legal news - accident compensation - dog bite claims - manual handling regulations - NHS Complaints - online legal advice - dental claims - claim for your child - personal accidents