What will happen to those unfortunate to die before payments are made?

Donald Campbell, Peacehaven,

I have an endowment poicy dating back to 1988,which matures Aug this year.I agree with every comment,why should I and other policy holders be penalised because they mature before the said date.I know I will be facing a shortfall .

Muriel Costello, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK

I was just listening to Radio 4 Moneybox and I thought it was telling that NU's Stephen Mann stopped himself midway through saying 'in policyholders' best interests...'and correct himself to say the rather more vague (actually I mean weasel-word) 'fairness'. There is nothing 'fair' about these endowment policies or NU's plans: I have been a NU with-profits policyholder since 1983 so I am in the 25th year of a 25 year policy and that means I won't get the 2nd and 3rd payouts!! Why not pay me the total now? Obviously, it's to keep 2/3 my money in the NU pot! Is that fair? Mann also went on to say it would take NU 3-4 weeks to write to policyholders because (I paraphrase) 'the issue is so complex and they must get the wording right'. Well, why didn't NU devise the detailed word of the comms package before announcing this payout plan? It's clearly a stalling tactic to run the clock down and make Clare Spottiswoode look like the dealbreaker. This whole sorry saga makes NU look very seedy.

Mr Angry, Edinburgh,

This seems grossly unfair - I had 2 with-profits policies, a 23 yrd one matured Dec 07 and a 25 yr one matured Jan 08 - one of which had a shortfall. Clearly I have been contributing to the asset build up, and feel aggrieved that for a 2 month timescale lag in 25 years I will miss out on the redistribution. Is there cause for legal recourse?

alan, wiltshire, chippenham,

What happens to the interest on the £2.1 until the money is paid out (could be around £100m)?

Mr Pleb, Pleb, Pleb

My policy matures this year so I shall miss having the 'full settlement' so who is going to have the rest of my share which I am entitled to?. Anyone who has a policy which matures in the next three years should be paid out in full as and when their policy matures or before, otherwise the pay out is unfair to all those who have been saving. I have had my wealthmaker policy for the last ten years and the yearly bonuses I am receiving at the moment are less than the premium I am paying. So come on lets have some fair play and pay up now.

m.e cox, Blackwater,

we have 2 endowments that mature in 2009 with a shortfall which we have paid into since1984.
I beleive it only fair that we get a share of this windfall as it is our money that has contributed to the excess cash

s ousley, sandhurst, uk

My with profits endowment policy matured in July 2007, so under this deal, I would not qualify for any payment.

Why should this be the case as this pot of money was accumulated over a noumber of years during which time I was a policy holder and directly or indirectly I contriuted towards it.

I had a sunstantial shortfall and this money should be distributed on a fair basis.

Raju Kotecha, Narnet, Herts.

Been a with-profits policyholder for 23 years .Policy matures 2009 and I feel aggrieved that I shall not receive a"full settlement" as my policy matures 4 months prior to Jan 1st 2010.Funds are "in place" now and should be shared out now .Should also include those whose policies have matured since Nov.`06.It is "our money ",via feeble bonuses/red letters etc ---share it out now

paul smith, Redditch, uk

I have an endowment policy dating back to 1991 which matures later this year. Why should I, and the many other people in a similar situation, be deprived of a share of this payout because our policies do not continue past the required no of 1st Januaries?

Richard Hunt, Cheltenham, UK

I have a personal pension policy which was originally with commercial union but has become a NU personal pension. It is invested in unitised funds (non with profits) so will this be eligable for any proposed distribution ?

Michael Hawkes, Tonbridge,

Half of the 5.4bn inherited estate isn't 2.1bn - Is it? This payout is only money that should have been paid to policyholders in bonuses in the last 7 years or so. The payout on the 90-10 ratio to policyholders is correct and good. The staging of the payment is wrong as the money is there now. The reattribution exercise running in tandem with this payout should not be accepted though. The ratio won't be 90-10 and, more importantly, policyholders will have to sign their rights away to any further surplus distributions in the future. Vote no to the reattribution. The policytholders in the two funds paying out the money are lucky. The third and biggest fund is paying nothing (NULAP). Apparently these policyholders lost their rights to any surplus distributions at flotation in 1997 of Norwich Union. I cannot find any reference to surrending the rights to the funds in my flotation literature at the time!! Take the payout but vote no to the reattribution.

r.allely, Cardiff, Wales

I have two Norwich Union endowment policies from the mid 80s. How do I know if I qualify for a payout?

Steve Clark, Leeds,

I fully agree wuth Graham, alan and Barry. My NU policy, after running for 39 years, matured in early 2006, albeit with a small terminal bonus. Surely I, and many like me, have contributed to the company's inherited estate over the years, and are being unjustly derived of any share in this accumualted wealth!

Alan, Whitley Bay,

I have an endowmwnt which matures after 25 years in Feb 2009. Why should I not recive the full windfull when compared to someone whose 25 year endowment matures a year later. Absolutely ludicrous logic.

Barry, Reading, UK

Like so many others I feel cheated. It was my, (now closed) policy that made this money, why are we excluded, Simple put we were not given our full payout. How long had Norwich known about this?? .

alan, southampton, UK

I chose the Norwich Union for my life insurance in 1983 becsue it was a mutual.
From then until about 1997 bonuses ran at a rate of around 200% of the annual premium, and terminal bonuses ran at around 100+ of the sum assured.
After 1997 and de-mutualisation bonuses fell away to around 20% of the annual premium and terminal bonuses more or less disappeared.
I could never understand why, in a climate of share price booms and property price booms, no profits were being made.
Now, thanks to this article, I see why.
De-mutualisation has allowed the directors to retain profits with which they could build up funds and enhance their own "earnings".
De-mitualisation has been a very bad deal indeed for all concerned except the managers of the new companies which emerged and their mates in private equity and the like who have been able to borrow loads of cheap money from the various funds.
Thank goodness they have been tumbled.

j.kelleway, bern,

What about compensating IFA's who have paid out because of "forecast" shortfalls that won't actually happen?

"Missselling" a term that even the FSA does not define and exisits in no dictionary never "occured" where a policy was in projected surplus.

Ambulance chasing compensation firms should also repay the cut they took.

David, Sevenoaks, Kent

Disgusting. My policy which ran for 15 years matured a few years back without any form of terrminal bonus thanks to market conditions at the time of maturity. Now I have to watch my money being given to new policyholders just because they happen to be in the fund at the right time.

Graham, Pattaya, Thailand