Endowment underperforming - advice for another newbie?

billy_bulldog

I’ve been browsing this site for a while now and taking advantage of the excellent advice and tips freely given :T

I now have a specific query of my own, which unsurprisingly is to do with underperforming endowments.

Details of the two in question are as follows:


1st provider: Legal & General

Sum assured: £20,000

Declared bonuses: Not shown on statement

Surrender value: £6,213.84

Monthly premium: £62.77

Maturity date: November 2013

Projections: 4%=£14,200 5.5%=£15,600 8%=£18,300

With profit fund holding 1967 units @ 315p

Life cover including C.I. for Male 36 & Female 36 both non smokers


(For comparison, last years statement looked like this:

Declared bonuses: Not shown on statement

Surrender value: £5,359.15

Projections: 4%=£14,200 5.5%=£15,700 8%=£18,600

With profit fund holding 1791 units @ 308p)





2nd provider: Norwich Union (was a previous CU or CGNU (spelling?) policy before amalgamation)

Sum assured: £17,000

Declared bonuses: £1,531.30

Surrender value: £4,011.20

Monthly premium: £52.49

Maturity date: December 2013

Projections: 4%=£12,200 6%=£13,800 8%=£15,800

Life cover including C.I. for Male 36 & Female 36 both non smokers


The questions I have are:

1. Can anyone give advice as to how good these policies are, with regards to either cashing in, selling, having them paid up etc.

2. I still have 96 months left to act, and from some basic maths I reckon I could save £100 each month in an ISA or other savings account and get 4.5% annual growth myself (with no risk) – I believe this would yield in excess of £11,200 by December 2013. :j If the endowments pick up and don’t actually underperform too badly, I will have my own nest egg set aside, but if they do then I just empty the ISA and pay off the mortgage shortfall. Is this more effective than chipping away at the mortgage capital with a £100 overpayment each month?

3. Should I invest my £100 each month into something else? I’m just testing the water here, but would something with an equity element or index tracker be a wise proposition at this time?


I appreciate any free suggestions given in the spirit of this forum, and realise that they will not constitute professional advice. I want to consider all possible options more thoroughly and eventually take proper advice, but the collective knowledge / opinions / suggestions of all here would be most welcome.

:beer:

billy_bulldog

Does anyone have any opinions as to how well these endowments are doing, and if the insurance companies themselves are any good?

Would a £100 per month regular payment into a unit trust be a viable option?