commercial union now aviva

fairycake

we have an endowment from 1998, which ofcourse will underperform and we have funds in hand to meet that, but would like to try and claim back any compensation owed to us. The independant broker that arranged the mortgage etc has now died and the company doesnt exist. Do i go to the insurance company to claim or via the fscs? or do i use the template on this site.
thanks so much

dunstonh

but would like to try and claim back any compensation owed to us.

There is no compensation owed to you.

Do i go to the insurance company to claim or via the fscs?

If the adviser was linked to a network, you complain to the network. If the adviser was directly authorised you complain to the FSCS. The insurance company have no liability at all. However, you should check with the insurance company to see if you are time barred from complaint. Over 3/4 of endowments are now timebarred.

do i use the template on this site.

Template letters generally have lower success rates. They usually fail to include your personal reasons for complaint and include reasons that are easily rejected and make you less credible which can be damaging in grey areas where a balance of probability decision is required.

A 1998 case should be pretty well written as by then the risk warnings were more detailed and the requirements known. What would be your reasons for complaint?

magpiecottage

Your post makes the point that you are actually seeking compensation for underperformance. That is not a legitimate ground for complaint.

You would need to demonstrate that you should never have been sold the policy in the first place to be entitled to redress. What that boils down to is that you need to show that you did not make an informed decision, that it was the adviser's fault that you did not make an informed decision and that if you had made an informed decision you would not have ended up with a shortfall.


You would have received a "Key Features" document which will have had a prominent "Risk Warnings" section including the possibility of a shortfall.

I have a copy of the one issued by Commercial Union at that time. It says, "The proceeds of your policy will depend on investment performance. The amount you get back may not necessarily repay your mortgage in full".

That would probably be sufficient for the FSCS to reject such a complaint.

If it was via a network then it is probable that they still hold a copy of your "reason why" letter, which confirms this and, in most cases, that you were also told about repayment mortgages. They would also probably hold a copy of your illustration which would show that a 5% per annum return would leave you with a shortfall.

With that evidence, it is very difficult to get a complaint upheld - even assuming it is not timebarred.