Endowment assignment problem.

Stevienoc

Hi, first post so be gentle with me .

25 years ago I took out an endowment mortgage with my ex girlfriend. It was stipulated by the lender that we had an endowment/life assurance policy in both our names assigned to the lender before they would lend us the money.

We did that but split up a short while later. I had a transfer of equity so that the mortgage was all in my name but the endowment policy got left as it was. I'd asked about having her name removed but was told that I couldn't and would have to cash the policy in and then start a new one. The advice was never given in writing and I'm pretty sure was wrong but anyway, I left the policy as it was because it was a with profits policy and I didn't want to lose the bonuses by cashing it in early and I'd been told that I would be alright when the policy matured because it was assigned to the lender and they had first take on the procedes and would take the money to pay for the house.

The policy is now due to mature but the lender says that it isn't assigned to them so can't take the money. The endowment company says that it is and the money is there for the lender whenever they want it. My lender is now telling me that the policy was unassigned during the transfer of equity but not reassigned afterwards. I was never told of this nor was the policy returned to me. So where do I stand with them? Should they have informed me at the time of unassignment and returned my policy? Does anyone know what the proper procedure is for a transfer of equity and whether I have a legal claim against my lender or the endowment company (they're both blaming each other ) for any loses I incur while waiting to sort this out?

The alternative is for me to claim it but the endowment people want proof of my ex's identity. She now lives in Turkey and is very difficult to get hold of. She says there's no problems with me having all of the money seeing as I've paid every penny of the policy but this will take time and time is something I have little of before my mortgage is due to be paid.

Any information about the procedures involved with the assignment and equity transfer will be gratefully apreciated.

Cheers

dunstonh

The policy is now due to mature but the lender says that it isn't assigned to them so can't take the money.

if the policy was assigned at the start to a lender and that lender never revoked the assignment then it will still be assigned to that lender.

The endowment company says that it is and the money is there for the lender whenever they want it.

That sounds right.

My lender is now telling me that the policy was unassigned during the transfer of equity but not reassigned afterwards. I was never told of this nor was the policy returned to me. So where do I stand with them?

Whilst the lender may think that is the case, it is the insurer that matters. If the insurer says it is still assigned then it is still assigned. The property and the endowment are two different things. Just because a transfer occurred on the property doesnt mean anything happened to the endowment.

If the policy is still assigned to the lender then maybe the simplest thing is for the insurer to pay the maturity value to the lender. The lender then uses it against the mortgage. Job done. Much easier than faffing about with getting the assignment moved. Especially if the money is going to end up with the lender anyway.

Stevienoc

dunstonh wrote: »

if the policy was assigned at the start to a lender and that lender never revoked the assignment then it will still be assigned to that lender.

If the lender revoked the assignment it must have been at the transfer of equity stage but if they did they never informed me and still to this day hold my policy which I assume would have been returned to me if they no longer had an interest in my policy?

Whilst the lender may think that is the case, it is the insurer that matters. If the insurer says it is still assigned then it is still assigned. The property and the endowment are two different things. Just because a transfer occurred on the property doesnt mean anything happened to the endowment.

That is music to my ears and is what I have been telling my lender but they seem hell bent on telling me that the policy wasn't assigned to them. The endowment people sent them a letter telling them that the policy was assigned to them but they replied by saying that they no longer held an interest in the policy.

My lender says that I remortgaged and that my old mortgage ceased and another new one started at the time of the transfer of equity. Is that how a transfer works? I thought that it was just amending the paper work to relieve my ex of her burden of debt and heap it all on to me.

If the policy is still assigned to the lender then maybe the simplest thing is for the insurer to pay the maturity value to the lender. The lender then uses it against the mortgage. Job done. Much easier than faffing about with getting the assignment moved. Especially if the money is going to end up with the lender anyway.

I see you live in my real world where things don't have to be over complicated. It's just a shame that my lender doesn't. I've been begging them to do what you suggest for the past three weeks now :mad:. I feel like I'm banging my head against a brick wall.

Thanks very much for your reply, I appreciate it :T.

BobQ

I had a similar issue with an endowment when I redeemed a mortgage. When the endowment matured they said it was assigned to the previous lender. But all that they needed to release the maturity funds was a fax from the original lender to say they had no interest in the policy, which they willingly sent to the endowment provider without a fuss.

If the policy still has your ex's name on it too that may be another issue if you have paid the policy throughout.

Stevienoc

My lender has been one and the same all the way through but if there was any faxing to do, the endowment company don't do them!

My ex girlfriends name is still on the policy and I haven't tried to hide that and the lender has seen no problem with that even after I mentioned it. I assume that it is because we both signed our claim to the procedes away to the lender when we originally assigned the policy to them.

Thanks for your reply, again much appreciated

dunstonh

The endowment people sent them a letter telling them that the policy was assigned to them but they replied by saying that they no longer held an interest in the policy.

That has blown it. If the lender replies saying they no longer held an interest in it then that ends that option. You can forget about that now. Its just becomes a normal policy belonging to the policyholders now.

The endowment provider will now likely want both policyholder signatures. So, your ex girlfriend is going to need to get involved.

Stevienoc

My endowment policy company tell me that all my lender needs to do to claim the money is write back to them saying they made a mistake and the endowment company will pay them. My lender seems reluctant to do this just stating the same old tune of the policy wasn't assigned to them.

My problem is that because these people have taken so long over this assignment issue the endowment company have left me with less than a week to try and get my ex's proof of identity from Turkey. She's also having her own problems at the moment which isn't helping, hence why I'd rather not involve her. Any delay in paying my lender means I have to service the debt with even more interest payments which I feel I shouldn't need or have to pay.

It just seems that my lender is being as unhelpful as they possibly can be .

Stevienoc

Stevienoc wrote: »

My lender is now telling me that the policy was unassigned during the transfer of equity but not reassigned afterwards. I was never told of this nor was the policy returned to me. So where do I stand with them? Should they have informed me at the time of unassignment and returned my policy? Does anyone know what the proper procedure is for a transfer of equity and whether I have a legal claim against my lender or the endowment company (they're both blaming each other ) for any loses I incur while waiting to sort this out?

Sorry to quote myself, I'm not trying to push for an answer as such but I didn't want these questions lost to the debate.

dunstonh

My endowment policy company tell me that all my lender needs to do to claim the money is write back to them saying they made a mistake and the endowment company will pay them. My lender seems reluctant to do this just stating the same old tune of the policy wasn't assigned to them.

You need to raise this further now as a complaint to the insurer.

The insurer has received correspondence from the lender saying that there is no longer an interest in the policy. That is sufficient for the insurer to then pay you the proceeds directly.

silvercar

dunstonh wrote: »

You need to raise this further now as a complaint to the insurer.

The insurer has received correspondence from the lender saying that there is no longer an interest in the policy. That is sufficient for the insurer to then pay you the proceeds directly.

I would have the thought if the policy was in joint names the company would pay it jointly.

In my case, the company wrote to us a month before the policy payout date, saying if they didn't hear to the contrary, they would pay out directly to the bank account that the premiums has been paid from. Is this an easy option? to ask them to do just that?

dunstonh

I would have the thought if the policy was in joint names the company would pay it jointly.

They will still need the ex partner to sign the maturity form agreeing the proceeds to be paid. That cannot be avoided unless.....

In my case, the company wrote to us a month before the policy payout date, saying if they didn't hear to the contrary, they would pay out directly to the bank account that the premiums has been paid from. Is this an easy option? to ask them to do just that?

Some providers will do that. However, not all. I recently asked one why they didnt and they said that there is no guarantee that the person paying the premiums is the lawful owner of the policy and as they dont know the account name (just the sort code/account number) they have no way of telling at their end.