Pru final bonus

83dons2

Need some help re a life insurance policy. My gran passed away and she has a Prudential initial charge bond from 1999. It currently shows 57k value plus 50k final bonus. Do I need to send Prudential death certificate in order to close the account and pay out the money to the estate ? My worry is the final bonus as it states it can vary from day to day and may not be paid at all. Does anyone know more about this do they usually pay this on death or withhold for any reason. The initial investment was 30k in 1999 I think. A bit worried that the day my gran died may lead to her estate losing 50k somehow. Can anyone shed any light on final bonuses with prudential and what I need to do now she has passed away?

Devongardener

You need to contact Prudential ans soon as possible and speak to their bereavement team, they should explain the terms of the final bonus.
 They will initially need to see the death certificate, and eventually,  the grant of probate.

Although you have a recent valuation,  the final value will only be calculated at the time of eventual pay out, not the date of death.
When I was dealing with my late mother’s estate unfortunately nearly all her investments dropped in value between her death and grant of probate, due to market conditions.

Albermarle

 My worry is the final bonus as it states it can vary from day to day and may not be paid at all.

They are covering themselves in case of some major drama in the financial markets.

Most likely you will get the £50K or something close.

dunstonh

My gran passed away and she has a Prudential initial charge bond from 1999

That is the period when the good ones were available.

. Do I need to send Prudential death certificate in order to close the account and pay out the money to the estate ?

The executor needs to notify them and send the death certificate, and probate if being obtained.   There will be a claims form where the choice of surrender or assignment should be available.  (in case a beneficiary wishes to have the policy assigned and to continue).

 My worry is the final bonus as it states it can vary from day to day and may not be paid at all. Does anyone know more about this do they usually pay this on death or withhold for any reason.

Investments vary in value every day.   All quite normal. Its just a standard warning as only the annual bonus is guaranteed.   The final bonus is not.  So, the warning text reflects that.

83dons2

Thanks. I understand why the warning is there but I was asking do they normally pay it on such policies or is it like a fake bonus that they use to keep people sweet and don't pay out much. I'd reckon other people may have been in a similar position and know if they paid it or not. It has been advertised in every statement since 99. Will speak to the lawyer dealing with the will and start the paperwork off and hope for the best I guess!

dunstonh

Thanks. I understand why the warning is there but I was asking do they normally pay it on such policies or is it like a fake bonus that they use to keep people sweet and don't pay out much. 

What you are hinting at would be fraud.  So, no, they are not committing fraud.
The surrender value includes any final bonus accrued to date. It can change daily but reflects the underlying investments with a smoothing tolerance applied.