Sun life scheme

looney2tunes

I took out one of those sun life insurance schemes over 15 years. It pays out a lump sum if you die during this time, if not then you receive a payment on its maturity. It is shortly to mature and I am not very pleased to see that after 15 years I appear to be getting back less than I have paid in approx £600. It would have been better to keep it under the mattress! Anyone else been in a similar position and is there anything you can do?

dunstonh

Anyone else been in a similar position

Yes. quite a lot. You picked a bad period to invest regular payments in.

and is there anything you can do?

Nope. Investment returns are not something you can complain about. Plus, virtually all of these were bought direct without advice so you have no advice to complain about.

looney2tunes

So its put up with it basically while seething quietly:mad: - I do have another policy with Norwich Union which is similar but still has quite a few years to go - is it worth carrying on with it and being in a similar position later on or cashing in and investing somewhere else. Appreciate any advice on this.

dunstonh

So its put up with it basically while seething quietly:mad:

Yes. However, you do have to take some responsbility yourself. Back in 1993 you had the choice of the Sun life endowment (or other endowments), regular contribution PEPs or unit trusts. Both PEPs and Unit trusts were better options. There were also some good MIPs (for the era) as well.

You picked a naff one.

I do have another policy with Norwich Union which is similar but still has quite a few years to go - is it worth carrying on with it and being in a similar position later on or cashing in and investing somewhere else. Appreciate any advice on this.

Is it similar? It could be but it could also be very different.

The concept of what you did was not wrong. Your implementation of how you did it was. Part of that was due to the era. You bought before a major change in the UK economic cycle from a boom/bust economy (which your product was designed for and worked well in) to a steady, low inflation economy (which is great because most are better off because of that but it is no good for these legacy plans).

looney2tunes

No good at all as I'm finding out. I did also have a pep. Thank you for your reply - I think I shall be looking into my other plans to reassess the situation.

dunstonh

NU plans are generally quite good. Dont make any assumptions without a proper analysis.

looney2tunes

No I wont make any rash decisions - it's just so annoying to put your money into something and then make a loss - I know there is no guarantee but to pay into something for such a length of time and not even break even.

lisyloo

But you have had the benefit of life insurance during this period so you can't compare it with putting your money under the matress.

I'm not saying it was a good investment but it you had taken out a pure insurance product it would have cost you money, so there is a cost attached to the insurance part, so you can't compare it with putting money under the matress with no insurance cover.

looney2tunes

Thanks for your replies - appreciate it.