hi there,
my parents set up 5 life policies with Scottish Provident for me when I was 17 (i think), i am consdering surrendering them as there is a few quid in them,
what do these policies actually offer me? is it some kind of life insurance? its says with profits?
sorry if these questions sound stupid, but i'm not in the mood for researching on google all day,
Are you in the mood to phone Scottish Provident?
for an unbiased view?
What do you mean by 'unbiased view'? By phoning them they will tell you exactly what type of policies they are and your options. If you ask them whether it is a good idea whether to keep them or surrender them they will not advise you as it is probably against their rules. Your user name suits you!
In message , Peter Saxton writes
Who likely wont tell him because they will either be in trust or owned by the parents.
In message , blockhed writes
They are likely to be all of those things, probable a thing which is genetically called a 'maximum investment plan' which is an endowment but with the emphasis on savings not life cover. Proceeds are normally paid with no further liability to basic rate tax. Some advisers claim they are 'tax free' which they are NOT.
They will be investing in the 'with profits' fund. If your parents set them up then you may not be able to encash them without their authority, it depends on how the policies were arranged. Get Scot Prov to send you or your parents the surrender values and fund values and let us know the answers. It is unlikely that they ill be worth keeping.
In message , blockhed writes
Dont be a pratt old bean. If you cant be bothered to google then dont be so quick to criticise. why not spend a moment or two of the time you didnt spend googling to think a tad before sending sarcky replies. SCot Prov are only allowed to give you facts about the policy, they are NOT allowed to give advice.
If he says what a policy is called wouldn't they tell him? It's a generic prooduct not a particular customers product he's asking about.
In message , Peter Saxton writes
Yes, thats fair comment, although generally (IME) lifecos will need a policy number to identify a particular policy in order to be able to give helpful specific generic information. This is because over a period of time products with the same 'retail' name can have many changing features. In order to identify the particular policy then 'disclosure' comes in to play.
True, but he could say: "tell me about a XXXX-type policy taken out in Month/Year..."
[He just gives the month of his 17th birthday.]In message , Tim writes
I know it seems illogical but You would be lucky if they were able to do that.
I wrote a letter asking why the returns were so low and I got a letter back explaining how they calculated the returns!
"John Boyle" wrote
IME of working with a large number of big lifecos, they can *always* do that!
If they use the same name for a series of products, they usually differentiate the different types by the date of entry. So it'll be "Type XXXX from d1/m1/y1 to d2/m2/y2" then "Type XXXX from d2/m2/y2 to d3/m3/y3" etc.
In message , Tim writes
IME of working with almost every Life Co very few can do that! Cos like Standard Life could, but the likes of Scot Prov (the co. in point) and NU cant.
Yes, that perfectly logical and decent companies will do it that way. But those with young untrained staff, and with a co that is an amalgum of many others (i.e.NU) or one taken over (Scot Prov) struggle.
You don't seem to understand the quality of the call monkeys and training in these companies.
"Peter Saxton" wrote
I think I do - I worked for one of them for nearly ten years, and since then have worked as a consultant to many of them for another ten years.
"John Boyle" wrote
Don't blame the untrained staff. There's always someone there who knows what is what!
"John Boyle" wrote
In that case, they tend to call (for example) policies originally written by Commercial Union, : "ex-Commercial Union type XXXX from d1/m1/y1 to d2/m2/y2".
What problem did you envisage?
"John Boyle" wrote
Where's the problem there?
Doing what?
I worked for a company that, among other things, owned pubs but that doesn't mean I knew how they trained their staff or their levels of customer service.
In message , Tim writes
If what you described actually happened then I would be very happy indeed.
From an IFAs point of view their admin is v.poor indeed.
"Peter Saxton" wrote
Actuarial work!
"Peter Saxton" wrote
As a member of staff myself, I well knew "how they trained their staff" -- because I was one of them!
As a consultant I often find myself corresponding with / calling their customer service, so I *do* have an idea of "their levels of customer service"!
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