Problems with endowment mortgages

Problems with endowment mortgages

The underlying premise with endowment policies being used to repay a mortgage, is that the rate of growth of the investment will exceed the rate of interest charged on the loan. Toward the end of the 1980s when endowment mortgage selling was at its peak, the anticipated growth rate for endowments policies was high (7-12% per annum). By the middle of the 1990s the change in the economy toward lower inflation made the assumptions of a few years ago look optimistic.

Regulation of investment advice and a growing awareness of the potential for regulatory action against the insurers lead to reduction in anticipated growth rates down to 7.5% and eventually as low as 4% per annum. By 2001 the sale of endowments to repay a mortgage was virtually seen as taboo.

Financial regulations introduced compulsory re-projection letters to show existing endowment holders what the likely maturity value of their endowment would be assuming standard growth rates.

This in turn lead to a dramatic rise in complaints of mis-selling and spawned a secondary industry that 'handles' complaints for consumers for a fee, even though they can pursue it themselves for free.

In many cases the insurer or broker responsible for the original advice have found in favour of the policyholder and have been required to restore their customers to the financial position they would have been in had they taken out a repayment mortgage instead. As of July 2006, UK banks and insurance providers have paid out approximately £2.2 billion in compensation.