Most people surrender their endowment policies rather then sell them to a third party because they are not aware of this option.
A survey conducted by traded endowment policy (TEP) purchaser, Surrenda-link, into regional variations in attitudes toward endowment policies showed there is a widespread lack of awareness that surrendering a policy is not the only option.
In Scotland, 43% of respondents had surrendered their policies. 94% in East Anglia, where concerns over policies not meeting their targets were the highest, were unaware of the option to sell.
Commenting on the findings, Matthew Roche, marketing manager at Surrenda-link, said: “The overwhelming message from this survey is that too few endowment holders are aware of the option to sell to a third party rather than surrender.
“As endowment mortgage credibility drops and concern over maturation targets increases, many holders will be reassessing their options. Their lack of awareness of the ability to sell to a third party could mean that they lose out on extra money should they choose to cash in their policies – an average of £1,700 per person based on policies sold to Surrenda-link.”
