Norwich Union

What Norwich Union is doing

Norwich Union (Aviva) is in the process of looking at its £5.5 billion inherited estate with a view to buying out policyholders' rights to a share of the estate.

The company has appointed Claire Spottiswoode to be a policyholder advocate, acting on behalf of policyholders. She'll determine the size of the estate and then look to agree with the company how much will be available for each class of policyholder. This should happen by Spring 2008.

Once negotiations are complete the company and the policyholder advocate will write to eligible policyholders explaining the result.

Policyholders will be offered a payment for their right to share in the inherited estate and asked whether they want to accept it, and the High Court will be asked whether to approve the deal.

Are you eligible?

Not all Norwich Union policyholders qualify for the reattribution. If you do qualify for the pay-out, you should have received a letter from the company telling you about the inherited estate and saying that a policyholder advocate has been appointed.

If you don't think you've received a letter, you can check your eligibility on the Norwich Union website.

The current Norwich Union offer

Norwich Union has recently announced that it will distribute £2.3 billion of its inherited estate. Which? has welcomed this announcement, but is concerned that Norwich Union wants to pay out the money over a three year period. This will mean that people whose policies mature before 1 January 2010 do not receive the full amount.

Which? believes the money should be paid immediately to policyholders, and will be campaigning for this.

The question of what will happen to the remaining £3.2 billion in the inherited estate still remains. The Policyholder Advocate, Clare Spottiswoode, is continuing to work to achieve the best possible deal for policyholders.