What is EndowmentCheck? Endowment Check is an independent on-line policy valuation service, set up for people who are concerned about the performance of their endowment policy or just want the peace of mind knowing how much their policy is likely to pay out at maturity. The Endowment Check website offers you a unique, easy and affordable way to value your policy instantly, based on current bonus rates supplied by your life company.
Once you have entered your policy's details and, if applicable, paid the relevant service charge, your policy's maturity value based on today's bonus rates will be instantly displayed in an easy to read and printable format.
Your policy details will be stored securely for your convenience. Every time you return to this website, you can call up the complete history of your previous valuations. This is an ideal way to see how your policy is performing over time and to illustrate how any change of bonus rates will affect its future maturity value.
Obviously, only you will have access to this information by entering your personal password.
Can EndowmentCheck give financial advice? No! All information and services provided by the EndowmentCheck website ("Website") does not constitute any financial, investment or tax advice. The Website is intended to provide general information only and does not attempt to give the user any financial or other advice that relates to specific circumstances.
Should you require financial advice, please contact your Life Company, your Financial Advisor or the FSA (Financial Services Authority).
Who can use this service? All policy holders with an "Endowment With Profit Policy" can benefit from our independent policy valuation.
To tell if your policy is ‘with-profit’ check your original policy document or the bonus statement from your Life Company.
Why would I benefit from an independent valuation? You are probably planning to use the payout of your policy for example to repay your mortgage, supplement your pension or pay for your children’s school fees.
Bonus rates tend to change during the term of the policy, and unfortunately in recent years the financial markets may have adversely affected your endowment’s performance. Please bear in mind that the updates you receive from your Life Company are constrained by the rules set out by the Financial Services Authority and do not reflect current bonus rates when projecting the future maturity value of your policy.
An independent valuation based on current bonus rates will give you a much better idea of what the maturity value of your policy might be.
How does a valuation based on current bonus rates differ from my Life Company's projection? Under the rules of the FSA (Financial Services Authority) your Life Company is only allowed to project the estimated future maturity value of your policy on assumed standard growth rates fixed at 4%, 6%, and 8%. This is only a projection and has nothing to do with the way the Life Company will calculate the actual maturity value. Only at the end of the term will your Life Company calculate the actual maturity value based on bonus rates at that time. EndowmentCheck is using exactly that calculation to work out the future maturity value.
If bonus rates stay the same during the remaining term then the future maturity value will match the actual maturity value. As bonus rates change so does the future maturity value of your policy. We are constantly updating our system with the latest bonus rates of all major Life Companies, allowing us to accurately calculate the future maturity value of your policy based on current bonus rates.
With our online facility you can now check the effect of these bonus rate changes on your policy’s maturity value and monitor them over time.
What does it cost? There are three levels of service available:
1. Our FREE Policy Checking service won't cost you a penny. It will check to see if your policy is still on target, but you won't get the actual maturity value or a detailed analysis.
2. A one-off valuation of your policy will only cost £4.99. This will entitle you to one valuation of one policy. Should you wish to re-calculate your policy in future (e.g. when bonus rates change) you will have to pay again.
3. An annual subscription costs only £12.99 per policy. This will entitle you to revalue your policy at any time during a 12 months period. As bonus rates tend to change during the year this will give you an opportunity to keep track of the performance of your policy. We will also notify you by e-mail whenever bonus rates are updated, so that you can re-value your policy and instantly see the impact on your policy’s maturity value.
How do I get started? Very simple - simply visit our homepage and choose one of the options there. We will guide you through the valuation process in six easy to follow steps.
You should have your policy details handy, as we require certain information to be entered. Most of this information will be on your last bonus statement. If you don't have it, don't worry, we will help you obtain the information from your life company as you enter your details.
Can the maturity value be guaranteed? The maturity value for your policy will depend on the future bonuses applied to your policy by your Life Company. They are adjusted in regular intervals and can go down as well as up during a policy’s term. Neither we, nor your Life Company, can predict what the future bonus rates will be and so it is impossible for anyone to give any guarantees.
However, since the actual current bonus rates are applied every time you value your policy, you are able to calculate the maturity value, assuming that the bonus rates remain constant. Furthermore, when the bonus rates do change, you can re-value your policy to establish the effect of these changes on the maturity value of your policy.
What type of polices can I value? Your endowment policy must be:
'with-profit' - To tell if your policy is 'with-profit' check your original policy document or the bonus statement from your Life Company. EndowmentCheck cannot value 'Unitised With-Profits' or 'Unit-Linked' policies.
The policy must be from a Life Company recognised by Endowment Check. Our system is updated daily with more than 2500 different bonus rates from all major UK life companies.
Provided it meets these 2 requirements your policy can be valued.
Can EndowmentCheck help to sell my With Profit Endowment Policy? Yes! EndowmentCheck Ltd. has links to more than 8000 UK IFAs und Market Makers.
In addition we have contacts to potential investors outside the UK who are constantly looking to buy Endowment With Profit Policies as part of their investment portfolio.
Our Complete Endowment Report contains an optional current market valuation (sales price). So, if you're considering selling your endowment policy, we will try and find the most competitive price for your policy on the open market.
Will I be able to pay my mortgage off? EndowmentCheck gives you the facility to forward value your policy at today’s bonus rates. This is exactly the same calculation your Life Company will be using at maturity. If bonus rates stay the same then the future maturity value will match the actual maturity value at the end of the policy term.
Please bear in mind, that any bonus rate changes during the remaining term of your policy will affect the actual maturity value.
With our online facility you can now check the effect of these bonus rate changes on your policy’s maturity value. This will help you keep track of your policy’s performance and whether it will pay the mortgage off at the end.
How do I get in touch with Endowment Check? If you have a specific question please remember to check this help section first.
If you still can't find what you are looking for, you can get in touch through the online form in our 'contact us' section.
If I ask a question, how long will I have to wait for a reply? We endeavour to respond to your enquiry as quickly as possible. However, more complex enquiries may take longer where further research needs to be undertaken.
Our online helpdesk is open during normal office hours.
I've never used Endowment Check before, how do I register? If you've never used this website before, you should visit our homepage and choose from any of the options shown there. You will then be guided through a series of simple screens to enter your policy's details.
What happens if I've forgotten my password? If you have forgotten please go to the login page and click the link at the bottom of the screen.
Why are you asking for my e-mail address? We require your e-mail address as it is used as a basic security check as well as our main form of communication with you.
If you don't currently have an e-mail address there are many companies offering free email services, for example Hotmail from Microsoft.
What should I enter as my password? Anything you like. But please try to use something that only you will know.
How do I pay and is payment secure? As we are providing an online service you can only pay by credit card or switch card.
All cards are processed securely using our payment provider, Worldpay.
WorldPay has created systems that enable Internet card payments in over 120 currencies, and currently has partners and customers in more than 80 countries worldwide.
When would I get a refund? Unless caused by malfunction of our website, payments made for the Endowment Check service are not refundable. This is because the results of our online endowment policy checks are made available immediately after processing your credit card details.
If a malfunction prevents you from viewing the result after your card has been debited, you can still login into our website at a later time to view your checks. If, in our opinion, the malfunction has resulted in inaccurate results being displayed, you will be warned via email as soon as possible after the fault has been discovered and if possible you will be given the correct figures. If it is not possible to supply the correct figures within 30 days you will be entitled to a full refund of your payment, which you will receive within 30 days of notification.
What type of polices can I value? Your endowment policy must be:
'with-profit' - To tell if your policy is 'with-profit' check your original policy document or the bonus statement from your Life Company. EndowmentCheck cannot value 'Unitised With-Profits' or 'Unit-Linked' policies.
The policy must be from a Life Company recognised by Endowment Check. Our system is updated daily with more than 2500 different bonus rates from all major UK life companies.
Provided it meets these 2 requirements your policy can be valued.
What happens if the bonus rates change? If bonus rates go up, the future maturity of your policy will be increased. Conversely, if bonus rates decrease, the future maturity value of your policy will be less.
How often should I value my policy? Life Companies change bonus rates frequently. If you are keen to follow the performance of your policy closely, you should value your policy every time the bonus rates change.
As part of the Endowment Check service, we will notify you whenever your Life Company's bonus rates are updated - this is the easiest way to keep up-to-date with your endowment's performance.
Will my friend's email address be given to a 3rd party? Absolutely not. We respect both yours and your friends right to privacy as stated in our "privacy policy"
How do I contact my life company? The following list shows the contact numbers we have for the most common life companies that have issued endowment policies.
