Bad time to sell an endowment policy?

[TimberWolf]

I'm thinking of cashing mine in. I could always invest the money in shares myself with the readies. Bad idea?

Alternatively I could carry on paying strangers to look after it and see it go up in smoke as it has done over recent years.

[DimPrawn]

The short answer is:

There is never a good time to sell an endowment policy as endowment policies offer completely tulip value for money.

[Cyberman]

Sold both mine 8 years ago. Absolutely pointless keeping them IMO.

[Sysman]

The other answer is:

Don't cash it in with the policy provider, as you'll probably only see about what you have paid in over the years. There are folks who will buy your endowment policy from you, and give you a better price.

[DimPrawn]

The other answer is:

Don't cash it in with the policy provider, as you'll probably only see about what you have paid in over the years. There are folks who will buy your endowment policy from you, and give you a better price.

They'll only buy "with profits" endowments. Some are so bad they are not actually saleable on the open market.

[TimberWolf]

The other answer is:

Don't cash it in with the policy provider, as you'll probably only see about what you have paid in over the years. There are folks who will buy your endowment policy from you, and give you a better price.

I've made a heart-hearted attempt at contacting a couple of IFA's reagrding selling it, but without much luck or much faith in replies to my enquiry. But my endowment is unit-linked (rather than with profit) and as such I gather isn't as sellable on the open market. I may end up paying brokers commission and have a lot more hassle for little benefit? I think with the original endowment provider I just request a surrender form and 7 days later they pay up. With a broker it might involve lots of hassle, self-serving advice, lots of messing about and ending with them running off with my policy and denying they ever saw it?

Anyone know a good/reputable place to sell them to?

[Lockhouse]

After looking at selling mine a couple of years ago I decided it wasn't worth it and I might just as well continue paying them to term (they have 4 years to go).

Worst investment I ever made.

[DimPrawn]

I've made a heart-hearted attempt at contacting a couple of IFA's reagrding selling it, but without much luck or much faith in replies to my enquiry. But my endowment is unit-linked (rather than with profit) and as such I gather isn't as sellable on the open market. I may end up paying brokers commission and have a lot more hassle for little benefit? I think with the original endowment provider I just request a surrender form and 7 days later they pay up. With a broker it might involve lots of hassle, self-serving advice, lots of messing about and ending with them running off with my policy and denying they ever saw it?

Anyone know a good/reputable place to sell them to?

You won't sell an "unit linked" policy on the open market. They have zero value.

Either continue and pay until they mature or surrender now.

[Sysman]

They'll only buy "with profits" endowments. Some are so bad they are not actually saleable on the open market.

Ta, I didn't realise that.

[Gonzo]

I've made a heart-hearted attempt at contacting a couple of IFA's reagrding selling it, but without much luck or much faith in replies to my enquiry. But my endowment is unit-linked (rather than with profit) and as such I gather isn't as sellable on the open market. I may end up paying brokers commission and have a lot more hassle for little benefit? I think with the original endowment provider I just request a surrender form and 7 days later they pay up. With a broker it might involve lots of hassle, self-serving advice, lots of messing about and ending with them running off with my policy and denying they ever saw it?

Anyone know a good/reputable place to sell them to?

I think that the pricing of the unit-linked policies is fairly transparent so what you should get from the original provider should be fairly closely linked to the actual value, and therefore not very interesting for anyone else.

It is the pricing of the with-profits policies that is so opaque and their system of adding bonuses each year until maturity that make them worthwhile for someone else to buy them off you and hold on to them until they mature.

I am happy for someone to contradict me though if they know better.