Midweek Money: Profit remains the key

IF YOU bought your home with a mortgage more than a few years ago, the odds are that you probably did so with a low-cost with-profits endowment mortgage.

You may be disappointed with the performance. While the endowment may pay off the loan, you will be unlikely to make the profit that was projected back then.

Every year, some 60,000 people surrender their with-profits policies back to the life company.

The Association of Policy Market Makers, to which the leading dealers belong, is mounting a campaign among insurers to get them to inform policyholders that they would be better off selling their policies.

The second-hand market is mainly interested in endowments issued by the leading life offices, and there are now a number of firms that buy second-hand life policies.

Generally, the policy must have been running for at least six or seven years and have a surrender value of at least pounds 2,000.

The Association of Policy Market Makers, 0171 739 3949; Foster and Cranfield, 0171 608 1941; Beale Dobie, 01621 851133; SEC, 0181 207 1666; Policy Portfolio, 0181 343 4567; Neville James, 01243 520000; Policy Plus, 01225 466466; 1st Policy, 0181 455 1111; Surrenda-Link, 0800 919021