www.iva.co.uk

Hi I'm very new to this. But have slight concerns about my endowment policy. I have been paying into it for over 14 yrs and am experiencing serious financial difficulties. I am looking to enter into an IVA but am concerned that I will not be able to keep this after all this time?

B

Hi there welcome to the forum.

Unfortunately you would need to surrender any savings plans to an IVA, which would include your endowment policy. However, remember that in an IVA you can write off a large amount of your debt perhaps more than the value of the endowment.

If your creditors are willing to write off some of your debt, then it is only fair and right that you offer them as much as you can during the IVA. You should call your endowment company and ask what the ‘surrender value’ of the policy is so you are sure exactly how much it is worth.

Also, offering a lump sum towards your IVA at the start can work in your favour. This is because you will probably be giving the creditors a higher dividend return which means that the case has a better chance of being accepted.

Hey Barbsj, welcome to the forum. An expert will be along shortly to advise you. How much debt are you in and how much is the policy worth? X

I was in the same boat, and had to surrender it at the start and pay it all into the IVA.

Still creditors are going to have to write off £30K + charges of my £70K debt by the end of my IVA. The endowment itself was worth around 5K. That's the way to look at it really.

Hopefully you will get sorted soon.

Good luck make sure you get some good advice and that ou arehappy with the people you choose.

Best wishes. XX

Please make sure that you take proper investment advice before cancelling or surrendering an endowment policy. It is true that in a bankruptcy scenario, this would be an asset which would automatically vest in the Trustee, and that therefore in an IVA the creditors will expect to see it addressed, but you do need to make sure that ample provision is made to deal with the repayment of your mortgage into the future.

Thank you for all your help everyone. I will have to have a long think about what the best thing for me to do is with it and glad to hear that i'm not the only one in this situation.