No time limit for Pru endowments

There will be no time limit for Pru customers to complain about endowment mortgages.

14:27 18 August 2004

Life assurer Prudential has reiterated its promise not to impose a time limit on complaints about mortgage endowments.

Rival firm Norwich Union announced this week that it was introducing a deadline for complaints about alleged mortgage mis-selling.

However, Prudential chief executive Mark Wood said he did not believe such action would do anything but further undermine confidence in long-term savings, as the industry struggles to bounce back from repeated mis-selling scandals.

Under Financial Standards Authority (FSA) rules, consumers must be given at least three years to make a mis-selling complaint from the day they receive a "red" letter warning of an endowment shortfall.

Analysts praised Prudential's pledge as a good way to take on its rival and ingratiate itself with the industry regulator.

Hilary Cook, of Barclays Stockbrokers, told The Telegraph: "The life insurance market is all about taking market share from rivals at the moment . This is a good advertising ploy."

Prudential has 260,000 own-brand mortgage endowments and 600,000 under subsidiary Scottish Amicable and the firm has set aside 58 million to meet endowment complaints. Prudential shares rose 3.75 to 433p following its repeat promise.

Legal & General and Standard Life also both countered Norwich Union's decision to set a one-year time limit on customers, insisting there would be no such deadline for their own policyholders.