Government looks to help Equitable Life sufferers

Equitable Life, the former highflying financial giant of the UK, is back in the news today with confirmation that the UK government will this week announce a £1.5 billion compensation package which is significantly better than the initial £400 million package recommended by a review of the near collapse. While this does not come close to the estimated £5 billion losses as a result of the collapse of various policies administered by Equitable Life it is a distinct improvement on the initial offer.

One of the more alarming factors about this issue is the realisation that 13 years later the situation is still ongoing and victims of Equitable Life have been dying at a rate of 15 a day. It was the very fact that many of these policies were invested for later life, i.e. for retirement, which has led to so many victims passing away before any agreement has been reached. It is understood that a £1 billion package will be announced next week by the UK government with a further £500 million put aside in recognition of financial difficulties experienced by with profit annuity holders.

The previous Conservative government and the previous Labour government are both responsible for the 13 year delay in addressing this issue although hopefully it will be sorted out over the next few weeks.