Norwich Union Reattribution - Do You Qualify? - Hot Topics Q & A

Q. I have heard that Norwich Union are going to make a £1bn reattribution offer to certain policyholders.

What does this mean and how do you qualify?

A. This announcement was made on 30 July 2008 by Aviva, Norwich Union's parent company. Basically, it means that of you hold a policy that invests in one of two 'with profits' funds, you will qualify for a payment, probably sometime in 2009.

Here's an excerpt from the Aviva website:

Aviva today announces that it intends to offer a cash payment averaging £1,000 to one million policyholders in two of Norwich Union Life's with-profits funds.

In a process known as reattribution, policyholders in the CGNU Life and CULAC funds will be able to choose whether to receive a cash payment now in return for giving up their right to receive any possible future payouts from the funds' inherited estates* - or to stay as they are, in the knowledge that sizeable distributions are unlikely, especially in the next few years.

Mark Hodges, chief executive of Norwich Union Life, said: "This is a great offer. We believe that it represents good value for 99% of policyholders and almost all of the cash payments will be tax-free. Most importantly, we recognise that policyholders have a choice and everyone will be entirely free to make their own decision on whether or not to accept the offer."

The cash payments will not depend upon a majority vote. All policyholders, regardless of whether they accept the cash offer, will continue to receive their normal bonuses and the payment will have no impact on the security or performance of their investment.

To read the full version click here:

To find out if your policy qualifies, you can enter your policy number into this website:

We hope this helps!