ALEXANDER WELCOMES PROGRESS ON EQUITABLE LIFE COMPENSATION

5-Jul-2012

Highland MP and Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander has welcomed news that the government has now paid out more than £270M to around 300,000 Equitable Life policy holders who lost money as a result of regulatory failure after the collapse of the firm.

A commitment to recompensing individuals who lost money as a result of public maladministration of the troubled insurer was included in the coalition agreement after the general election in 2010.

The Government announced in October 2010 as part of the Spending Review that £1.5 billion would be made available to the Scheme for distribution to up to 1 million eligible policyholders.

In a written statement earlier this week, HMT confirmed that 90% of all those who might be eligible for compensation payments have now been contacted.

Highland MP and Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander says:

"The previous government kicked this into the long grass for a decade and did nothing to help the hundreds of thousands of Equitable Life policy holders who lost out through no fault of their own.

"Thousands of older people around the country passed away before they could receive the payments they deserved. The failure of Labour to act on the recommendations of the Parliamentary Ombudsman was nothing less than shameful.

"The coalition made clear after the general election that this was a genuine priority and I am pleased that nearly 300,000 people have now received compensation from the Treasury scheme. I would encourage anyone in the Highlands, who has not heard anything from the scheme but thinks they could be eligible for a payout, to contact my office."

ENDS