endowments Endowment policies to pay off a mortgage have for some time been considered a bad deal. Policies taken out in the 80's and 90's have consistently failed to pay out the returns originally expected, often leaving a shortfall that the borrower has had to find elsewhere.

For some people, the best course of action is to cash in their endowment policy and use the lump sum to pay off part of their mortgage, and take out a repayment policy for the balance. You will need to do your sums carefully to ensure that this is the best deal for you. You can contact your endowment policy provider and find out how much you will get if you cash it in. This is a simple procedure.

More Cash
Most people will however get more money if they sell the policy to a third party. You can get up to 5% more by doing this. Their are plenty of online dealers who will happily give you a no-obligation quote for your endowmnet policy. As ever, you should shop around for the best price.

Some experts suggest that, where mutual companies such as Standard Life have demutualised, endowment policy bonuses will fall. If this is accurate then now may be a good time to cash in your endowment policy. You have two alternatives - either to cash it in with Standard Life or sell it.

Mis-sold Policy?
Before selling or cashing in your policy, you should check with the FSA as to whether you have a valid claim for mis-selling of the policy.