Money Marketing
8 May 2002

'OFT referral fear led to radical CP121'

9 May 2002

The FSA had to make CP121 a radical document because of fears of it being referred to the Office of Fair Trading, Aifa director general Paul Smee told the summit last week. He said the regulator had decided to abolish polarisation to distance itself from the regime favoured by the PIA. Smee said the FSA's attempt to stamp its mark on distribution had produced a system that was one-dimensional and likely to lead to market distortion because the definedpayment system would be ...

52% of brokers call for buy-to-let regulation

9 May 2002

The majority of mortgage brokers want the buy-to-let market regulated, according to new research from Sun Bank. The research shows that 52 per cent of brokers think the Treasury has made a mistake by excluding buy to let from the FSA's remit for mortgage regulation. The exclusive survey for Money Marketing by the specialist lender of 168 brokers also found that nine out of 10 brokers want a single trade body for everyone placing mortgage business. Fifty-seven per cent of ...

A home from home

9 May 2002

Maybe not the most prominent areas of change to "the way we live now" to come out of the Budget (with apologies to Mr Trollope) but perhaps having a significant impact on the lives of those affected are those concerning: The consultation on the taxation of offshore funds. The review of the rules on domicile and residence. Over the coming weeks, I will be looking in detail at the offshore funds consultation (for which we have already a pretty well focused consultation document ...

Abbey National plays safe

13 May 2002

Abbey National has introduced safety plus growth issue 7, a guaranteed equity bond that provides minimum growth of 20 per cent and maximum growth of 50 per cent over a five-year term.

Ail's well that ends well

9 May 2002

One of my colleagues suffered a heart attack last July and after six months our employer terminated his employment contract. Neither he nor our employer had any insurance against ill health. My previous employer did and pay continued until recovery and return to work. Can I do something about this myself? Yes, you can do something. Just like your previous employer, you can insure against the risk of being off work due to illness or disability. This is known as income-protection ...

Analysis reveals major shortfalls under FRS17

9 May 2002

Nearly two-thirds of pension funds will show a shortfall under the new accounting standard FRS17, according to figures from consulting firm Mercer. Mercer Human Resource Consulting analysed 59 sets of company accounts newly published under FRS17. In 37 per cent of cases, the funds fell more than 10 per cent short of scheme liabilities. More than one in three companies - 36 per cent - had pension funds that accounted for more than half the size of the company itself. In one in six ...

BA shuts final salary schemes

10 May 2002

 British Airways has announced that it is shutting its two defined benefit pension schemes to new members blaming FRS17, poor stock market returns and increases in life expectancy.BA found that under the new calculation the shortfall was £394m in the two schemes which have combined assets of around £10bn. It has yet to release details of its planned contribution to the new arrangements.

Barclays - Guaranteed Equity Savings Bond

9 May 2002

Thursday, May 9, 2002 Type: Guaranteed equity bond and high interest accountGUARANTEED EQUITY BONDAim: Growth linked to the performance of the FTSE 100 indexMinimum-maximum investment: £5,000-£1mTerm: Three yearsGuarantee: Capital returned in full at end of term regardless of the performance of the indexReturn: 50% of any growth in index over termClosing date: June 21, 2002 HIGH INTEREST ACCOUNTType: ...

Be positive on pensions

9 May 2002

Financial advisers could be doing much more to counteract the negative publicity that surrounds the pension industry at the moment. With their knowledge and experience, they are in an ideal position to advise clients - employers and employees - of the positive aspects of pension provision. This extends to encouraging employers to set up and contribute worthwhile amounts to schemes, selling the benefits of scheme membership to employees and promoting the need for members to pay ...

Brand is a burning issue in fund deal

9 May 2002

Friends Ivory & Sime's move to snap up the investment arm of Royal & Sun Alliance has come as no great surprise to an industry accustomed to mergers and acquisitions. But the wave of indifference that greeted the news from IFAs and rival companies was unusual for a deal that FI&S was keen to point out will create a top 10 active fund manager in terms of assets under management. One reason for this could be that FI&S had long been tipped as being one of the front ...

Britannia - 5 Year Guaranteed Capital Equity Bond

10 May 2002

Friday, May 10, 2002 Type: Guaranteed equity bond Aim: Growth linked to the FTSE 100 index Minimum-maximum investment: £500-£500,000 Term: Five years Guarantee: Capital returned in full at end of term regardless of movement in index Return: Up to 38.25% at end of term Interest rate: 6% gross a year Closing date: July 2, 2002 Commission: None Tel: 0800 132304

BSA chair slams Ombudsman

9 May 2002

BSA chairman Martin Ritchley has slammed the financial ombudsman service for a series of unjust decisions against his members.

Build a brand Bridge

9 May 2002

The fund management business is dead, long live the fund management industry. Recent weeks have seen a plethora of articles in the UK press heralding the death of the fund management industry as we know it. The evidence is pretty compelling. Ninety per cent of the value of funds is now in index-tracking vehicles, leaving the fund manager working with 10 per cent of the money. They are under pressure to provide real returns on that 10 per cent and are turning to ever more complex, ...

Cazalet in bonus warning over Equitable 'conjuring'

9 May 2002

Influential life analyst Ned Cazalet has slammed Equitable Life's "Tommy Cooper" annual accounts, claiming there is little prospect of policyholders getting bonuses in the future. Equitable's annual report for 2001 says the society has changed actuarial assumptions to notionally inflate the bonus account by £850m. But commentators say this is not new money and without this move Equitable would have only £270m to pay bonuses, meaning it could only meet its contractual ...

CML calls for 'proportionate and cost-effective' approach

9 May 2002

The Council of Mortgage Lenders is urging the Government and the FSA to take a "proportionate and cost-effective" attitude to mortgage regulation rather than merely mirror the rules for investment business. In its response to the Treasury's Regulating Mortgages consultation paper, the CML says wherever regulation proposes to go further than the existing mortgage code, the CML will "explore fully the rationale for such regulatory creep which has inherent costs for the industry and, ...

Confusion over £27bn savings gap

9 May 2002

The ABI's estimate of the £27bn savings gap is in question, with two senior FSA figures claiming there are doubts about its accuracy. Speaking at the LIA Annual Conference, FSA managing director John Tiner and director of consumer relations Christine Farnish both said there are those who question how big the gap really is. Both confirmed they believe in the existence of the savings gap but questioned how the ABI came to its conclusion. Two weeks ago, the IPPR thinktank ...

Coventry Building Society - Two Year Fixed Rate Bond

10 May 2002

Friday, May 10, 2002 Type: High interest accountMinimum-maximum investment: £1,000-£250,000Interest rate: 5.1% gross a yearTerm: Until September 30, 2004 Offer period: Until further noticeWithdrawal penalties: 90 days' loss of interest on amount withdrawnTel 0845 7665522

Define business to avoid 'remedies'

9 May 2002

Is defined payment the weakest link in the FSA's CP121 proposals? It appears so. Managing director John Tiner says the FSA is considering other options. David Severn apparently puts its survival at 50-50. At the G80 conference last week, 80 per cent of those present believed it would be modified. And we hear the Treasury's reviewer-at-large Ron Sandler, has serious concerns. Perhaps the most vexatious of the FSA proposals will be dropped. So are IFAs out of the woods? No. The ...

EFM picks UK for investment

9 May 2002

Edinburgh Fund Managers is weighing in to the debate on where to invest this year with a new guide outlining reasons for investing in the UK. The guide is the third in a series of factsheets from EFM tracking how UK blue-chip stocks have fared over the past five years and drawing conclusions about what this means for investors. It points out that in 1997 the top 10 stocks in the FTSE All Share accounted for 28.6 per cent of the UK index while today they account for 45.6 per cent. BP ...

Farnish quits FSA for NAPF

9 May 2002

Framlington World Cup challenge

9 May 2002

Week 10 of the Challenge saw more movement at the top of the league as the indices once again continued their erratic performances. Nick Pike's Lazy Boyz are now heading the pack with a 10.52 per cent overall increase since the start of the competition. Brian Rooney is still in the running for the overall title and his 10.10 per cent gain overall puts him in second place. Steve Hawes' Magic Nose Goblins are level with Paul Holdsworth's Woking United in third place.

FSA looks at DP alternatives

9 May 2002

The FSA is actively considering alternatives to the defined-payment system as it examines the practicalities of implementing the CP121 regime, including a cost-benefit analysis, according to managing director John Tiner. Tiner's comments, made at the LIA's annual conference in London last week, come as FSA head of polarisation David Severn is known to have told a group of industry figures that the defined-payment system outlined in CP121 has only a 50-50 chance of surviving. Eighty ...

Gaskin fears over procuration fees

9 May 2002

Burns Anderson network chief Jim Gaskin has raised fears over the future of procuration fees for mortgage brokers as a result of CP121. Many brokers make the vast majority of their income from mortgages through fees paid by lenders but Gaskin says this could soon change. Speaking at the G80 summit, Gaskin cautioned advisers that if they are forced to be remunerated by the definedpayment system for life and pension business, there are obviously doubts over whether they can still ...

Get flexible with Canada Life International

8 May 2002

Canada Life International - Flexible Protector PlanType: Individual critical illness cover Minimum premium/cover: £15 a month, £150 a year/subject to minimum premium Maximum cover: £1m Illnesses covered: Accidental HIV, alzheimer's disease, pre-senile dementia, angioplasty, aorta graft surgery, benign brain tumour, blindness, cancer, coronary artery bypass surgery, Creutzfeldt-Jakob's disease, deafness, heart attack, ...

Global warning

9 May 2002

The board of the Gartmore monthly income trust is refusing to pay the full entitlement to shareholders on the basis that it would be unjust to those who voted to redeem in 2004. Is this fair to the three-quarters of shareholders who voted to red-eem in May and could it tempt other trust boards to do the same? Kim North: I doubt that the unfortunate events that have scuppered the Gartmore trust will tempt other trust boards to do the same. In fact, this trust will force other boards ...

Halifax says depolarisation should cover whole market

9 May 2002

The need for clarity and an explanation of the impact of the FSA's polarisation review on the mortgage industry are the key issues raised in Halifax's response. The bank says previous rounds of consultation tackled its main concern about intermediary advice not being regulated but now it believes the biggest question is whether the depolarised model will be applied to the mortgage sector. Halifax says to avoid consumer confusion and deliver transparency, depolarisation should ...

Horlick becomes SGAM chief executive

8 May 2002

Star fund manager Nicola Horlick is to become chief executive of SG Asset Management, the group she co-founded in 1998. Horlick has been joint managing director alongside John Richards and succeeds Keith Percy as chief executive. Percy is to become executive chairman while Richards will focus on portfolio management and asset allocation. Horlick will retain her role as head of equities and continue to manage the UK income fund. 

IFAs berate supermarts over Isa and Pep claims

9 May 2002

IFAs have criticised fund supermarkets Cofunds and FundsNetwork for advertising Isa and Pep consolidation without having some of the biggest companies signed up to the service. IFAs are concerned that both supermarkets continue to market a consolidation service despite Cofunds not having access to Fidelity and Jupiter not being available through FundsNetwork. As both fund managers are among the biggest in the UK, IFAs claim the platforms should make it clearer that big parts of ...

IFAs warned not to sell their firms too cheaply

9 May 2002

IFAs should beware of selling equity in their firms too early, too cheaply and to people that cannot add value to the business, founder of Skandia UK Paul Bradshaw has warned. Bradshaw told the Money Marketing G80 summit, near Newport, Wales last week, that the financial advice market was far from mature and said he expected in 10 years time the biggest IFAs would have market capitalisations in the billions of pounds rather than the millions now. Bradshaw, who was most recently ...

Independent View - Philip Rose

9 May 2002

"Where there is no vision the people perish" - is that from the Bible's Book of Proverbs or the FSA's CP121? I often confuse the two. But vision really is vital to any business that wants to flourish - and it is probably one of the greater challenges facing every IFA today. The view is so blurred by uncertainty and change that seeing beyond the next year is getting harder and harder. A number of contributors to this column have been speculating on the difference between selling ...

Inter-Alliance finance director resigns

10 May 2002

Inter-Alliance finance director Michael Williamson has resigned a week after the national IFA appointed three executives from St James's Place.The firm has appointed Geoff Dribbell as interim finance director. Dribbell joined Inter-Alliance three months ago from PricewaterhouseCoopers. The St James's Place executives are Gerard Moore, Carey Shakespeare and John Standley. 

Investment analysis

9 May 2002

Markets hoping for a more cheery start to the second quarter were let down as April bought continued conflict in the Middle East, more disappointing corporate data and mixed economic news. Global equity markets took the news flow badly, the benchmark FTSE World index falling sharply over the month. In the US, April saw the vast majority of the constituents of the S&P 500 report first-quarter earnings and, while most met analysts' forecasts, markets were driven lower by the lack ...

Ipswich Building Society two-year fixed

13 May 2002

Ipswich Building Society two-year fixed

John Simmonds

9 May 2002

Work and golf are the two big loves in the life of Towry Law managing director John Simmonds - and work is inevitably going to be time-consuming for someone willing to step into the shoes of the controversial former MD Douglas Black, who quit in December, just six months after the IFA firm's takeover by Australian insurance giant AMP. Of his high-profile predecessor, Simmonds is quick to point out that his departure was amicable and they are on "very good terms". He is also confident ...

Kelly confirms Catmark idea for advice

8 May 2002

Treasury economic secretary Ruth Kelly has confirmed the Government is looking at the idea of introducing a Cat mark for financial advice. Speaking at the LIA Annual Conference in London last week, the minister said the Treasury is looking at using benchmarks to enable consumers to enter the market such as Cat standards for advice. Kelly said the success of Cat marked Isas has demonstrated to the Government the measure of confidence consumers have in them.  

M&E and Burn-Anderson merger talks stall

9 May 2002

Tenet Group has admitted it has had high-level talks to take over IFA network Burns-Anderson but confirms a deal is now unlikely. Tenet chief executive Simon Hudson says a merger between its M&E network and Burns-Anderson had been on the table but agreement between the parties could not be reached. A merger of Tenet Group, with its 1,800 RIs, and Burns-Anderson, which has more than 550 members, would have attracted huge provider interest. Norwich Union and Friends Provident ...

Marsden Building Society five-year fixed

13 May 2002

Marsden Building Society five-year fixed

Media-friendly IFAs listed in new edition of directory

9 May 2002

IFA Promotion has published the latest edition of its press services directory for journalists, with a record number of IFA firms willing to offer help to the media. The fourth edition of the guide contains details of 155 IFAs, up from 138 last year. The guide will be distributed to 1,500 journalists, including those working in television, radio, the press and the internet. The IFAs listed in guide can be contacted for comment by the media. The directory is not only a useful ...

Merrill Lych flies free in Europe

13 May 2002

MERRILL LYNCH INVESTMENT MANAGERSEUROPEAN DYNAMIC FUNDType: Unit trustAim: Growth by investing in quote continental European securities excluding the UKMinimum investment: Lump sum £1,000, monthly £50Investment split: France 23%, Germany 17%, UK 17%, Eire 12%, Sweden 9%, cash 7%, Spain 5%, Denmark 4%, others 3%, Switzerland 2%, Netherlands 1%Isa link: YesPep transfers: YesCharges: Initial 5.25%, annual 1.5%Commission: ...

Mortgage complaints move

9 May 2002

Financial Ombudsman Service chief ombudsman Walter Merricks is inviting mortgage intermediaries to join the service two years earlier than they will be obliged to by the FSA. At the LIA Conference last week, Merricks said once mortgage advice comes under the FSA umbrella in 2004, intermediaries will automatically become part of the ombudsman scheme so it makes sense for them to join now. Merricks said: "It must seem a little odd to a consumer of an IFA firm who is told complaints ...

NAPF concern at Budget

9 May 2002

The National Association of Pension Funds has attacked Chancellor Gordon Brown savings policies saying his recent budget has ensured the public will have a "long healthy and poor retirement".

Newton acquires Henderson subsidiary

8 May 2002

Mellon subsidiary Newton has acquired Henderson Private Asset Management for an undisclosed sum.

Northern Rock offers unsecured loans on top of mortgages

13 May 2002

Northern Rock has announced changes to its flexible fixed and flexible capped mortgage ranges by adding the option of an additional unsecured loan of up to £10,000.

Norwich and Peterborough - One Year Fixed Rate Bond

8 May 2002

Wednesday, May 8, 2002 Type: High interest account Minimum-maximum investment: £1,000-£500,000 Interest rates: 4.6% gross a year, 4.51% gross a month Term: One year Offer period: Until further notice Withdrawal penalties: No penalty provided £1,000 remains in the bond. Otherwise 50 days’ loss of interest on amount withdrawn Tel: 0845 3002511

Norwich and Peterborough - Three Year Fixed Rate Bond

8 May 2002

Wednesday, May 8, 2002 Type: High interest account Minimum-maximum investment: £1,000-£500,000 Interest rates: 5.3% gross a year, 5.18% gross a month Term: Three years Offer period: Until further notice Withdrawal penalties: No penalty provided £1,000 remains in the bond. Otherwise 120 days’ loss of interest on amount withdrawn Tel: 0845 3002511

Norwich Union - Mortgage Payment Protection Insurance

14 May 2002

Tuesday, 14 May 2002Type: Accident, sickness and unemployment coverMaximum benefit: £2,500 a month single applicants, £3,000 a month joint applicantsBenefit payment term: 12, 18, 24 monthsDeferred period: 30, 60, 90 daysPremium: Subject to underwritingCommission: NoneTel: 0800 0687926

Number's up

9 May 2002

We hear that our Power & Influence List, apart from threatening the careers of those who feature too high in the list, is also giving people the opportunity to address each other in new ways. When Norwich Union sales and mark-eting director Peter Hales got a letter from Oliver Wyman & Co head of insurance practice Richard Surface, it was addressed "From number 77 to number 97."

Outside Edge - Garry Heath

9 May 2002

The financial services world is becoming increasingly surreal. Gone is the old image of a staid and sober industry with commonly held views, which encouraged thrift and temperance and created a world in which wealth creation was real, if a little slow. In its stead is a fashion industry in which views change almost on a weekly basis with the minimum of thought, let alone intellectual vigour. In CP121, the regulator invents a number of "market failings" as its reasons for executing ...

Pension reviews plan single taxation regime

9 May 2002

The Inland Revenue and the Department for Work & Pensions are believed to be planning a single tax regime to span occupational and personal schemes as part of a major pension overhaul. The move is likely to form part of Alan Pickering's DWP review to simplify private pension legislation and the Revenue's review into streamlining the tax system on occupational schemes. Pickering is finalising his report and will be publishing recommendations in June. Details of the ...

Progress is stalled at a T junction

9 May 2002

It would be interesting to observe the FSA offices secretly as industry responses to CP121 are sorted into two piles labelled "reactionary and confrontational" and "realistic and constructive". We hope Fidelity's response falls into the latter category. Our realism is grounded in our resignation to the inevitability of change. Despite some deep reservations, there are CP121 proposals we welcome. Extending consumer choice through broadening product and provider representation in ...

Punter Southall merges with rival

13 May 2002

Consulting actuaries Punter Southall has announced it is merging with rival consultancy BGJ & CO.

Rathbones - Ethical Bond Fund

8 May 2002

Wednesday, May 8, 2002 Type: Unit trustAim: Income by investing in ethical investment-grade bondsMinimum investment: Lump sum £1,000, monthly £100Investment split: 100% in ethical investment-grade bondsYield: 6.2% gross a yearIsa link: YesPep transfers: YesCharges: Initial 4%, annual 1.25%Commission: Initial 3%, renewal 0.5%Tel: 020 7399 0399

Reshuffle at Inter-Alliance

8 May 2002

Inter-Alliance is restructuring its management with three appointments. Gerard Moore will become group development director and will sit on the board. Carey Shakespeare is to be director of marketing and John Standley director of business development. All three were poached from St James Place, which Interalliance chairman and chief executive Keith Carby co-founded. 

Review looking at Isa lock-ins

9 May 2002

The Inland Revenue is reviewing the Isa regulations, saying it plans to produce improved guidelines for providers in the "near future". In its Pep and Isa bulletin number five, distributed to Isa managers in April, the Revenue admits the guidance it provides managers could be improved and says it is looking at it "with a view to producing clear guidelines in the near future". The bulletin aims to clarify whether providers can lock in investors' funds and prevent withdrawals ...

Royal London creating second-tier advice force

9 May 2002

Royal London is set to pilot a new direct salesforce offering pared down advice on the back of CP121's proposals for a second tier of adviser. Initially, the salesforce will be restricted to selling non-regulated products from protection to general insurance, including third-party products. But Royal London says it is awaiting the FSA's depolarisation rules which it hopes will permit the salesforce to expand its range to cover savings and pensions. It will stand alongside ...

Savings on healthcare

9 May 2002

PMI insurer Western Provident Association has introduced a new individual product which it says can save policyholders up to 50 per cent on their premiums. Under its flexible health plan, policyholders can reduce their premiums by selecting the "shared responsibility" option where they pay a quarter of the treatment costs up to their chosen personal level. WPA will pay three-quarters of any treatment up to £1,000, £3,000 or £5,000 and then everything else on top. ...

Scot Life extends special offer

10 May 2002

Scottish Life is extending its "no policy fee" special offer on its Talisman pensions range until the end of July.

Search to find top woman IFA

9 May 2002

The Women's IFA Group is launching a search for the outstanding woman IFA in the UK. The competition will be judged in several rounds over the next six months and the winner will be announced in November at a dinner for 250 people in London. The winner will have to demonstrate applied technical knowledge as well as strengths in analytical thinking, interpersonal skills, marketing and self-management and job performance. Members of the judging panel include Wig chairwoman ...

Smee warns that IFAs face long summer of regulation

9 May 2002

IFAs face a long, hot summer of regulation, with a raft of issues to be dealt with before the FSA publishes its findings on the CP121 proposals in September, says Aifa director general Paul Smee. He told delegates at the Money Marketing G80 summit at the Celtic Manor in Newport, Wales that the pace of change would not let up just because CP121 responses had been filed. Setting out the calendar for regulatory changes this year, Smee reminded delegates that the Sandler report on ...

Talkback

9 May 2002

"Yes, on balance. I have a problem with Royal & Sun Alliance, their administration can be poor. Maybe if they don't have their investment arm, their service to IFAs will improve." Terry Stevens, Centre Financial Services "Royal & Sun Alliance is not bad and neither is Friends Ivory & Sime but I can't get that excited about it." Charles Dickson, Charles Dickson Financial Planning No. I think they should be concentrating on investing in their own funds and ...

The roots of the pension scandal

9 May 2002

The amazing saga of the pension scandal was the most outrageously imposed retrospective legislation one has ever seen. But regulators conveniently overlooked Mrs Thatcher's Government's advertising campaign of an imitation Hulk breaking out of chains strapped around him, advising the public to break out of the restrictive chains of an occupational pension scheme and organise their own personal pension plan (or words to that effect). It was also overlooked that practically ...

Threadneedle appoints new sales manager for South East

13 May 2002

Threadneedle Investments is appointing William Smith as sales manager of its southeast team.Smith will take over responsibility for a panel of discretionary asset managers and will report to regional sales director John Campbell.Smith was previously regional sales manager for Govett Investment Management where he worked since 1990.Smith says: "I know from the marketplace how well Threadneedle is regarded. I look forward to growing the business further still."

VAT of the land

9 May 2002

Inscape's recent legal victory over Customs & Excise has established level ground between in-house fund managers and those adopting a manager of managers approach. Over time, this is likely to have significant implications for the UK fund management industry. The case centred on the application and interpretation of European Union law which states that the management of special investment funds, which include unit trusts and open-ended investment companies in the UK, is ...

Website to cut service costs for IFAs

9 May 2002

Software company CCL is setting up an IFA website that provides a range of services at a reduced cost or free of charge. The website offers IFAs access to calculators for pensions, investments, tax and mortgages and provides generic illustrations on the costs of products at www.ifacomplete.co.uk. It also allows IFAs to print reason-why letters,the latest FSA compliance documentation and download a free, easy to understand fact-find form. To boost its aim to become a one-stop ...

What's the frequency?

9 May 2002

Over the first two articles in this series, I have started to look at important issues relating to assumptions which should be made when formulating and presenting a client with a report and recommendations based on specified levels of target benefit - these targets either to be set by or agreed with the client. I have already identified the nature of a number of assumptions inherent in a target benefit-driven calculation and have discussed ways in which we can then determine suitable ...

Will it be a dream for Nightmare Returns?

9 May 2002

Scottish Life is the exclusive sponsor of Sky's pay-per-view Premiership football channel Premiership Plus. To celebrate this new partnership, Scottish Life has teamed up with Money Marketing to offer IFAs some fantastic prizes and the opportunity to win a trip to Japan to see England play Argentina. Over the past two months, The Fantasy League has mirrored the Premiership table, with the top spot changing hands several times. With just the final Premiership action left, the tension ...

WPA takes flexi route to PMI

14 May 2002

Western Provident Association has introduced flexible health, an individual private medical insurance (PMI) plan that allows policyholders to upgrade and downgrade cover as their circumstances change.