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The Ombudsman has replied to a letter from Sir John Chadwick concerning the work he
is doing to advise the Government on an ex gratia scheme for those affected by the Equitable Life affair.
The Ombudsman has replied to a letter from the Chief Secretary to the Treasury concerning statements he made in the House of Commons on 21 July 2009 concerning Equitable Life.
Injustice unremedied: the government's response on Equitable Life
Ann Abraham, the Parliamentary Ombudsman, has laid before both Houses of Parliament a further report concerning Equitable Life.
This relates to the Government’s response to her July 2008 report, Equitable Life: a decade of regulatory failure.
The Ombudsman’s further report, Injustice unremedied: the Government’s response on Equitable Life (HC 435), has been laid before Parliament under section 10(3) of the Parliamentary Commissioner Act 1967.
Read the press release
Download report (pdf, 364kb)
March 2009
The Ombudsman has written to Members of Parliament concerning Equitable Life.
Dear Member letter (PDF 579KB)
29 January 2009
The Ombudsman has submitted a Memorandum concerning Equitable Life to the Public Administration Select Committee.
Memorandum (PDF 104KB)
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16 July 2008
Equitable Life: a decade of regulatory failure
In a report laid before both Houses of Parliament, Ann Abraham, the Parliamentary Ombudsman, has called on the Government to apologise to Equitable Life policyholders and to establish and fund a compensation scheme for those policyholders.
In her report Equitable Life: a decade of regulatory failure (HC 815), the Ombudsman makes ten determinations of maladministration on the part of the former Department of Trade and Industry, the Government Actuary's Department, and the Financial Services Authority, in relation to their regulation of Equitable in the period before 1 December 2001.
In addition to upholding several specific complaints, the Ombudsman has upheld a general complaint about the period before Equitable closed to new business on 8 December 2000, namely that:
...the public bodies responsible for the prudential regulation of insurance companies...and the Government Actuary's Department failed for considerably longer than a decade properly to exercise their regulatory functions in respect of Equitable Life.
Finding that injustic resulted from maladministration, the Ombudsman has recommended that a compensation scheme should be established to assess the individual cases of Equitable's current and former policyholders, with a view to paying compensation to remedy any financial losses which would not have been suffered had those people invested elsewletter than with Equitable.
The Ombudsman has suggested that such a scheme should be established within six months of any decision by Government and Parliament to do so and, once operational, should complete its work within two years. The scheme should be independent, transparent and simple to administer.
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Equitable Life, May 2008
The Ombudsman wrote to Members of Parliament to provide an update on her investigation.
Dear Member letter (PDF 511KB)
Equitable Life, April 2008The Ombudsman wrote to Members of Parliament to provide an update on her investigation.
Dear Member letter (PDF 511KB)
Equitable Life, December 2007
The Ombudsman wrote to Members of Parliament to provide an update on her investigation.
Dear Member letter (PDF 601KB)
Equitable Life, May 2007
The Ombudsman wrote to Members of Parliament to provide an update on her investigation.
Dear Member letter (PDF 577KB)
Equitable Life, October 2006
The Ombudsman wrote to Members of Parliament to provide an update on her investigation.
Dear Member letter (Word 570KB).
Equitable Life, February 2006
The Ombudsman wrote to Members of Parliament to provide an update on her investigation.
Dear Member letter (Word 720KB).
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