Generali UAE has written to adviser and consulting firms in the UAE where it has an introducer agreement, to let them know Vision and Choice policies will no longer be available. What should a existing policyholder do now and what’s the certainty for continued support? Firstly they should speak to their adviser on hand that is familiar with their needs. If you cannot reach your adviser consider transferring servicing. Be wary the first advice is to dump the product and move on without a reasonable discussion on the costs of exit and entry costs into a new product.
This is an opportunity for unscrupulous advisers to use it as a sales pitch, be calm look at your valuation and understand the surrender costs and key information on a new product.
Generali UAE operates as a branch office of Assicurazioni Generali S.p.A. the parent company and has distributed group company products, including Generali Worldwide’s Vision and Choice regular savings products. Generali Worldwide is now known as Utmost Worldwide as the acquisition is completed of the sale of by Generali Spa to the Utmost group.
Encashment or remaining investing depends on how long there is left to invest, whether you are still contributing or circumstances have changed.
Reasons to retain this investment are:
- The investment plan continues to reflect your present circumstances and objectives
- The plan continues to reflect your risk profile
- The performance achieved reflects the objectives expected
- Disinvestment penalties are disadvantageous given the time to maturity and bonuses scheduled
Reasons to encash either as a partial or full surrender:
- The charging structure of the proposed alternative is lower
- Existing plans are not the most tax efficient option for you going forward
- A revised investment strategy that focuses on the use of passive investment strategies to lower costs and broaden diversification
Edale are happy to help if so needed.
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