More than 400 with-profits annuitants have reached a "settlement" in their case against Equitable Life just over two weeks before it was due in the High Court.
Details of the settlement for the 407 claimants, who argue they were mis-sold their annuities by the firm between 1990 and 2000, remain undisclosed. The group had brought proceedings in the High Court in 2004 and the trial was set to start on 28 January this year. The claimants’ complaints were, firstly, that the complexities and risks attached to the product were not fully explained to them. Secondly, they argued the additional risks posed by being dependent for their income on Equitable Life’s with-profits fund, and the weakness of that fund, were also not explained. The firm’s with-p...
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