Scottish Widows

Consumers are still uncertain of the circumstances when a critical illness policy pays out, suggests new claims data from Scottish Widows.

Once in a while, someone launches a new financial product on the market which sets everyone in the industry talking - recently it was the unveiling of Virgin Money's Big V direct offer cancer cover.

Scottish Widows is launching a long-awaited online portfolio tool next month which allows the investment adviser to select suitable funds for clients from the whole of the UK investment market.

Scottish Widows is planning to automatically contract some of its direct customers back into the State Second Pension (S2P) unless they actively choose otherwise.

Virgin Money has unveiled a new type of limited condition critical illness insurance targeted as individuals seeking financial protection in the event of cancer.

LLOYDS TSB said it would set aside an additional £300m provision this year to partially cover the cost of paying compensation for endowment mis-selling, reports the Times .

Scottish Widows has updated its brand "Widow", in the first phase of its new marketing strategy.

As many as one in five homeowners have no life insurance cover thereby putting their homes at risk, new research indicates.

Scottish Widows has maintained its bonus rates on the majority of with-profits policies but the market value reduction has been cut by an average 3% on the back of improved investment performance.

For a while, the financial services distribution battle seemed to be about product providers feverishly buying up intermediary firms.