Mark Oliver and his partner Helen felt they had no alternative to an endowment mortgage when they took out their £35,000 loan in 1989.
He said they were strongly pushed towards endowments when they consulted building societies including the Alliance & Leicester, who they finally signed up with.The couple, from Uckfield, East Sussex, were paying £55 a month for the endowment and £203 interest on the loan and believed the arrangement was certain to clear their debt in 25 years.Endowment policies were often sold at that time, with the advice that they would produce a bonus on maturity. Few people understood that a historic fall in inflation and interest rates could cut the growth rate, leading to a shortfall.”I thought it would be a sure thing. I thought it was something we had to get to get our mortgage. I was totally naive and ignorant,” said Mr Oliver, 36, a canoe-maker.The couple realised their assumptions were wrong when a friend who worked in the industry advised them their policy was “almost guaranteed” to leave a shortfall. Since then they have converted to a repayment mortgage, which Mr Oliver says gives them the security they had hoped for when they took out the original policy.”I can’t see the point of an endowment mortgage now. There are so many other deals with repayment mortgages,” he said.Kathy Franklin, 53, is facing a £5,200 shortfall in the endowment mortgage she took out 18 years ago when, as a newly single parent, she ran into difficulties with the repayment mortgage on her two bedroom house near Solihull, West Midlands.She said she went along with the change to an endowment because her payments became cheaper and because she trusted her bank to advise her correctly.Then she got a letter from the bank telling her the policy, which matures in nine years, would be £5,200 short, and asking her to make up the difference. She is determined not to pay and believes she was mis-sold the mortgage..

1 You’ve spent 36 years working in insurance – so what’s been the biggest change?

1 You’ve spent 36 years working in insurance – so what’s been the biggest change?
When I joined in 1964 we used to do all the calculations on something called a “facit” machine, which was a huge slide rule, shaped like a cylinder and about two feet tall. The actuary department didn’t get an electronic calculator until 1968, and when it arrived it was so big that half sat on my desk and half on my colleague’s. Now the calculations are computerised and we’re much more focused on the customer.Thirty years ago, when we had all these high-powered people doing high-powered technical calculations with hand calculators, they tended to think calculations were the most important thing, not the customer. Today, many of our staff work in customer service because our customers want a first-class service.2What’s the first lesson you learned in business?To trust your judgement, because you have to be able to live with your decisions long after you’ve made them. When I made the decision to downsize Scottish Widows in 1996, many people said it was impossible. I knew we were dealing with people losing their jobs and it had to be done in such a way that they were treated fairly and left with their dignity.When you make a huge decision like that, you have to do it in a way that allows you to sleep at night.3What single event or person gave you the impetus to succeed?My parents sent me to a good school and always gave me great encouragement.

They didn’t pressure me into doing anything in particular, although I did think about becoming an accountant, like my father. In the end, I sat my first year’s actuary exams while at school and found it so challenging I joined Scottish Widows rather than going to university.4If you didn’t run Scottish Widows, which company would you most like to run?Marks & Spencer because it could do with a turnaround. The trick with managing a management team is to realise you’ve got problems long before they do. M&S didn’t realise they needed to change until it was too late.When things are going well and expanding, it’s easy to sit back, but that’s when you need to make changes, not when it’s going badly.5Do you have a business philosophy?I’m a perfectionist, so “strive to be the best” is a very good business maxim.6What was the best decision you have made, and the worst?Last year’s decision to become part of the Lloyds TSB group was one of our best because it put Scottish Widows in the top two in terms of market size and capability. Before joining the group nearly all our business was sold through the IFA channel, but now we can sell through LTSB, the IFA, direct sell and over the internet.

We are uniquely placed because we have a multi-distribution capability.My worst decision was in terms of not pushing something further when I had the opportunity. About four years ago, I was very keen for us to develop our e-commerce capabilities and I regret not pushing that hard enough at the time We did good work, but not enough. We’re only doing 1 per cent of our sales electronically and ideally we should be doing 15 per cent or more by now.7Which single task do you hate doing the most?I hate attending meetings that are just talking shops with no end result.They are a waste of time, particularly when you know your in-tray is getting bigger for every minute you’re sitting there.8What was the happiest day of your working life, and the worst?The happiest day was in September 1990 when the chairman told me I’d been appointed chief executive. The most miserable was in 1992 when Scottish Widows was fined by the regulators.We had record-keeping issues, in that we’d given advice which we couldn’t demonstrate conclusively. It’s much more commonplace now to be fined but at the time it felt very uncomfortable for all of us at the company.I felt I carried that burden more than anyone because I was chief executive.9What’s the best piece of advice anyone has given you?It was from my predecessor who said: “Just remember that you’ve been given this job because the board believes in you, and trusts you above everyone else.”When I am in my darker days, it’s nice to remember that.10Are you easy to work for and what makes you lose your temper?I’m reasonably demanding, but I like to think I’m tough but fair. I think it’s very important to have an open management style and for the team to know what’s in your mind.