Two months to claim £2,000 Widows windfall

By CHARLOTTE BEUGGE FOR MAILONLINE
Updated: 20:10 EST, 19 January 2010

Are you sitting on an unclaimed fortune?

Scottish Widows is looking for 24,000 missing policyholders who are owed £50million in unclaimed windfalls.

They date back to 2000 when the insurer was sold to Lloyds Bank.

One man, born in 1944, is in line for a £84,730 payout if he comes forward. The average payout is a healthy £2,081.

If you think you have an unclaimed windfall, then hurry because you must claim by March 3 or you will lose the money for ever

Those who might be in line had pensions, with-profits bonds, endowments and some forms of life insurance with Scottish Widows ten years ago.

Scottish Widows was at that time owned by its policyholders. When it was sold, they received cash windfalls.

Investors with qualifying Scottish Widows 'with-profits' policies got a variable payout depending on the value of their policy.

Those with non-with-profits pensions and life policies got £500: today, with interest added, that payout is worth £632. At the time of the sale, 1.6 million qualified for payouts averaging £6,000.

If you think you have an unclaimed windfall, then hurry because you must claim by March 3 or you will lose the money for ever. In July, unclaimed payments will be paid into the Scottish Widows with-profits fund.

To check whether you could be due for a payout, call 0845 845 0829 or go to www. scottishwidows.co.uk/unclaimed. The more information you have, the better: policy numbers will help speed the trace up.

Products that do not qualify include: bank accounts or credit cards with Scottish Widows Bank or Peps, Isas and unit trusts. Nor do you qualify if you have a bond issued by Scottish Widows International.