No surrender

Tracey Merritt, business development manager at Beale Dobie, said: "Anyone looking to change from an endowment mortgage this year should remember three simple points: disposal of a policy may not be the best option, and independent financial advice can help policyholders decide what action to take;

a policy can often be sold for a lot more than the surrender value; and leading market makers will value a saleable policy free of charge."

Beale Dobie has studied the TEP market and has claimed that around one in six (16 per cent) sell endowment policies because they want to remortgage.