Equitable Members Action Group Presses for Better Communication

Five Members of the Equitable Life Assurance Society drawn from the Equitable Members Action Group (EMAG) met with senior executives of the Society at their London office on Monday, 14th August.

The meeting was very constructive and a significantly improved appreciation of the process being followed and the options so far considered to protect long-term interests was achieved. ELAS expect to invite their members to vote on a proposal to sell the Society in an EGM next spring.

Further clarification is being sought on a number of complex issues but in the meantime the Society was urged to improve its communication with members, perhaps by more active use of its web site. ELAS was also encouraged to consider any further alternatives to an outright sale with the hope of retaining mutuality and optimising the long term interests of its members.

EMAG is preparing its own summary of the meeting to be published on its web site www.emag.org.uk in the near future and will consult internally before deciding on any further approaches. A meeting of the group is planned in early September.

Meanwhile EMAG is concerned to avoid public confusion between itself and the other action group which represented the interests of those Society members with Guaranteed Annuity Rate Policies through the courts and known variously as ELAG and EGAAG.

EMAG objective is to improve communication between the Society and all categories of its membership: while remaining independent it seeks a non-confrontational and co-operative interface with ELAS. It is supportive of mutuality but seeks the best long-term interests of all categories of members in the light of the recent House of Lords ruling. Since its inception only 2 weeks ago EMAG has received support of more than 100 Society members

EMAG can be contacted at emag@emag.org.uk