Unclaimed Windfall Shares

A windfall is what happens when a building society or insurer demutualises. That means that instead of being owned by the members of policyholders, the company issues stocks and is floated on the Stock Exchange.
Those who are members or policyholders at the time the shares are issued - as long as they've been with the company for a specified time, usually a couple of years, beforehand, whether as policyholders, account holders or having a mortgage, depending on the company - are eligible to receive shares.
How many shares they receive will depend on the size of policy, savings account or mortgage, but there will be a set minimum.
Who Has Demutualised?
The process began at the end of the 1980s when Abbey became the first building society to take the plunge and demutualise, aiming for bigger things, which it's achieved, of course. But it was several years, actually 1997, when the next group followed suit, with Alliance & Leicester, Woolwich, Northern Rock, Halifax and Norwich Union all demutualising and issuing shares.The minimum share entitlement varied from company to company. For instance, with Northern Rock it was 500 shares and with Norwich Union it was just 150. Others, like Bradford & Bingley and Friends Provident, all demutualised after the Millennium, as did Standard Mutual.
Unclaimed Shares
In every case of demutualisation there have been unclaimed shares - for various reasons those who were eligible never came forward with their claim.The shares might never have been claimed because the people moved and failed to inform the company of a new address, and ignored the account or policy. Other possible causes are that people might have thought they had no eligibility when the companies demutualised, so assumed there was no claim to enter. Some might have forgotten they even had an account or policy, and a few will possibly have been too lazy to bother claiming shares - unlikely as that might sound, it's happened before and certainly will again!
Making a Claim
If you have an account or policy with an institution that's demutualised, you can claim your windfall. In most of the cases mentioned, it will now be cash, rather than shares, since the rules are that any unclaimed shares can be sold three years after the shares are floated.The amount those shares bring from a sale is kept for the former member or policyholder. Be warned, though, that after the shares are sold, there are only nine years in which to begin a claim, or you'll be out of luck completely. Once that time has elapsed there's no obligation to pay you anything if you come forward with a claim.
To make a claim, you simply need to contact the institution directly, with proof of policy or account (for fairly obvious reasons, those who had mortgages with building societies would be unlikely to have lost touch).
If you had an unclaimed account with Abbey, then the time to file a claim has long passed. But there's still opportunity to do so with the others, although not as much as you might imagine. In the case of those who demutualised in 1997, it will only be 2009 or 2010 before the eligibility expires.
Re: The Facts on Unclaimed Land and Property in the UK
Theres an abandoned piece of land that belonged to a company who have now moved. Im after claiming the…
Re: Is There a Time Limit on Policies to be Claimed?
I tried to find my dad who left us at young age but when i got a response from salvation army find a…
Re: Using the Unclaimed Assets Register
lost endowment can’t remember the copany
Re: The Facts on Unclaimed Land and Property in the UK
I own outright a freehold cottage in Wales that has an adjoining property at the rear with a flying…
Re: Overcharged on Water Bills: How to Claim?
we have been told that the water that comes off your house (roof) AND GOES INTO A SOAKAWAY is not charitable to…
Re: The Facts on Unclaimed Land and Property in the UK
There's an abandoned building where I live it's been abandoned for about 15 years what can i do about it
Re: Unclaimed Windfall Shares
I had Bradford and bingley shares where are they nobody should be able to get them as they are in my namespace
Re: The Facts on Unclaimed Land and Property in the UK
Hi, I would like to purchased some abandoned houses in Scotland. I was following the QLTR website,…
Re: The Facts on Unclaimed Land and Property in the UK
Hi found a old abandon house not far where i live looks like no ones lived there for years by looking…
Re: Premium Bonds & National Savings
I have in my possesion the Defence Savings Certificate of my deceased grand father. It was issued to him on 5th july…