Orphan Assets
Orphan assets are assets which are no longer required by life assurers to satisfy their future liabilities to policyholders and shareholders.
Some life companies which have been going for many years have accumulated surplus funds, the precise ownership of which may be obscure.
Life insurers cannot however choose to distribute these funds at will, they have to first persuade the Department of Trade & Industry the ownership of these assets is sufficiently clear for it to make a distribution.
Pearl Assurance, Legal & General, United Friendly and London & Manchester have all won approval in recent years to make such distributions.