‘My life policy was £158 a month. Now I pay £1,500’ | Money

A retired financial adviser has been trapped into paying for 30 life insurance policies with the same company or lose the £34,000 he has so far paid into the plan.

Eric Marshall, 78, took out a policy in 2001 with Scottish Provident, now part of the Phoenix Group. It initially cost £158 a month and was meant to pay a £150,000 lump sum to his family when he died, but because of high charges and poor investment returns the payout on the policy has dropped to £50,000.

Whole life policies use investors’ premiums to build up a fund that is meant to help cover the original insured sum. Funds do not always raise enough, however, and in some cases the cash value of a product