Skip to main content

Brexit – Impact on your policies

The UK withdrew from the EU on Friday 31 January 2020 and the transition period ended on 31 December 2020. Although a trade deal was agreed, there is still no specific deal covering financial services.

We have been in ongoing consultation with the local regulators across the EEA states in order to keep you informed of any changes.

Your investment with Prudential is important to us. As a business we constantly monitor all factors to do with your policy including the political environment in which we operate. We will continue to keep you updated with any changes that may affect your policy, please keep checking this page for the latest information.

Is there any impact for me?

If you’re a UK-domiciled individual investing with a UK-registered company, such as Prudential, from a UK- based bank account, it’s unlikely that Brexit will have a direct impact on your investment.

However, investments of any nature carry a risk and values can go down as well as up so you might not get back the amount you put in. Political uncertainty and various other factors such as exchange and interest rates can all impact how your investment performs.

If you’re already a resident in the EEA (or are considering a move there), there is no immediate impact to the ongoing servicing of your policy. However, we will no longer be able to make any policy alterations which could be considered to be new business.  Please see our Q&A below for more information. If you are a Prudential International customer, please click here.

If you already live, or are considering living outside of the UK or EEA the same applies, we’re unable to make any alterations to your policy which could be considered new business. This is a consequence of moving overseas and is not a direct impact of Brexit.

Potential volatility

During any period of change, it’s important for you to get good advice and be happy that your investments are managed to deal, as best they can, with any potential volatility.

It’s essential for you to invest with a partner you can trust to act with you and for you at all times - Prudential has a long history of adapting to local, national and global change and have an established range of funds developed to help manage the ups and downs of volatile investment markets.

UK banks announce closure of UK bank accounts for customers residing in some EEA countries

We are aware of the news that some UK banks made the decision to close UK bank accounts for customers living in some EEA locations. We contacted customers who may have been affected by this and confirmed the options available to them. Please see our Q&A below for details.

  • There is no immediate impact to the ongoing servicing of your policy however, if you live in the EEA we will no longer be able to make any policy alterations which could be considered to be new business. Where your policy has the right of surrender, you may exercise this right at any time. We will be in ongoing consultation with the local regulators across the EEA states and will keep you informed of any changes.
  • We are aware of the news that some UK banks made the decision to close UK bank accounts for customers living in some EEA locations. We have contacted customers who may have been affected by this and confirmed the options available to them. Please see the question below for more detail. Our customers’ interests are at the very heart of our thinking and any actions we might take. Our aim continues to be to minimise any disruption or impact on your policy.

  • Policy alterations such as (but not limited to) top ups, increases in the level of life cover or increases to your regular contribution amounts would be considered new business and as such are no longer allowable for customers living in the EEA.
  • If you are considering making any changes to your policy and currently live in, or are considering a move to the EEA, please contact us if you are unsure whether the change is allowed.

  • We are aware of the news that some UK banks took the decision to close UK bank accounts for customers living in some EEA locations. We have contacted customers who may have been affected by this to provide them with details of the options open to them, please see below.
  • If you’ve been notified by your bank that your account is being closed you may need to take action to ensure that the payments you make to us, or receive from us, can continue. You should contact your bank in the first instance.
  • If you have a Retirement Account we always recommend you speak to your Financial Adviser first.

What are your options?

  • If your Bank has confirmed that they’re closing your current nominated account, we’ll need you to take action, please see the options below.
  • If you have a bank account with another UK bank and have satisfied their criteria to keep your account open:
  • You’ll need to let us know your new UK bank or building society details so your current payment arrangements can continue. 
  • You’ll be able to update your UK bank or building society details with our Online Service. To find out if your policy is available for this service, or to log in if you’ve already registered, please go to pru.co.uk/online.
  • If you don’t have a UK bank account and you receive regular payments from us: 
  • You’ll need to let us know the details of your alternative EEA bank account so your current payment arrangements can continue. 
  • If you are receiving a payment from an annuity, you can do this using the secure message option within your online account. 
  • If you are receiving payments for another type of policy, please call us.
  • If you don’t have a UK bank account and you’re currently making regular payments to us:
  • You’ll need to contact your EEA bank to set up a new regular payment to us, as soon as possible.
  • If you need to make changes to your bank accounts or payments, please do this as soon as possible, so that payments can continue.

    •  

  • We have transferred policies to Prudential International Assurance (PIA) which is based in Ireland and all affected policyholders have been notified. These policies were originally bought in a Prudential branch within the extended European Economic Area (EEA) incorporating Poland, France, Malta, Germany and Ireland.
  • If you now live in the EEA and bought your policy in the UK, Channel Islands or the Isle of Man your policy will not be transferred.

  • There is no immediate impact to the ongoing servicing of your policy however, if you live in the EEA we will no longer be able to make any policy alterations which could be considered to be new business. We will be in ongoing consultation with the local regulators across the EEA states and will keep you informed of any changes.
  • This aligns with recommendations from the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) to all EEA regulators and guidance from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), that the objective is to minimise the detriment to any impacted policyholders.
  • If you live in the EEA and you’ve been notified by your bank that your UK bank account is being closed, you may need to take action to ensure that the payments you receive from us can continue.  You should contact your bank in the first instance. Please contact us if you need to update your bank account details.

  • If you have concerns about how wider economic conditions and political actions may impact your investments, you should contact your financial adviser, if you have one, in the first instance.
  • Investments carry a risk – their value can go down as well as up so you might not get back the amount you put in. As well as political uncertainty, a variety of other factors such as exchange and interest rate changes can also have an influence on how your investment performs.
  • Prudential has a long history of operating through changing economic conditions and political uncertainty. Our priority is to minimise disruption for you. Any actions that we take because of prevailing conditions are driven by this.

  • Your investment is important to us. Our full focus always is to protect your interests securely as well as minimise any disruption or impact on your policy. Despite the uncertain outlook at present we have a variety of contingency plans in place to swiftly put into place no matter the global, economic and regulatory outlook we are faced with in the future. In the first instance you should speak to your financial adviser, if you have one. You should note the value of your investments can go down as well as up so you might not get back the amount you put in.

  • You can also contact your financial adviser if you have one. Note that advisers may charge for their services.

 

© Prudential 2023

"Prudential" is a trading name of Prudential Distribution Limited. Prudential Distribution Limited is registered in Scotland. Registered Office at 5 Central Way, Kildean Business Park, Stirling, FK8 1FT. Registered number SC212640. Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Prudential Distribution Limited is part of the same corporate group as the Prudential Assurance Company Limited. The Prudential Assurance Company Limited and Prudential Distribution Limited are direct/indirect subsidiaries of M&G plc which is a holding company registered in England and Wales with registered number 11444019 and registered office at 10 Fenchurch Avenue, London EC3M 5AG, some of whose subsidiaries are authorised and regulated, as applicable, by the Prudential Regulation Authority and the Financial Conduct Authority. These companies are not affiliated in any manner with Prudential Financial, Inc, a company whose principal place of business is in the United States of America or Prudential plc, an international group incorporated in the United Kingdom.