But with policy surrenders now running at over pounds 7bn a year, of which only pounds 1bn is tradable, that still means that an extra pounds 125m could be received by selling a policy rather than simply cashing it in.Market makers also provide advice, help and paperwork to buyers and sellers and act as a buffer separating the two sides. Sellers could feel vulnerable if their identity were known, especially if large sums assured were payable on death, so two independent referees are appointed to check up periodically that the seller is still alive. If they have died, the buyer can get a windfall profit from the sum assured paid on death.Provided that the policy is more than 10 years old, or three quarters of the original term if less, then no tax is payable on selling a policy. The buyer will not get any tax relief on the premiums they pay, and will be liable to capital gains tax when the policy matures or is sold on again. That needs to be taken into account when weighing up the likely investment return, as does the trend to reduce regular bonus rates.Even so, Tim Villiers estimates that returns of around 10.5 per cent a year are possible.

That is because after buying a TEP, each year a regular or reversionary bonus is added to the sum assured payable on death or maturity and, once declared, cannot be taken away. As the policy approaches maturity, so the guaranteed return increases.What really determines the value on maturity though is the level of terminal bonus declared. This is usually a percentage of bonuses and is likely to be a much more volatile figure and could be cut or removed if investment conditions at maturity were poor. Any such moves would affect all policies maturing, not just those held by investors.The real reason why TEPs work at all is that insurers have always favoured those customers who keep their policies going until maturity. Anyone having to stop before then has not had such a good deal. Part of the reason is that to get the highest returns, fund managers invest in equities but equity markets can be volatile and no fund manager wants to sell investments other than for purely investment reasons.So a proportion of the fund will be kept in Government gilt-edged stocks and other fixed-interest investments.

That way, the fund manager can better match their investments to the need to pay out on policies. As the number of policies cashed-in cannot reliably be forecast, whereas those maturing can, so those who stop should not receive such good value as those that stay.Cynics argue too that as the market pays more attention to maturity values than to surrender values, so insurers can afford to pay out less to the majority who cash-in early to subsidise the minority whose plans run to maturity. TEPs provide the necessary buffer, increasing returns to sellers while providing a relatively safe investment for buyers.To find out the name of three Association of Policy Market Makers members who buy or sell polices contact the APMM on 0171 739 3949 Alternatively, policies can be bought and sold at auction. The leading auction house, Foster & Cranfield, also an APMM member, is on 0171 608 1941Andy Couchman is publishing editor of HealthCare Insurance Report. For many, Mothering Sunday still represents a day’s release from domestic servitude Not theirs, but their mums’. Such supermums still have a Fifties picture-book image and come complete with gingham pinnies and nails perfectly manicured despite hours of pastry-pummelling.

And the ideal gift for such a mum? Why, a card in misty pastels and a prima ballerina-sized bouquet, of course! Now, no one can deny that flowers are delightful Trouble is, they’re a tad ephemeral. One alternative – and, no, we’re not talking “Made in Taiwan” plastic blooms – is the latest vogue for photoprint floral motifs on everything from cushions and shower curtains to notepads and cards. They’re not always cheap, but at least they’ll last.
For designer Janine Trott, of London company New Renaissance, life is literally a bed of roses. On cotton or satin duvet covers, pillowcases, pyjamas and even a bath robe, she has printed recklessly scattered trompe l’oeil roses.”It’s based on the idea of someone leaving roses on your bed,” muses Trott. “Floral fabrics are so classic, I wanted to do something different. I’ve made the roses look so realistic you want to pick them up.”Strong shadows cast by the roses make them look three-dimensional, as do the print’s high-definition glistening dewdrops and fluttering butterflies.

Sold at London shops Graham & Green and Estilo in Wimbledon Village, or by mail order direct from New Renaissance, the range currently comes in red roses on a white background only. (A single duvet cover costs pounds 61, pillowcases, pounds 12 and pounds 15, and PJs, pounds 65.) From May, they will also be available on pastel backgrounds, and Trott plans to branch out into other florals later in the year.Paperchase has been bitten by the horticultural bug, too, with Mothering Sunday cards emblazoned with anemones and stargazer lilies (pounds 1.50 each) or delphiniums, arum lilies and birds of paradise. Paperchase also stocks notebooks strewn with photographic roses in purple and lilac (pounds 8). Itching to squander a little more cash on your thoroughly deserving mum? Plump instead for a photo album with a ribbon tie (pounds 27).Should your mum find such offerings too redolent of the Queen Mum wafting round the Chelsea Flower Show, sprint instead to the cutely named London shop Puppy for funky bedlinen smothered with Warholesque, photoscreen- printed gerberas in 12 eye-popping colour combos. Made by Swedish designer Hagg Bweill, Puppy’s kingsize duvet covers cost pounds 60, and pillowcases, pounds 15 each.Glasgow-based textile designer Jan Milne isn’t one to cater to shrinking violets, either.