Equitable Life

The Equitable Life Assurance Society (Equitable Life), founded 1762, is a life insurance company in the United Kingdom. The world's oldest mutual insurer, it pioneered age based premiums based on mortality rate laying “the framework for scientific insurance practice and development” and “the basis of modern life assurance upon which all life assurance schemes were subsequently based”. At its peak, Equitable had 1.5 million policyholders with funds worth £26 billion under management, but it had allowed large unhedged liabilities to accumulate in respect of guaranteed fixed returns to investors without making provision for adverse market changes. Following a July 2000 House of Lords ruling, and failure of attempts to find a buyer for the...