How many millions will be lost before the message gets through?

It should have been a fine day today. I woke up and was delighted to discover that my expose of Aviva's questionable stance on communicating their 10th anniversary guarantee on With Profits Bonds had made the front page of Professional Adviser. I had finished my Aviva Aluminium Report the night before and was pleased with the way it explained why policyholders only gain from their 10th anniversary guarantee if they switch out or cash-in. And I was enthused at the prospect of spreading Professional Adviser's discovery to personal finance journalists - a message that could finally wake everyone up to potentially the biggest missed opportunity by policyholders, the media and financial advisers ever.

But on leaving the office after 7pm, I felt dejected that not one personal finance journalist had even acknowledged receipt. I have an image of my geography teacher a few months prior to my O Levels telling the class he felt like someone shouting at passing cars that the bridge they were heading for had collapsed. Every day there are thousands of policyholders driving past those people capable of shouting loudly to the point of no return at full speed oblivious of the thousands of pounds they are losing as a result. There's nothing we can do for the tens of thousands who have gone over the edge already but there are hundreds of thousands more that we can still save over the next year or so. But with thousands falling daily I lament every day that passes with my screaming hoarse voice unheard.

And it's not just my geography teacher haunting me tonight. I recall with great clarity a conversation ten years ago with the chief actuary of the company I worked for, explaining that the with-profits fund had to reserve for the guarantees that they had committed to even though over half of those guarantees are never taken up. I suspect that nowadays most advisers and policyholders fully appreciate the value of Guaranteed Annuity Rates, but I suspect that many still don't evaluate guaranteed sums at maturity, guaranteed bonus rates, and particularly 10th anniversary With Profits Bond guarantees and that over half are wasted.

His words haunt me because I know they were pivotal to my career change and decision to set up With Profits Health Check. Knowing that I can explain the value of policies to with-profits policyholders I felt sure I could help them avoid wasting their money. And while I've achieved that with clients who have approached me through with profits health check, I know I'm still just scratching at the surface.

What was Professional Adviser's discovery, you ask? The message that might finally get more people waving at the edge of the road and catching the eye of policyholders otherwise destined for the point of no return?

Well, like a great movie, they were the quiet words said against the backdrop of white noise and mayhem. Not the words in the headlines or the posturing, but the words tucked away near the end of the article. Spoken by Aviva's Richard Kelsall, they simply said

"...we should fully expect customers to switch out of with-profits..."

You may have grasped it but I suspect you may still be wondering why I think those words should be the catalyst for getting the media to start waving vociferously at cars heading for the edge. And it's this. When the man who is writing the cheques says he should be writing you a cheque, you probably ought to think he has a point.

Until now, all we have heard is the white noise. We hear IFAs looking like spivs with watches in the inside of their coats telling people how bad with-profits is and the 10th anniversary is a chance "to get out of jail free." If I'm reading these words as a policyholder worn down by a complete mistrust of the financial services system I would be sceptical of the story, particularly if I didn't understand what my With Profits Bond was really worth.

But finally, Professional Adviser cornered Aviva and got them to admit that even they were advising policyholders to switch out and capitalise on this 10th anniversary guarantee. Let's not underestimate that admission. If these policyholders bank their guarantees we calculate that Aviva shareholders will end up paying out over £500 million!

And Aviva CGNU was just one of 16 insurance companies offering these guarantees. The sheer size of these guarantees is difficult to comprehend. I think we're talking about about billions of pounds that are up for grabs but only if eligible policyholders ask for their money back while the guarantee still applies.

Someone surely has to help get this message over before too many more fall over the edge...