The Equitable Life might have won its court case and saved itself from disaster had it relied on a letter sent by HM Treasury to the insurance industry on December 18, 1998.

The Equitable saw its once first-class reputation tarnished and its hopes of retaining independence disappear when the House of Lords upheld a Court of Appeal ruling against it on July 20. The ruling prevented it from paying lower final bonuses to policyholders who had accepted a guaranteed annuity rate on their with-profits annuity contracts.