MAY the bonanza be with you. All 12,000 cheques for Aviva policyholders in the York area entitled to a share of a windfall have now been mailed out.

The total value of the “reattribution payments” is about £6 million.

On average nationally, 90 per cent of payments will be between £214 and £1,230.

In summer 2009, eligible policyholders in the CGNU Life and Commercial Union Life Assurance Company (CULAC) With-Profits Funds were invited to take part in the reattribution.

A spokeswoman for Aviva said: “We asked policyholders to make a choice as to whether they wished to accept our reattribution offer or not.

“They could either accept a one-off payment, or retain their future interests in any possible future payouts from the funds’ inherited estates.

“The inherited estate is money that has built up in the with-profits funds over many generations and is above the amount needed to meet current and future policyholder commitments and guarantees.

“The estate is used to support the fund against market volatility and to provide investment flexibility and remains in the fund until no longer needed for these purposes.”

The total value of the inherited estate for the reattribution is £1.251 billion, based on the average calculated estate values at the end of June, July and August 2009. More than 87 per cent of eligible policyholders voted in the reattribution election and, of those, 96 per cent accepted the offer. The spokeswoman said: “We made a commitment to get the majority of cheques out to those that said yes to the reattribution offer by Christmas, and so far we’ve achieved that with 94 per cent of mailings being completed.

“The remainder of the payments will be sent out in the first part of 2010. “In total, we’re making payments to around 800,000 customers with a cash total of £470 million.”