Judgment is due to be handed down in a high-profile class action against two insurance giants.

A seven-week civil case, involving a multi-million pound compensation battle against island-based Friends Provident International and Utmost International Isle of Man, got under way at Douglas High Court back in April 2024.

No fewer than 739 investors, many who lost their life savings, had joined the class action.

It is understood that Acting Deemster James Corbett KC advised on January 7 that the claimants will receive the draft judgment on February 16.

Following a review by legal teams, judgment will be formally handed down on March 11.

There has been criticism about the delay in handing down judgment, given that closing submissions in the case were made in May 2024.

Claimants, mainly British nationals and expats based across the world, say they were sold life assurance products which they were told were safe and low risk - but were based on investment funds which ultimately collapsed.

They argue that the companies misrepresented the products, and that they failed to carry out ‘some minimum standard of due diligence review’ on the underlying funds.

FPI and Utmost contest the claims.

The first claimant in the case against FPI is Bangkok-based Peter Kells who along with other investors is seeking damages of more than £50m for alleged negligence and misrepresentation regarding the sale of failed investment products including the New Earth Fund, Axiom Legal Financial Fund, LM Group of Funds, Eco Resources Fund and Kijani Community Fund.

First claimant in the case against Utmost International is Barry Dickinson, again based in Thailand, who with other investors is also seeking £50m in relation to the sale of the same failed investment products.

The court heard that the litigation centres on ‘wrappers’ offered by FPI and Utmost to retail investors, by which they could allocate their invested funds into underlying funds not operated by FPI or Utmost.

Products were marketed through independent financial advisers and intermediaries not employed by either FPI or Utmost.

It is alleged the marketing was undertaken on the basis of documentation and information from FPI/ Utmost which was passed on directly to potential customers.

But in a closing submission, barrister for FPI Jonathan Nash KC said the documents received by the test claimants had gone through the ‘mediation of experienced independent financial advisers’ and it was they who would carry out asset vetting and selection for their clients - not the insurance company.

This case will be dwarfed by a second-class action against the same insurance giants.

The claim against Utmost, Quilter International Ireland/Utmost PanEurope and Friends Provident International, has been brought by Alexander Francis Morrison and some 1,600 others who have lodged claims totalling more than £270m.

Deemster Alan Gough said in a judgment relating to this second-class action: ‘Undoubtedly this case is going to be one of the most costly ever before the Isle of Man courts, if not the most costly.’

This separate class action is not due to come to trial until the spring of 2027 at the earliest.