But long losing sequences have been ending steadily in recent weeks and only one number 21

But long losing sequences have been ending steadily in recent weeks and only one number, 21, has now been out of the frame for more than 20 weeks. The numbers with the dubious attractions of the fewest wins to date are 3, 8, 10 13, 19, 20, 24, 36 and especially 39, which won for only the third time five weeks ago. The largest number of outright wins belongs to 44, but including bonus balls, 28 still leads from 5.. The early birds who took out TESSA plans as soon as they were introduced in 1991 face sudden death from this month onwards, if their accounts matured in the early weeks of 1996 and they have not yet decided whether to roll the capital over into a new Tessa. It is possible that customers contact a conventional life assurance company for advice, and once they know what they want, they shop around the direct sales companies whose operating costs and premiums are correspondingly lower.Most callers are happy to find that premiums are much less than they expected. Zurich Municipal tested the market to find that people overestimated term-assurance costs on average sixfold. A 30-year-old can buy pounds 50,000 worth of cover for as little as pounds 6 a month.

Some customers may even find that it is cheaper to abandon their existing policies and switch to a telephone-based provider in spite of the fact that new premiums will be higher than they were when the policy-holder was younger.But price should not be the only criterion. Premium-shoppers should be absolutely sure whether the quote they are given is guaranteed for life, or whether it is subject to a periodic review; the latter policy will usually be the cheapest now but will inevitably get dearer as the policyholder gets older.. Three numbers: 4, 7 and 17 all came up for the second week running last week, and 17 and 46 both won for the third week out of four. It expected 60 per cent of its callers would want advice and has found that in fact 70 per cent just want to know how much it will cost them. By the year 2000 it will be pushing 20 per cent.The cheapest life product is term assurance, which pays a guaranteed sum if and only if the policy-holder dies during a set period of years. Direct Line also offers disability insurance, and mortgage protection insurance linked to a repayment mortgage which pays out a decreasing amount over time.At most, enquiries usually cost only the price of a local call, regardless of where the customer is calling from Some providers offer free calls. Customers are offered a choice of advice or an execution-only service for individuals who know what they want and are just looking for a quote.Direct Line offers callers who sound as if they need advice a 40 minute fact-find to establish what sort of policy is required.

Most providers will offer a quote over the phone and will offer the under- fifties up to pounds 100,000 worth of cover without a medical examination. Last month it was Richard Branson's Virgin Direct. This month it is Bournemouth-based Zurich Municipal, which specialises in direct sales to public sector employees Shortly it will be Prospero Direct up in Lancaster. Direct Line, the grand-daddy of direct sales operations, has been selling it to existing customers since last year and expects to go national within a few months Traditional insurers like Sun Life are also doing it. What started as a trickle will soon become a flood of direct sales operations which cut their teeth on motor and household insurance and as competition gets tougher in those markets they have decided that the time is ripe to start selling life insurance over the phone as well. According to Barrie Wells, Prospero Direct's founder and managing director, about 6 per cent of life assurance is already being sold over the phone. PEPS with a lower yield but guaranteed return are also available - the Johnson Fry Secured Corporate Bond High Income PEP currently offers investors a guaranteed 6.75 per cent per annum together with guaranteed return of capital at the end of five years.. If there is no initial charge, check whether there is a "back- end" penalty charge when you come to sell your PEP.

On top of that, there will be commission to pay if you use an independent financial adviser to track down a PEP for you. A typical commission is 3 per cent, although some IFAs will give part of this back.This week's highest-yielding bond PEP is from Abtrust Unit Trust Managers. Its investment strategy - graded medium risk by Baronworth Investment Services - generates a running yield of 9.24 per cent and a redemption yield of 10.1 per cent. In general, you should expect to pay an initial charge totalling around 3 per cent of the money you invest and then an annual charge of about 1 per cent. With an income- producing investment such as a bond PEP, it is important to realise that charges taken from capital will gradually erode the base of your investment.It is always important to consider all the different charges together. These can be charged against your annual income or your capital. There is a key difference between the current or distribution yield, which is how much your PEP is likely to actually pay out, and the yield to redemption, which is the likely total return on your investment and includes any gain or loss on your initial capital.

"Yield to redemption is the real figure; the rest of it can be manipulated," says one expert.One particular factor that affects the yield is how the manager deducts the fees charged for setting up, and then looking after, the PEP. It is only when they discuss it with someone that they realise that, with a few exceptions, it is not a guaranteed yield. I think that really has put a lot of people off."Mr Millward agrees that bond PEPs are suitable for some investors. "They do have their place, but they are not the big solution to every building society investor who are not happy with the return on their money." But he warns: "The fear is now that if interest rates start to rise - which is not really an issue now, but could well be over the next five years - that will have an adverse effect on the capital value of the bonds."Investors considering a bond PEP need to consider what level of return can be expected, how much risk the PEP manager is taking to get that return, and what sort of track record the PEP manager has with company bonds, as opposed to equities - some have limited experience.To complicate matters, the PEP providers can quote different rates of return. Most older investors who are looking for income or yield want a guarantee and they want something very simple. One of the big problems is that investors see a headline rate of 8 or 9 per cent, and they assume that is the yield they are going to get. If you are looking for high income and no growth, that is fine, but if you are looking for capital growth or rising income, you are better off in an equity-based investment."Colin Jackson says that the ideal bond PEP investor is in late middle- age, wants more than the building society can offer, knows that yields on bonds are not guaranteed and doesn't already have a regular equity PEP "That's quite a tall order.