When I get home I've very likely got the downstairs rooms to mop and dust - I can do this, and keep an eye on the herrings as they cook."After "If I Had My Way" by Bing Crosby, for Mrs Groome, of Rushden, Northamptonshire, and "Starlight Serenade" by Vera Lynn for Mrs Mitchell of Dennistoun, Glasgow, Mrs Kay Beattie gave a talk on make-up and grooming entitled "putting your best face forward"."There's no reason why one shouldn't look nice always," she said. A minority, including those who bought starter homes or some types of council property in the late 1980s, are unlikely to see an end to their problems even then. Despite the past year's housing market recovery, for many it will take at least another 12 months of rising prices before their homes are worth more than the mortgages they owe on them, according to experts. More than 500,000 homeowners in Britain are tied to their existing home by the spectre of negative equity. They also represent a minority of insurers at the bottom, where many of the poor performers are proprietary companies.The excellent performance of mutuals raises fundamental questions about whose interests are being served by the trend towards abandoning this long established form of ownership.. It costs money and the potential gain from a shares handout is unlikely to be worth the costs of setting up and then discontinuing a policy.The greatest irony is that Norwich Union is among a large number of mutual life insurers serving their policyholders better than conventional insurance companies owned by outside shareholders.An analysis for the Independent by John Chapman, a former senior official at the Office of Fair Trading, shows that at the top of performance league tables, mutuals outnumber proprietary companies by a wide margin.

Earlier this year, Standard Life admitted that a senior employee had been seconded by the company to examine the implications of demutualising.Prospective "carpetbaggers" hoping to benefit from any expected flotation or takeover should bear in mind that setting up a pension scheme or taking out life cover is a much longer-term proposition than the simple act of opening a building society account. However, observers point to the way that building societies were stressing their commitment to the mutual ideal two or three years ago. All have repeatedly stated that they have no intention of abandoning mutuality, as has Standard Life, the largest mutual insurer in Europe. Conversely, anyone hoping to buy a traded endowment to gain from the free shares is wasting their money.Norwich Union's decision to float was not a surprise. Despite its claims of uniqueness, most industry analysts believe its move is likely to be followed by many other mutual insurers.Companies tipped to follow suit, or be taken over by larger banks or already-listed insurers, include Friends Provident, believed to be up for sale at present, Scottish Provident, Scottish Widows, Scottish Amicable and NPI.