Agent Million celebrates 25th anniversary of the £1 million jackpot prize with visits to Warwickshire and Kent
In that time, our Agents Million have been making their monthly journeys far and wide, battling against all manner of weather conditions, struggling to find houses hidden away, and even ending up in Europe, to ensure that winners of the £1 million jackpot prize can be told face-to-face of their exciting windfall.
NS&I's Agents Million have fond memories of their visits to jackpot winners, and with each reaction being unique, they know that their task is just as exciting as the first time they delivered the prize.
No matter where they have travelled, or who has received the prize, one anecdote is constant: Agent Million always turns up at just the right time in a Premium Bonds holders’ life. From retirement plans to buying their own home, the £1 million jackpot makes a huge difference. And it's not always the original winner who benefits from ERNIE's random number generation, with one winner deciding to split the winnings between their grandchildren instead.
No April Fools, just Premium Bonds prizes
On the 25th anniversary of the introduction of the £1 million jackpot, our Agents Million will be making Premium Bonds’ 407th and 408th millionaires. April’s jackpot winners include a trip to Warwickshire - the first time since November 2015 - while also making a familiar journey to Kent, having last visited in December 2018.
The winner from Warwickshire has £41,600 invested in Premium Bonds, and bought the winning Bond in January 2013. The winning Bond number is 201SW331874.
The winner from Kent has £30,000 invested and bought the winning Bond in April 2006. The Bond number is 108RY588717.
The stories behind the windfalls
Each £1 million delivery creates new memories and stories. Most jackpot winners are completely taken aback from their surprise visit from Agent Million.
One Premium Bonds millionaire will testify to this having been dragged out of bed on New Year’s Day to receive the news, while another burst into tears at the realisation of finally being able to complete a dream of relocating closer to family.
However to some, it is intuition. One winner bumped into Agent Million on their driveway uttering the words “don’t tell me I’ve won the £1 million?!”
The Agents have had to be creative when giving the news over the years. From sheltering under hanging baskets in the rain, to telling a reluctant customer the good news through an open window, it has all been worth it in the end with reactions ranging from disbelief to hysteria. It’s all in a day’s work for Agent Million.
Haven't heard from Agent Million this month?
While Agents Million visit the two jackpot winners each month, there are still over 3 million tax-free prizes to be won in each prize draw.
Each one of the these prizes paid out each month - besides the jackpot - ranging from £25 to £100,000 can be sent directly to the customer's bank account, or reinvested on the customer’s instructions. Having prizes paid in this way can avoid prizes going unclaimed in the future.
There are over 1.5 million unclaimed Premium Bonds prizes, worth £61 million. In Warwickshire, there are more than 10,000 prizes to the value of £384,575 that remain unclaimed. The figures are slightly higher in Kent, with over 40,000 unclaimed prizes worth more than £1.5 million.
How to find out if you are a winner in April’s draw?
Customers now have more ways than ever before to check if they have won a prize in this month’s draw, the past six months of draws or if they have any unclaimed prizes. NS&I have recently launched the official NS&I Premium Bonds prize checker Alexa skill which will let you check for good news using voice-enabled technology. This is one of the first retail banking voice applications to the UK market.
Other options to check prizes, include the prize checker on nsandi.com or by downloading the official Premium Bonds prize checker app from the Apple App store or Google Play. Customers will need to know their holders’ number in order to access.
Jill Waters, NS&I Retail Director, said:
“After the recent launch of ERNIE 5 and the Alexa prize checking skill, Premium Bonds has hit another important milestone in its long and rich history.
“Making 408 millionaires to date is no mean feat and our Agents Million have been there every step of the way, surprising, delighting and reassuring all of our customers who have been lucky enough to join this exclusive jackpot winning group.
“I’m sure that this month’s winners would have been happy to forgo an extra hour in bed with news on their fabulous win and that many memories can be created as a result of them saving in Premium Bonds.”
Check out the new Alexa prize-checking skill.
April 2019 prize draw breakdown
In the April 2019 draw, a total of 3,268,457 prizes worth £93,423,325 will be paid out. There were 80,077,137,637 eligible Bonds for the draw.
| Value of prizes | Number of prizes |
|---|---|
| £1,000,000 | 2 |
| £100,000 | 5 |
| £50,000 | 11 |
| £25,000 | 22 |
| £10,000 | 54 |
| £5,000 | 106 |
| £1,000 | 1,868 |
| £500 | 5,604 |
| £100 | 25,637 |
| £50 | 25,637 |
| £25 | 3,209,511 |
| Total prize fund value £93,423,325 |
Total number of prizes 3,268,457 |
Notes to editors
1. NS&I has spokespeople available for interview, including Agent Million, as well as a wealth of facts and figures (including regional) about Premium Bonds. If you require any further details, please contact the NS&I media team on the contact details below or tweet your question to @nsandi
2. All Premium Bonds prizes are free of UK Income Tax and Capital Gains Tax.
3. NS&I is one of the largest savings organisations in the UK, offering a range of savings and investments to 25 million customers. All products offer 100% capital security, because NS&I is backed by HM Treasury.
4. The annual Premium Bonds prize fund rate is currently 1.40% and the odds of each individual Bond number winning any prize are currently 24,500 to 1.
5. Pictures of the power behind ERNIE 5, the previous ERNIEs and Premium Bonds, including the Premium Bonds app are available in high-resolution jpeg format from the NS&I media team.
6. Some prizes that ERNIE 5 has generated numbers for may also become unclaimed after 18 months, as a result of Premium Bonds holders changing their addresses and not keeping other details up to date with NS&I. A total of 1.5 million prizes remain unclaimed, totalling over £60 million.
7. Customers can buy Premium Bonds online at nsandi.com and over the phone by calling 08085 007 007. This is a freephone number and calls to it from the UK are free from both landlines and mobiles. Calls may be recorded. Customers can also buy by post. Existing customers can also buy by bank transfer and standing order and currently each investment must be at least £25 for bank transfers and standing orders.
8. Further information on NS&I, including press releases and product information, is available on the website at nsandi.com . Follow us on Twitter: @nsandi or join the conversation on Facebook: Premium Bonds made by ERNIE.