Loan payment protection will see the introduction of comparison tables
- 6TH NOVEMBER 2007
Loan payment protection has never been one of the easiest products to understand and when in 2005 the Office of Fair Trading received a super complaint regarding mis-selling of policies and began investigating the sector, payment protection insurance (PPI) products as a whole earned a bad reputation.
The Financial Services Authority handed fines out to several well known names on the high street that were selling loan payment protection alongside loans and credit cards and failing to give the consumer the information needed so they could determine if the product was suitable for their circumstances. While loan payment protection insurance can be a lifeline on which to fall if you should find yourself unable to work after suffering an accident, sickness or through being made unemployed, it is by no means suitable for all individuals.
The exclusions in a loan payment protection policy determine if the cover is suitable and some of the most commonplace include if you are suffering from a pre-existing medical condition at the time of taking out the policy, are retired, self-employed or if you are only working part time. If you are made aware of the exclusions, you can tell if loan payment protection can help you, but if not and the exclusions describe your circumstances, then it would be useless.
In March 2008 the Financial Services Authority are introducing comparison tables which will highlight among other things the exclusions in a policy. It will make clear how much the cover will cost and through a series of questions the consumer can determine if a policy is suitable and which product in the family of protection policies would be better.
This type of information is already made available with specialist loan payment protection provider British Insurance, who offer quality loan payment protection while helping you to make savings of up 80% on the cover when compared with high street lenders. Cover from them can begin paying out after the 31st day of being out of work and continue providing a tax free income for up to 12 months. Some providers ask that you are out of work for anything up to 90 days, so always read the small print.
