Payment protection insurance frequently asked questions
- 22ND MAY 2007
When it comes to payment protection insurance (PPI) there are many things the average consumer doesn’t understand regarding the product. Those in the know such as the banks and high street lenders will rarely explain policies because they want you to buy their product in order to make ridiculous profits.
One of the most common problems associated with payment protection insurance and one that a surprisingly large amount of consumers get confused about is actually buying their policy.
As with all things, in order to get the right cover at a price that suits your budget, you should shop around to get a good feel for what is in the market place. However the banks won’t inform you that you are free to shop around when purchasing payment protection insurance and will often try to make out that it is compulsory to purchase the insurance alongside your loan or credit card.
Policies can be bought independently and in fact this is the cheapest way to buy your policy. Certainly, standalone specialist provider British Insurance offer payment protection insurance policies that are among the cheapest in the sector, often with additional policy benefits that not all the major lenders and banks offer.
So don’t be fooled and stand your ground if you are being coerced in to buying cover alongside other borrowing.
On the 12th April the Competition Commission, who are investigating the sector, gave a statement that said they were identifying the areas and questions that it thought relevant when it came to deciding if they were going to impose sanctions on the payment protection insurance industry. A conclusion is hoped to be reached in 2009.
