Shopping around for payment protection insurance
- 27TH JULY 2007
Ever since the Financial Services Authority began to investigate the payment protection insurance (PPI) industry in 2005, more and more consumers have jumped on the bandwagon and criticised high street banks and lenders for unethical practices. Many have complained that they were mis-sold policies that would prove to be no value to them at all, and yet the banks were happy to take their money. However, there is more to payment protection insurance than poor value and profit.
Payment protection insurance can actually prove to be a useful tool for an individual combating debt because it would actually make repayments for an eligible individual for up to twelve months (in some cases, up to twenty-four months) should he or she be unable to pay them as a result of long term illness or redundancy. However, the need to shop around is more of an issue than ever because of the vast difference in quoted payment protection insurance policy premiums that exist between standalone providers, like the ethical British Insurance, and high street banks and lenders.
Why pay more for payment protection insurance when it is unnecessary to do so? The majority of consumers do because they fail to shop around in advance and often settle for the policy that is offered to them.
Simon Burgess, British Insurance’s Managing Director, put it best when he said: "It beggars belief that lenders aren’t more sympathetic to the needs of their clients and actually help them to protect their credit repayments with affordable cover. Consumers should check and double check their premiums. We all look around for the east deal on our motor and home insurance, so why not our credit repayments?"
