Standards could still be improved, says FSA
- 4TH MAY 2007
After heading into the third phase of their ongoing investigation into the sale of payment protection insurance, the Financial Services Authority has admitted that there is still a long way to go before the payment protection insurance (PPI) offered by high street providers affords consumers good value for money.
The payment protection insurance industry has been in the spotlight a lot recently, due to research carried out by the Office of Fair Trading and the Financial Services Authority (FSA) which shows an industry rife with over priced policies and mis-selling of the product being commonplace.
FSA spokesman Robin Gordon-Walker has declared that the regulating body of the financial services industry expect to see an improvement on their findings when the mid-summer report on payment protection insurance is published.
Malcolm Tarling, a spokesman from the Association of British Insurers (ABI), has responded to Mr Gordon-Walker’s comments by encouraging lenders to make sure that they give the consumer an option. He has acknowledged the fact that lenders should be ensuring that consumers fully understand the basics of payment protection insurance and thus know enough to make their own informed decision.
However, preliminary FSA findings have revealed that not all lenders are listening to Mr Tarling’s advice.
Simon Burgess, Managing Director of payment protection insurance specialists British Insurance put it best when he stated: “While the first two phases of the FSA investigations have highlighted just how shabbily consumers buying payment protection insurance have been treated, still the providers continue to mis-sell the product, often at grossly over pried amounts.
“Until the greedy banks and lenders start putting their customers first by offering a suitable cover and low cost premiums, consumers will still continue to be ripped off.”
