PPI

PPI stands for payment protection insurance and is a type of insurance that is designed to protect those who have some type of debt repayments. Now this could be a loan or it could also be a mortgage or even a credit card. Whatever the debt is, it covers their monthly dues should they find themselves unable to work for particular reasons, such as falling ill or having an accident or maybe being made redundant. Whether the policy works for the individual is a moot point and something that needs to be explored because it has been found that many people cannot actually claim on the policy and therefore its benefits are rather dubious indeed. So consumers have to think very carefully before opting to take out this sort of policy because PPI is often mis-sold to those who can’t make a successful claim in the event that they do lose their job.

So what exactly are payment protection insurance claims? Well, when people feel aggrieved at having been wrongly sold one of these insurance plans, it is often possible for them to make a valid complaint to the organisation, be it a bank or credit card company which sold them the product in the first instance. When this happens the financial institution will normally conduct a full investigation into the sale of the policy to determine whether it has actually been mis-sold. A ppi insurance refund will be due to those who have been deemed to have been missold ppi and the amount will depend on a lot of variables. The amount which people can claim back can depend on how long the policy has been running, whether it is a regular premium or single premium ppi, whether the customer has received a loan insurance rebate perhaps because they have terminated the policy prematurely.

There are various reasons why this type of insurance has been incorrectly sold to up to millions of individuals throughout the UK and Newmag PPI Claims explores some of the reasons why this type of insurance product may not have been suitable for you. It could have been the case, for example, that you already had adequate  cover in place from your employer or you would have received substantial benefits from them in the event that you were unable to attend work due to accident, sickness or unemployment. Or it could have been the case that the organisation which advised you to take out this policy actually coerced you into doing so. This is wrong because you should always have a choice as to whether you wish to take out insurance with your loan, mortgage or credit card. There are a multitude of reasons why you may have been wrongly sold this insurance. Another example is that you were given the impression that your application for credit would be looked upon more favourably if you agreed with the adviser to take out payment protection insurance. This of course is all wrong because it should not affect the application at all.

As we have discussed, ppi can be incorrectly sold to people for a number of reasons. If you take it in isolation it can actually be a beneficial product for certain people. But the fact is that when people go to make a claim on the policy their claims are often denied. The small print sees to this because it is difficult for people to make a claim if they are not in full-time work, for example. So if they are self-employed they will find themselves in a difficult spot when they go to make a claim on the policy. There is nothing worse than having your claim denied when you find yourself in financial difficulty. Another reason why your claim may be turned down is if you have a pre-existing medical condition and you suffer from a recurrence of this condition. The policy exclusion clauses will prevent you from being able to draw upon the benefits of the policy in this particular instance.

For the reasons we have explored above and for many other reasons, people are now making ppi claims because their were mis-led by the financial institution that granted them the credit and now they want to claim their money back. It is only fair, after all, that these people are now due a refund of their insurance premiums. It has to be said that you will not be disadvantaged in any way by deciding that you want to go ahead and claim back ppi. The banks have now come to the conclusion that it is only fair to compensate those who have suffered a financial loss at their hands. So there is no reason to be afraid of making a claim since there will be no retribution for doing so. People are now being urged to come forward and issue complaints because there are now refunds due to them. This is great news for the UK consumer because now they are able to reclaim their money and be treated fairly by these finance organisations.

So now we have to explore under which circumstances it is now possible to claim a pp refund. As we have alluded to earlier on, there are a multitude of reasons why you can successfully claim back ppi. In addition to the reasons set out above, there are a whole host of other ways in which you can demonstrate that the policy you took out was not suitable for your needs. You don’t have to worry if you no longer have the credit anymore. So for example, if your loan has already been paid off or you no longer use your credit card anymore, if you have ppi on any of these then you are still entitled to reclaim this money. It has been said that people are able to claim where the policy was sold within the last six years, but for some individuals it is possible to claim on policies sold well before this timeframe. If at all you are unsure about this process or you do not want to address this issue directly with the lender then you can always seek help from companies which pursue these types of claims for a set fee. But if you are sure about why you were mis-sold you can try to tackle this issue yourself and if you do not get anywhere with the finance organisation, you may have the right to consult the Financial Ombudsman Service who can consider an appeal for you for free.