Payment Protection Insurance Plans Under Fire
In a move which many believe will see the end of the Payment Protection Insurance (PPI) sector the Competition Commission has indicated a number of possible changes which will give power back to the consumer. The changes involve forcing retailers to advise clients that they can buy their PPI cover elsewhere, price caps and annual subscriptions which need to be agreed by the consumer.
The proposed changes in the PPI system have come about after the Competition Commission found that the UK consumers were overpaying to the tune of £1.4 billion because many were unaware that they could actually ‘shop around’. It seems as though the vast majority of consumers were under the impression that they had to purchase PPI cover from the retailer they were dealing with, even though this has never been the case.
However, the Association of British Insurers are adamant that the proposed changes to the PPI sector will see the consumer worse off, with many set to suffer as the rate of unemployment starts to rise and they have no cover to fall back on. There are hopes that some kind of compromise can be reached but either way it looks as though the PPI sector will need to change and adapt in the future.
Share this..
Related stories
Is Asda offering the best value for Christmas?
A report by The Grocer magazine is today suggesting that Asda offers the cheapest "Christmas trolley" with a list of traditional Christmas goods costing £102.08, including turkey, Christmas pudding, champagne, batteries, crackers and cards. While the Asda "Christmas trolley" is £10.29 cheaper than the average of the large five UK supermarkets, the likes of Tesco and Morrisons are not too far beh...
Read MoreHSBC advising customers to overpay mortgage payments
In a bizarre move it has been revealed that HSBC is writing to 30,000 of its tracker and variable rate mortgage customers with the suggestion that they consider overpaying on their mortgage. The bank has clearly set out the advantages of increasing minimum payments at a time when mortgage interest rates have fallen to historically low levels. The company has calculated that a monthly overpayment o...
Read MorePension Protection Fund to increase funding
The Pension Protection Fund, the rescue authority which covers corporate pension failures, has announced plans to increase its liquidity and its asset backing in the medium to longer term. The authority will increase its solvency ratio, the amount of assets available compared to the amount of liabilities taken on, from 88% in March 2009 to 110% over next 20 years. The Pension Protection Fund is...
Read MoreJapanese central bank reduces base rates
In possibly a sign of things to come for the worldwide economy it has been revealed that the Japanese central bank has further reduced base rates in the country to between 0% and 0.1% against a previous target of 0.1%. In effect we are back to the days of 0% base rates in Japan which followed the disastrous slump in the economy in the 1980s/90s which saw one of the longest-running economic downtur...
Read MoreRoyal Bank of Scotland set to post better trading figures
This Friday will see first-quarter results from Royal Bank of Scotland which are expected to show a significant improvement in trading and profitability at the group. Despite the fact the group is expected to report a first-quarter loss of around £100 million this compares favourably to a loss of £1.9 billion for the whole of last year. At the same time we are likely to hear of better trading in...
Read More