Payment protection insurance claims have risen greatly within the past year. With more people learning the basic facts about PPI a bit too late, numerous claims have been surfacing to get back the payments people have made for PPI.

What is PPI?

Payment protection insurance is an insurance product offered by lenders to people borrowing money. Essentially it is a safeguard for them in case they are no longer able to work due to accident, sickness or unemployment. Sounds good in theory but in actual fact this type of insurance is fraught with difficulties.

How are you missold PPI?

There are millions of people with payment protection plans and a large percentage of them do not even know that they have it. This is blatent mis-selling since the customer needs to be made aware of what they are signing up for.

Fine print  can also make the terms of a PPI swim in a man’s head. This is not generally the lender’s fault, but if more time had been given to explain further details of the PPI offer, then a borrower would have had a clearer picture and had taken time to consider signing up. Exclusions in the terms and conditions would have generally helped in piquing consumer interest. However, most lenders just talked about the advantages of the policy and failed to discuss the exclusions.

Lenders also failed to inform prospective policyholders that  they will not be covered for pre-existing medical conditions and mental health problems. A number of policyholders have also been surprised with the fact that the insurance would not cover the whole debt, which they claim makes no sense at all. The worst case, some say, would be that they were not informed beforehand that the PPI would have to be paid in full, up front.

These scenarios are not just a concern of one but of many of whom claim to have been missold PPI. It makes for a troublesome burden for families, especially those undergoing financial hardship. Additional payments are something that these people are not looking forward to, and if the PPI proves to not have been availed without clear consent, then they can certainly go and make a claim.

Make your claim!

First thing one must be aware of when making PPI claims is that you really have signed up for the insurance. You need to check your loan documentation or credit card statements to see if you have taken out PPI. Failing this, you can call or write to your credit provider.

If you don’t get anywhere with your lender or you find the whole process too confusing or time consuming, there is always the option to pass the matter to a claims company. These companies often work on a no win no fee basis to claim back any premiums you have paid and get you the compensation you deserve.