When it comes to finances, debt repayment is one of the top concerns of many people. On top of the many bills that need to be paid, debt repayments on personal loans like cars, as well as debt repayment on mortgages are quite essential obligations that need to be met. Usually, when a debtor fails to uphold his obligations to the mortgage repayment, the bank will foreclose his house and he will be forced to leave. For some, this is a nightmare, but for others, it is reality. In the US, millions of homes were foreclosed in the years 2008 to 2010 because of peoples inability to repay mortgages. A good number of these people were unable to make debt repayments because they were either laid off or retrenched, or got sick.
In the UK, insurance companies and banks have devised a crafty financial safety net to avoid the same crisis that occurred in the US. the Payment Protection Insurance or PPI is a product that protects the peoples debt repayments in case they get laid off, or when they become too sick to earn the same income. PPI will cover personal loans, mortgages, and credit card repayments if the policyholders income is reduced due to sickness, involuntary loss of job, and accidents.
PPI can be bought from banks and from insurance firms. Whenever people take out loans from the banks, it is possible that the banks will also try to sell PPI, which is attached to the contract or agreement form for the loan. If one is taking out a mortgage, the PPI can be referred to in the agreement as Mortgage Payment Protection. If one is applying for a personal loan, the PPI can be called Personal Loan Protection. Many people are confused with these terms because they think that the insurance is part of the loans they are taking out. In any case, the broker or the bank who
are giving out loans must explain thoroughly the nature and the purpose of the PPI.
There are basic steps in making ppi claims, but for the part of the policyholder, he must always validate or prove his eligibility for a claim. For example, if he wants to make a claim based on loss of job, he needs to provide documents supporting the fact that his employer is retrenching him. This may be in the form of a memo or even letter from the employer or representative of the company. When a policyholder wants to make a claim based on sickness and accident, he must validate it by providing a doctors certificate or medical certificate that states that the policyholder is incapacitated and as a result cannot go to work.
If the claims are rejected by the insurance company or the bank, one option is to go to the Financial Ombudsman Service or FOS. The FOS is the government body that handles financial disputes,
including disputed insurance claims. The good news about PPI disputes that are being processed in the FOS is that 80% of the complaints are awarded in favor of the policyholder. The FOS has a
website and may be contacted through the same.
If the policyholder wants to make a refund, he must write a letter that states the reasons why a refund is necessary. This can only happen when the bank or insurance company mis-sold their policies or defaults on their obligations to their clients. There are templates for PPI refunds available at the website of the FOS. These can be saved to ones computer and later printed. Once done, the policyholder may send this letter to the banks, which would reply in a span of eight weeks. If the reply is unfavorable, the policyholder may file a dispute complaint at the FOS and the agents
will be the ones to oversee the dispute.