Save £570 a year by consolidating PPI

by Gill Montia

Story link: Save £570 a year by consolidating PPI

Britons are being urged to review their Payment Protection insurance (PPI) and consolidate cover under one policy.

According to research by the Post Office, almost six million consumers could be paying over the odds for PPI because around 20% of adults with credit have more than one policy in place.

The Post Office estimates that by combining the cover under one policy, the average multi-PPI policyholder could save around £570 a year.

PPI can be notoriously expensive and is still being mis-sold despite heated campaigns by consumer groups such as Which? and ongoing investigations by the Competition Commission and Office of Fair Trading.

The cover is frequently sold alongside varying forms of credit and customers have been bamboozled into buying it, whether or not it is needed and in some cases in the belief that the credit they seek has to include PPI supplied by the lender.

However, costs can be reduced by shopping around and buying PPI that is suitable for an individual’s full financial circumstances, rather than buying it piecemeal.

Head of Protection at the Post Office, Duncan Caesar-Gordon, advises consumers not to get rid of their PPI but to look for one simple product that covers all their outgoings, rather than having a separate policy for every loan and credit card.