Payment Protection Insurance Claims Peak
The amount of Payment Protection Insurance claim requests are seeing a decline compared to their all-time high but the levels still remain quite high. It is estimated that the banks reject around 10,000 PPI claims every week. The banks are still putting aside millions of pounds to deal with these claims of miss-sold insurance, but it has been said that the worst is behind them. The banks have already had to set aside over £14 billion pounds to compensate customers who have been miss-sold PPI. Clients were being sold these policies even though most of them would have been ineligible to make a claim due to certain circumstances and conditions.
Chief Financial Ombudsman Natalie Ceeney said: “The ombudsman, which steps in where customers and their banks can’t reach an agreement, is now receiving 2,000 new cases every working day compared with 3,000 at its peak six months ago. I think somewhat inevitably the people who care most about complaining and trying to get compensation do so first. In any complaints cycle the numbers rise and you subsequently see them fall. I suspect we’re on the downward curve.” This was quoted from an interview on Monday.
However, it is very difficult to predict any future trends in PPI complaints. Ceeney said: “Will it fall to 1,000 in six months? I just don’t know. The interesting thing about PPI is none of us know where it’s going to go.” The ombudsman is currently working with banks to improve their complaints handling procedures but 78% of insurance cases are being solved in the customer’s favour. Ceeney added: “We should be seeing uphold rates at 20 to 25% because banks should know what they're doing now. These are now so well-trodden. When customers do complain it should be handled properly.”
James Savery, 30 July 2013