The report revealed concerns over value for customers, how consumers buy PPI and the information they have, as well as the competitive pressure on prices.
The OFT claimed consumers were receiving poor value, with further concerns over PPI pricing, which the OFT claimed could not be accounted for by differences in product quality. The OFT also raised concerns over the product complexity of PPI cover, while its consumer survey showed many had failed to shop around for PPI.
Simon Burgess, managing director of britishinsurance.com, welcomed the findings and urged the PPI industry to improve its reputation. He said: “I have been campaigning for a long time now to highlight the huge profits that many providers are making from PPI at the expense of unsuspecting clients. I am delighted that the OFT has released these findings publicly and hope that it will put real pressure on the market to work harder for its clients, rather than taking advantage of them.”
Rob Griffiths, associate director at the Association of Mortgage Intermediaries (AMI), commented: “The OFT report seems to show that the focus is on good intermediaries and that they are standing shoulder-to-shoulder with their clients. The focus should be on getting the best deal for clients, and offering a wider choice.
“The AMI membership has supported calls for de-bundling, de-linking and portability of PPI. We feel if these calls were met it would make changes to the market that we would like to see.”
