In the area of personal finance there have been plenty changes, particularly when considering mortgages, loans and other credit arrangements. PPI – otherwise known as payment protection insurance – is a hotly contested part of some credit arrangements that is designed to help the individual concerned in the event that they become unable to work and unable to keep up the agreed repayments.

Every payment protection policy is a simple insurance agreement that is paid for over monthly installments. However, in recent years the authorities that regulate the personal finance market took on board many complaints from people who discovered they may have been mis-sold PPI policies, and an in depth investigation was ordered.

The people that carried out the investigation discovered that there had been numerous cases of mis-selling of PPI policies, among them plenty which had been provided to people to whom they were useless and cases in which people were unaware that they had purchased and were responsible for such a policy.

Thanks to the outcome of the investigation many financial institutions – some highly regarded companies – were subjected to substantial fines, and the rules regarding the provision of PPI policies were comprehensively revised. At the same time, some of the individuals affected sought professional help to make a PPI claim for their payments, and a number of people are discovering that they may be due some compensation for mis-sold polices.

As the new guidelines were introduced they stated that there would be alterations to the manner in which PPI policies would be sold, and it is now against the rules to sell a borrower a policy at the point of sale of the loan or mortgage. It is also against the rules to sell the borrower a PPI policy for a set number of days after agreeing the loan, thus allowing the consumer time to search for the best deal.

Part of the reason for bringing in these new regulations was because the investigation discovered that some people had been led to believe that they were obliged to take a branded PPI policy offered by the lender, something that is at the forefront of many a PPI claim as it has long been the customers right to go elsewhere for the right policy.

The personal finance world and, most of all, PPI is now a much safer place for the consumer following the introduction of the fresh regulations, and if you think that you have a case for seeking compensation we suggest you seek the help of a solicitor in what can be a confusing part of law.