Mortgage PPI (self employed)

quadspanner

I am self employed and generally work short contracts with a wide range of companies.

Last year there was a quiet period with no work so I claimed JSA. They understood my situation and were fine, as were Nationwide who my mortgage and PPI are with.

For a couple of months it worked fine I signed on, JSA stamped my claim form, Nationwide paid up.

Earlier this year a similar situation occurred and again JSA were fine. when I rang Nationwide however I was told that the insurance was now handled by a company called Pinnacle.

By their T&Cs I cannot now claim unless I cease trading and inform HMRC that I have done so.

I was not aware of either the change in insurer or T&Cs so where do I stand on this?

Fortunately I don't need to claim at the moment but as I have just received the renewal notice.

InsideInsurance

Are you actually self employed (ie a sole trader)? Or are you either working through an umbrella company or your own Ltd?

If you are a sole trader then it is a 15 minute call to HMRC (13 minutes on hold, 2 minutes talking) to tell them you are stopping your self employed activity and then another 15 minute call to HMRC when you get a new contract. Its silly but if those are the hoops to jump through it really isnt that bad.

If you are Ltd then you are not unemployed between contracts and it is more the case the company cannot afford to pay you wages/ dividends and so either you wind up the company or accept the reduce payment and not claim on the MPPI

If you are going though an umbrella then you are an employee legally and so you arent self employed and you tick the employee box and give the umbrella company as your employer.

dunstonh

They understood my situation and were fine, as were Nationwide who my mortgage and PPI are with.

Whilst Nationwide may have sold the policy, it would not be undewritten by them. It would have been an insurer. Pinaccle are one of the largest insurers in this field.

By their T&Cs I cannot now claim unless I cease trading and inform HMRC that I have done so.

That is virtually the same across the board. It is to stop self employed putting in claims during quiet periods as they are technically not unemployed. They are just quiet for businesss.

I was not aware of either the change in insurer or T&Cs so where do I stand on this?

It is unlikely it was a change in T&C or a change in insurer. If Nationwide have changed the insurer, then the cover is classed as continuous and there is no requalifying period.

If you received a payout previously, then it may be worth keeping quiet. JSA is not normally paid to those continuing to pay class 2 stamp (nor is PPI).

As II says above, if you are not self employed in a legal sense, then it may be different.

magpiecottage

It is possible that the terms and conditions have changed. The insurer is normally entitled to do this with PPI but must make you aware of it so you can make an informed decision whether to continue or not.

If they did not tell you of the change then you would have grounds for complaint.

If, on the other hand, you never qualified then it is possible that the original policy was the same and they paid the first claim in error. If so, it is unlikely that you will be required to repay it unless they can prove you misled them.

On the other hand, if you can show the insurer/Nationwide misled you when you bought it you would have a valid misselling complaint.