Santander Mortgage PPI claim

Sparksa

Good day

My wife took a mortgage in 2006 for which she was given a PPI, let's call it PPI 1.

In 2008 she took a loan on the mortgage to do some home improvements. Although she stated that the mortgage is covered by a PPI, an adviser from Abbey / Santander called her a couple of days later to sell her a new PPI.

The adviser recommended my wife to take 2 new policies for Life and Critical Illness cover, in total of £55 per month. My wife wanted to make sure if she had a cover and she asked the adviser to check for it as the mortgage is with Abbey / Santander. After checking and seeing that my wife already had PPI1 to cover the mortgage and employer "death in service benefit", the adviser disregarded them and did not take them into calculation (as can be seen in the paperwork) and she recommended the 2 new policies which my wife took as she believed the adviser was acting in her best interest.

To me it looks like Abbey / Santander mis-sold the policies as my wife was already covered and their adviser chose to disregard the previous policies (which are still running) and did not take them into calculation.

What do you all think of this?

We are about to fill in a claim on it, what will be the best way to go about it?

Sparksa

amersall

Retitle your thread "Santander Mortgage PPI", dunstonh and magpie will see it and help you.

Sparksa

amersall wrote: »

Retitle your thread "Santander Mortgage PPI", dunstonh and magpie will see it and help you.

Thank you

dunstonh

The adviser recommended my wife to take 2 new policies for Life and Critical Illness cover, in total of £55 per month.

Seems like a suitable recommendation. Neither overlaps with PPI and most people take one or both of these out on their mortgage.

To me it looks like Abbey / Santander mis-sold the policies as my wife was already covered and their adviser chose to disregard the previous policies (which are still running) and did not take them into calculation.

I'm not seeing a mis-sale based on what you have said. She had a PPI. They recommended a life assurance and CI (both of which are typically more important than PPI and have no overlap with PPI).

Both are underwritten at point of sale. Both are monthly and both seem to match the required need. Can you explain more why you think there is a mis-sale?

Sparksa

dunstonh wrote: »

Seems like a suitable recommendation. Neither overlaps with PPI and most people take one or both of these out on their mortgage.



I'm not seeing a mis-sale based on what you have said. She had a PPI. They recommended a life assurance and CI (both of which are typically more important than PPI and have no overlap with PPI).

The PPI1 is a Life cover and Critical Illness cover too.

Both are underwritten at point of sale. Both are monthly and both seem to match the required need. Can you explain more why you think there is a mis-sale?

I believe was mis-sold because already had a life and critical illness policy which was covering the mortgage, but this policy was not taken in consideration and my wife was coached into getting a 2 new policies which were doing the exactly same thing as the first one (PPI1)

Sparksa

Let me try this again.

April 2006 took a Decreasing Term Assurance with Critical Illness and Life cover for which pays £37.40 per month. Today would pay out £89218.

April 2008 took a £5000 loan on the mortgage, the adviser did not take into calculation the previous policy and issued 2 new policies, 1 for Life Cover and Terminal Illness for which pays £11.72, today would pay out £48918; and 1 for Life Cover, Critical Illness, Terminal Illness for which pays £44.03, today would pay out £48918.

If she already had a cover for Life and Critical Illness, plus an employer cover for "Death in service benefit", surely they shouldn't have coached her into getting a new insurance which was doing exactly the same thing?

dunstonh

I believe was mis-sold because already had a life and critical illness policy which was covering the mortgage, but this policy was not taken in consideration and my wife was coached into getting a 2 new policies which were doing the exactly same thing as the first one (PPI1)

You say PPI1 but PPI does not cover pay out on death or critical illness. So it would not do the same as the PPI. You aslo say you already have life and CI cover. However, was the suitable for your total needs? (typically debt and 10x income as a rough guide)

edit added as I replied before above post was made:

If she already had a cover for Life and Critical Illness, plus an employer cover for "Death in service benefit", surely they shouldn't have coached her into getting a new insurance which was doing exactly the same thing?

No. The need for life assurance and CI goes beyond the mortgage. If you have children then there is family protection to consider. There is lost income to consider and lost pension entitlement. As mentioned above 10x income plus debt is a rough guide to the sort of level that is typically required.

Sparksa

dunstonh wrote: »

You say PPI1 but PPI does not cover pay out on death or critical illness. So it would not do the same as the PPI. You aslo say you already have life and CI cover. However, was the suitable for your total needs? (typically debt and 10x income as a rough guide)

edit added as I replied before above post was made:


No. The need for life assurance and CI goes beyond the mortgage. If you have children then there is family protection to consider. There is lost income to consider and lost pension entitlement. As mentioned above 10x income plus debt is a rough guide to the sort of level that is typically required.

Well that's the thing, the policy taken in 2006 was to protect the mortgage, the ones taken in 2008 are doing exactly the same thing, protecting the mortgage. We got no kids so there is no need for family protection, plus got enough savings and ISA to keep going for at least a year if unemployed.
As the mortgage was covered and already had life and critical illness cover for it, shouldn't the adviser recommend a cover only for the loan and not for the whole mortgage?

dunstonh

plus got enough savings and ISA to keep going for at least a year if unemployed.

Not a lot then. Just an emergency fund. So, there is a need. Remember that Life & CI isnt linked to unemployment.

As the mortgage was covered and already had life and critical illness cover for it, shouldn't the adviser recommend a cover only for the loan and not for the whole mortgage?

They should recommend for what the financial need is. So, this could be the mortgage plus an amount above it.

It is possible, indeed probable, that their minimum premium on the increment caused the sum assured to be higher. You cant get life assurance for £5000. It would be more. That is inevitable. An IFA would typically look at cancelling and restarting a new one to the required amount but tied agents usually are not allowed to recommend cancellation of existing plans as it is not within their remit. So, if this is a minimum premium issue then it would be fair enough given it was a tied agent. Plus, as you say, you didnt have much in the way of savings/investments. So, you cant say you didnt need it.

Sparksa

Ok. Thank you