Did we have PPI?

davross
davross Posts: 288 Forumite
edited 23 September 2018 at 3:10PM in Reclaim PPI & other insurance
Hi all,

My wife and I bought our first home in 2003. As first time buyers, we wanted help with arranging the mortgage so used a broker from a well-known high street estate agents. After arranging the mortgage, we were told that we would need all sorts of cover (accident, illness, redundancy & contents) or we would not be allowed not take out the mortgage. I now know that, with the exception of buildings insurance which was arranged separately through our residents association, this was not the case but at the time we didn't know any better so signed up to everything they advised we needed.

From looking through our paperwork, it appears we had 3 policies (all with Countywide Assured Insurance Services) in total:
- Home & contents cover
- Mortgage Protection Plan (I believe this covered accident and sickness etc.)
- Mortgage Care Policy 'Redundancy Only' - underwritten by AXA General Insurance Ltd.

Fast-forward to 2016, I remembered the pushy sales tactics on our first mortgage and wondered if we could reclaim any PPI we had been sold. We contacted the insurance provider and queried the Mortgage Protection Plan and the Mortgage Care 'Redundancy Only' policy.

They replied saying that they have never sold PPI and the policy we had was for Income Protection Insurance. We didn't follow this up.

However, I was sorting through the paperwork recently and noticed that their reply specifically referenced the Mortgage Protection Plan and ignored the Mortgage Care 'Redundancy Only' policy.

Does anyone know if a Mortgage Care 'Redundancy Only' policy would count as PPI?

Also, were they correct that the Mortgage Protection Plan would not count as PPI?

Any advice on how to proceed would be greatly appreciated.

Comments

  • dunstonh
    dunstonh Posts: 116,030
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    My wife and I bought our first home in 2003. As first time buyers, we wanted help with arranging the mortgage so used a broker from a well-known high street estate agents.

    Brokers were not regulated in 2003. So, whether you were missold or not doesnt matter. It is pre-regulation.
    We contacted the insurance provider and queried the Mortgage Protection Plan and the Mortgage Care 'Redundancy Only' policy.

    They replied saying that they have never sold PPI and the policy we had was for Income Protection Insurance. We didn't follow this up.

    You said you saw a broker. So, complaining to the insurance company is not going to get you anywhere unless the broker was an agent of that insurer (most are not).

    The PPI policy you refer to is probably a different insurer the life assurance/income protection provider. Income protection is generally issued by life assurance companies. PPI is generally issued by General Insurance companies.
    Does anyone know if a Mortgage Care 'Redundancy Only' policy would count as PPI?

    yes
    Also, were they correct that the Mortgage Protection Plan would not count as PPI?

    Yes. That is a bit like asking if your car insurance is PPI. PPI is a specific product type. So, only PPI is PPI.
    Any advice on how to proceed would be greatly appreciated.

    You give up because you bought before regulation and brokers were not members of an earlier body in the same way banks were.
    I am an Independent Financial Adviser (IFA). The comments I make are just my opinion and are for discussion purposes only. They are not financial advice and you should not treat them as such. If you feel an area discussed may be relevant to you, then please seek advice from an Independent Financial Adviser local to you.
  • davross
    davross Posts: 288 Forumite
    edited 23 September 2018 at 3:44PM
    dunstonh wrote: »
    Brokers were not regulated in 2003. So, whether you were missold or not doesnt matter. It is pre-regulation.



    You said you saw a broker. So, complaining to the insurance company is not going to get you anywhere unless the broker was an agent of that insurer (most are not).

    The PPI policy you refer to is probably a different insurer the life assurance/income protection provider. Income protection is generally issued by life assurance companies. PPI is generally issued by General Insurance companies.



    yes



    Yes. That is a bit like asking if your car insurance is PPI. PPI is a specific product type. So, only PPI is PPI.



    You give up because you bought before regulation and brokers were not members of an earlier body in the same way banks were.

    Thanks for the advice. I just want to make sure that I have used the correct terminology in my original post when I wrote "broker". We used the mortgage adviser at a branch of Mann Countrywide estate agents, who arranged the cover from Countrywide Assured. Would this count as a broker and therefore not be eligible to reclaim PPI on the redundancy policy?
  • dunstonh
    dunstonh Posts: 116,030
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    We used the mortgage adviser at a branch of Mann Countrywide estate agents, who arranged the cover from Countrywide Assured.

    If the seller worked for the same company as the insurer then it makes them an insurance agent. However, unless that company was a member of the ABI then they do not have to consider the complaint.

    Countrywide assured are receiving PPI complaints although the uphold rate is very (as you would expect with MPPI). So, try again using the PPi policy details and not the mortgage protection policy details.

    Is the PPI policy a Countrywide policy or another provider? (some insurance agents didnt use their own linked insurer for MPPI)
    I am an Independent Financial Adviser (IFA). The comments I make are just my opinion and are for discussion purposes only. They are not financial advice and you should not treat them as such. If you feel an area discussed may be relevant to you, then please seek advice from an Independent Financial Adviser local to you.
  • davross
    davross Posts: 288 Forumite
    dunstonh wrote: »

    Is the PPI policy a Countrywide policy or another provider? (some insurance agents didnt use their own linked insurer for MPPI)

    The 'Mortgage Care - Redundancy Only' policy details letter from Countrywide Assured states 'Your policy has been arranged by us and is underwritten by AXA General Insurance Ltd.'
  • davross
    davross Posts: 288 Forumite
    Update: I just called Countrywide assured who advised that we had an MPPI policy and that this is different to PPI so it is not possible to make a claim for this.
  • takman
    takman Posts: 3,876
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    davross wrote: »
    Update: I just called Countrywide assured who advised that we had an MPPI policy and that this is different to PPI so it is not possible to make a claim for this.

    You would be looking to make a "complaint" about the miss-selling of the PPI and not a "claim" which is what you do when you want the policy to pay out because you suffered a claimable event.

    Also you can make a complaint about any type of policy you want for any reason, so saying its not possible is incorrect unless you misunderstood what they were saying. But obviously just because you can make a complaint doesn't mean you have any chance of being successful (as per comments above from a knowledgeable forum member).
  • Nasqueron
    Nasqueron Posts: 8,625
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    davross wrote: »
    Update: I just called Countrywide assured who advised that we had an MPPI policy and that this is different to PPI so it is not possible to make a claim for this.

    MPPI is PPI....

    PPI = payment protection insurance
    MPPI = mortgage payment protection insurance

    If the staff member was part of Countrywide and it was in 2003 then it's pre-regulation and your complaint goes nowhere. Any which way, most MPPI complaints fail as it's a good product, almost universally setup as a monthly fee that will help save your home if you can't work.
  • dunstonh
    dunstonh Posts: 116,030
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    davross wrote: »
    Update: I just called Countrywide assured who advised that we had an MPPI policy and that this is different to PPI so it is not possible to make a claim for this.

    They are incorrect. MPPI is a PPI policy. It is a type of PPI that is still available to buy today and has a much lower uphold rate (under 5% when it comes to mortgage brokers).

    However, it is PPI and they should accept a complaint from you. They may be able to timebar the complaint as pre-regulation. However, they should accept the complaint.
    I am an Independent Financial Adviser (IFA). The comments I make are just my opinion and are for discussion purposes only. They are not financial advice and you should not treat them as such. If you feel an area discussed may be relevant to you, then please seek advice from an Independent Financial Adviser local to you.
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