If you want the best deal along with the cheapest premiums then you have to go to a specialist payment protection provider for your payment protection insurance (PPI). Going with a specialist provider can save you a lot of money on the premiums and is also the best way to get all the vital information regarding the facts and exclusions of a policy.



Payment protection insurance can give you the money you need each month to continue making your credit card or loan repayments which of course will give great peace of mind if you should find yourself unable to work after suffering from an accident, sickness or through unemployment by way of unexpected redundancy. The waiting period before the cover starts depends on the provider and it can be anywhere between day 31 and 90 of being out of work. Once the cover has started to give you a replacement income it would then continue for up to 12 months generally but some policies continue paying out for up to 24 months so you have to read the small print to determine the terms and conditions.

There are exclusions in all payment protection policies which could mean that the cover isn't suitable for all circumstances and these can be found in the small print. These can include being in part time employment, suffering from a pre-existing medical condition, being of retirement age or if you are self employed. There can be many other exclusions that will vary depending on the lender so it is essential that you check these out before buying.

Payment protection insurance earned itself a bad name when the Citizens Advice Bureau made a super complaint to the Office of Fair Trading in 2005 and this spurned an investigation by the Financial Services Authority (FSA). The FSA fined several major high street names for wide spread mis-selling and the sector was then referred to the Competition Commission for a comprehensive review of the sector of which the results will be announced in February 2009. The sector is still under the eye of the Financial Services who recently announced following an interim review, that while some changes for the good have been made, many more need to be made in the future.

It is the poor selling techniques which have caused the majority of mis-selling and the main culprits have been the high street lenders - the standalone provider is more ethical than the high street lenders and will always ensure that the consumer gets the best deal on their payment protection insurance. Having access to the key facts of a policy and being able to understand them is one of the main factors in deciding whether a policy is suitable for your circumstances. Payment protection insurance can make the difference between you having peace of mind that you would be able to carry on paying your monthly loan repayments or struggling to find the money each month and by going with a standalone provider it doesn't have to cost a fortune.