Years of payment protection insurance (PPI) mis-selling could be nearing an end after Lloyds Banking Group threw in the towel in the fight to keep the controversial product
Lloyds today confirmed that it has withdrawn PPI policies from sale across all its brands, which include Halifax, Bank of Scotland and Cheltenham & Gloucester.
PPI insurance is designed to cover loan repayments in the event of unemployment or loss of income. It can also come under the title of income protection insurance. It has been criticised for being useless for many policyholders who would never be able to claim, as well as for being costly and a huge money-spinner for the banks.
Experts hope it will mark a turning point in battle to rid the High Street of PPI, with more banks expected to follow suit.
Lloyds' – like many other banks - offered PPI to its mortgage, credit card, and loan customers.
Now the taxpayer-owned bank will only offer interested customers a generic PPI leaflet produced by the British Bankers' Association.
Existing customers who have taken out PPI policies, or are in the process of doing so, will not be unaffected.
