BORROWERS who purchase payment protection insurance (PPI) , that is inappropriate to their needs and more costly than a standalone alternative will continue to do so unless the point of sale link between PPI and credit is broken, says Paymentcare.co.uk’s Shane Craig.

Commenting on today’s report by GfK NOP for the Competition Commission on how customers search for PPI products, Craig says: “The fact that the majority of borrowers who didn’t shop around for PPI believed that they had no choice but to take their lender’s own policy is clear proof that selling PPI at the same time as the loan is not in customers’ best interests.

“Unless borrowers are made fully aware that they are completely free to buy PPI elsewhere they will continue to run the risk of being treated unfairly.”