The Competition Commission (CC) has published a draft order for consultation setting out how measures to introduce competition into the Payment Protection Insurance (PPI) market will be implemented.
The measures were outlined when the CC published its final report into PPI in January this year, concluding that businesses that offer PPI alongside credit face little or no competition when selling PPI to their credit customers.
To address the lack of competition, the CC announced its intention to introduce a package of measures to bring competition in the market including:
- A prohibition on the sale of PPI during the sale of the credit product and for seven days afterwards
- A prohibition on single-premium policies
- Personal PPI quotes, annual reviews and other measures to make sure that improved information is available to consumers to make it easier for them to compare and search for products and switch policies at a later point
Although the CC’s decision and proposed measures have since been appealed to the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) by Barclays 1, the CC has started consultation on the detailed implementation of the changes to enable it to move quickly once the appeal is finalised and it has considered the CAT’s judgment. The appeal hearing takes place from September 7-10. The CC has already carried out consumer research in order to ensure that the improved customer information contained in PPI quotes and annual reviews is set out in a clear and easily understandable format.
Peter Davis, Inquiry Chairman and CC Deputy Chairman, said: "Whilst we are waiting for the outcome of the appeal, we are pressing ahead with the detailed work needed to put these measures in place. By continuing with the necessary preparations like this, we can hit the ground running once the appeal is finalised and we have considered the CAT’s judgment. If the CAT supports our findings, taking these steps now will help ensure there is no unnecessary delay in resolving the significant competition issues that we found in this market and in delivering a better outcome for consumers.
"This public consultation is an opportunity for all PPI providers and others with an interest in the effective operation of PPI markets to comment on the way in which we plan to implement these important measures."
The draft order is available at www.competition-commission.org.uk and outlines how the measures detailed below will be implemented.
