Here’s some interesting figures on the number of insurance related complaints referred to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS):

- One complaint per 4,100 motor policies

- One complaint per 12,700 travel policies

- One complaint for every 14,700 annuity contracts

Not many complaints there then, unfortunately the same can’t be said for Payment Protection Insurance (PPI) which had over 25,000 complaints made against it to the FOS in the last six months of 2009. Needless to say: the majority of these complaints where relating to PPI sold by one or more of the major high street banks. Read more about the latest FOS figures released today here…

The fallout from the mis-sold Payment Protection Insurance saga continues with new figures from Moneysupermarket revealing that the average credit card interest rate has reached 18.8%. This represents a 12 year high and means banks are making a 7200% return on top of the Bank of England Base Rate, all of which is on the money that we have loaned them in the first place.

So, to get this straight – we’re paying a disgusting amount of interest to borrow back money which we gave to the banks. And for what, so that they can make up the money paid out in PPI claims, cover the bad debts they’ll have to write off and the pay the £1m bonuses that the top quarter of bankers are getting.

Guess what… we’ve made a video all about Payment Protection Insurance, oh yes. Last night the PPI Claims UK team had an intense brain storming session all about how we can get the message of mis-sold PPI out to more people. The result was a short film with all the important info you need and a snazzy fire effect at the end, check out our PPI Claims vid by clicking on that link <<.

In order to pay for all the PPI claims that are being made, the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) have decreed that general insurance brokers should contribute £20m throughout 2010 and £40m next year to help pay back those who have been mis sold.

The money will also go towards existing PPI compensation claims and represents a serious step forward as prior to this decision, just £8.5m had been raised through brokers, this figure will now rise to £50.5m. Needless to say the reason why the FSCS is pulling it’s finger out is because so many people are claiming back PPI payments and som many more are getting wise to it.

Chief Executive of the FSCS, Loretta Minghella, said: “The FSCS will continue playing a valuable role in promoting consumer confidence in 2010/11 by paying compensation when firms fail”.

The thing is, we’re not sure £50mil is enough!

‘Beware The Payment Protection Insurance Scams!’ We’ve all read this headline or one like it over the last few years, be it about banks selling PPI or claim companies ‘helping’ you to get your payments back. And it looks like as long as there’s a buck or two to be made from PPI compensation claims, fly-by-night claims companies will keep popping up asking for your bank details.

If you receive a call from a PPI claims company, always be sceptical and ask for their Ministry of Justice (MOJ) number and web address. Then you can check them out online and see if the regulator, the MOJ, have a record of them being a legitimate PPI claims company. The email address for the MOJ is info@claimsregulation.gov.uk and if you’ve already been scammed or mis-lead; you can alert trading standards through the Office of Fair Trading on 0845 404 0506. Don’t let the stories put you off reclaiming your money, just be vigilant when doing it.

So, we’re out of the recession (TBC), unemployment has leveled off and things might just start to look rosey again. But for first time buyers, the effects of the almighty trof we’re climbing out of may just last a little longer – as the banks and mortgage providers do their best to claw back as much as possible and pay back the taxpayer loans, we, the consumers end up the worst off.

Not only are we paying a historic high to borrow money but we can’t claim back unfair bank charges as well, good job PPI claims haven’t been stopped yet, but no doubt they’re looking into it. Anyway, if you want to get on the property ladder, check out these top 10 experts tips put together by the FT…

Over the last 5 years Payment Protection Insurance (PPI) has died a long and painful death as more horror stories seeped out of the banking vaults about mis-selling and target driven sales at any cost. Now, PPI is not only being ignored but also cancelled as people look for any way to cut expenditures during the recession.

But in a kind of double edged sword scenario, PPI is actually helping some people through the recession in the form of cash payouts from successfull PPI claims and appeals. Although this may seem like the only benefit PPI has ever provided, bear in mind that it is and will be better regulated than ever before. When sold correctly, PPI can save your blushes, credit rating and even the roof over your head.

There’s a time bomb ticking away at the heart of the UK, hundreds of thousands of families, couples and individuals stand to lose everything as a result of bad timing. What am I talking about? Well, it involves being skint and being cautious and it’s to do with the recession and mis sold PPI or Payment Protection Insurance to use it’s full title.

There are millions of people out of work at the moment and millions more worrying if they’ll be joining the dole queue at any point. The result is a tightening of purse strings and dropping of non-essential spends, which includes PPI on loans, mortgages and credit cards. Add to this the general malaise towards this type of insurance and you have people risking their home and posessions just to keep the wolf at the end of the driveway.