If you are looking for an insurance plan that will cover your loan, mortgage or credit card repayments should you have an accident or lose your job, there is one particular insurance policy designed for this. Payment protection insurance, also known as PPI, is a type of insurance policy devised to assist consumers who find themselves unable to continue to go to work.

The insurance premium is paid as either a one-off, lump sum amount, often known as single-premium payment protection, or a regular premium for a set amount can be paid each month. In the case of people with credit cards, the premium is usually dependent on the outstanding balance of the card.

In theory, the policy works well and a number of people have had to make claims on the policy, especially in the recent economic climate. However, many people have had their claims denied, due to restrictive clauses in the policy. This has given rise to a number of ppi claims being made by people with payment protection insurance who have come to realise that they may not actually need the cover or the plan might not be suitable for their needs.

If you have taken out one of these policies and you are unsure whether the policy is actually suitable for you, it may make sense to contact a claims management company to see if you can claim back the premiums you have paid into the policy. They usually work on a no win no fee basis. A company like Simplicity Claims can handle your claim for no upfront fees which means that they don’t charge their success fee if they can’t get you your money back.