Glossary of Financial Terms for PPI Claims

There are many financial terms which we may not have heard of before, so do not know what they mean. To help the people understand what they mean, below is a list of the most common terms and acronyms with a simple explanation of what they mean:

APR: Stands for Annual Percentage Rate - the amount of interest a company charges

Arrears: Amount relating to missed payments to your creditors

ASRI:  Stands for Accident, Sickness, and Redundancy Insurance/cover - a type of PPI

ASU:  Stands for Accident, Sickness, and Unemployment Insurance/cover - a type of PPI

Balance Transfer: Transferring the entire balance of one credit/store card to another in pursuit of 0% interest rate for a fixed period

Bankrupt: An insolvency procedure to cancel debt

BBA: Stands for the British Banker’s Association, and is the voice of British banking. Its role is to promote and defend the banking industry that includes foreign banks

Broker: A middleperson that arranges finance or insurance

CCJ: County Court Judgement

CCI:  Stands for Credit Care Insurance - a type of PPI

Claim: An action to pursue money potentially owed to a person

Claim Pack: Plevin pack which requires completing before a claim can proceed

Credit: A sum of money offered to allow an individual to make a purchase

Credit Card Number: The 16-digit number in the centre of your credit card

CPI: Stands for Credit Protection Insurance, a type of PPI

Cut: The amount of money that a firm will take from your compensation award

Debt Management: A programme to help consumers control their credit

Default: An overdue payment - usually 30 days after the pay due date

Direct Debit: A monthly payment facility made with a bank, that allows the transfer of money to a third party on an agreed date.

Employment Status: Means if a person is self-employed or employed, retired, disabled, unemployed or a student, for example

FOS: Stands for Financial Ombudsman Service - an impartial service that can deal with complaints about most financial services products. They can rule in dispute situations, providing the bank / financial organisation has had an opportunity to resolve the dispute first.

FCA: Financial Conduct Authority, a government body which has the power to regulate the banks and other firms who sell financial products such as payment protection insurance.

FSCS: Stands for Financial Services Compensation Scheme, who protect consumers when authorised financial services firms fail

GISC: General Insurance Standards Council

IFA: Independent Financial Advisor

IVA: Individual Voluntary Arrangement

LASRI: Stands for Life, Accident, Sickness, and Redundancy Insurance - a type of PPI

LASU: Stands for Life, Accident, Sickness, and Unemployment Insurance - a type of PPI

Letter of Authority: Letter granting a named party right of access to personal information, such as bank account details

Letter of Engagement: Letter granting a named party the right to represent you in a legal capacity

Loan Agreement Number: Unique reference number that identifies yourself with the financial institution/lender/issuer of the loan

LPI: Stands for Loan Protection Insurance - a type of PPI

Lump sum: a single payment of money

Mortgage Broker: A company acting on behalf of a mortgage lender

MPI: Stands for Mortgage Payment Insurance - a type of PPI

No-win-no-fee: Law firms helping people with Plevin claims will only charge if they are able to recover money for the claimant

Percentage: The rate per hundred charged.  Before committing to a company insist on knowing what percentage cut will be taken

Pre-existing medical condition: The person taking out the insurance already suffered from a medical condition, this group were never covered by PPI

Premiums: The amount you pay each month or year, for PPI

PPI: Stands for Payment Protection Insurance, which is sold along with a loan, mortgage or credit card, so that if you cannot repay the original loan, for example if you lose your job, the repayments are covered

PPI Calculator: An online tool to calculate how much PPI compensation you may be owed

Reference Number: The number present on any finance agreement

Retired: No longer working, this group were never covered by PPI

SAR: Subject Access Request

Self-employed: A person who works for themselves, this group were never covered by PPI

Single Premium: A PPI policy that is charged upfront as a large payment

Store Card Finance Account Number: This is a retail operator credit facility which may be a loan or credit account card

The Lending Code: A voluntary code of practice requiring banks and financial companies not to mislead customers, to lend money in a responsible way and to act when things go wrong, among other things.  Most UK banks have signed up to it

Unemployed: A person who is not in employment of any kind, this group were never covered by PPI