Payment protection insurance – or PPI – is offered to most consumers when they are applying for a mortgage, auto or personal loan or even a credit card. The intent of PPI is to protect consumers from financial ruin in the face of a personal crisis. If you had PPI coverage and were faced with the inability to earn income due to illness, accident or loss of job, the policy would then cover the monthly payments on that loan until you were able to resume responsibility.

That is how PPI is designed to work and how it is intended to work. However, that is not always what happens. Many financial institutions and lenders have been guilty of mis-selling this insurance. One of the most common manners in which consumers were mis sold has to do with eligibility. Many policy holders have been surprised to find that they were never eligible for the coverage – but only after trying to make a claim and after making premium payments for the duration of the loan.

People who are typically not eligible for PPI policies include those with specific pre-existing medical conditions, including chronic back problems, and the self-employed. If you are in one of these groups and are sold a policy, there is a strong chance that you were mis-sold and you should take action right now.