Bank backs Barclays challenge against PPI ban

Lloyds TSB Insurance has reported an 82% increase in payment protection insurance (PPI) claims, with the trend expected to continue into 2010.

The rise drove a £57m increase in overall claims, from £237m for the first six months of last year compared with £294m for the first six months in 2009.

The Financial Ombudsman Service has said that it receives more complaints about PPI than any other insurance product. In June it reported an increase from 10,652 to 31,066 over the past year.

Lloyds TSB Insurance finance director Steve Hughes said the company had added 30 new staff to help manage the increase in claims. “What we have demonstrated is how valuable a product it is to customers.”

The bank’s insurance arm blamed lower investment returns and increased claims for a drop in pre-tax profits from £248m to £186m.

It continued to perform strongly on its home insurance, increasing underwriting income from £433m to £450m.

The bank told Insurance Times that it would extend the HBOS in-house loss adjusting team to Lloyd’s customers. The two banks merged in September last year.

Lloyds also has backed Barclays legal challenge against the Competition Commission’s ban on point-of-sale PPI.

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