PPI – Notice to Executors, Deputies and Attorneys
Are you or have you ever acted as an Executor, Deputy or Attorney? If so you should consider if a PPI claim may be relevant.
As you may be aware by the current extensive publicity, the deadline to lodge claims involving mis-sold Payment Protection Insurance policies is the 29th August 2019. In common with other law firms throughout the country, we have recently received guidance from the Law Society and the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP), that in some cases executors have received compensation from PPI policies mis-sold to the deceased person whose estate they are administering.
As part of the administration of the estate a personal representative is in a position to make enquiries and submit claims for potentially mis-sold products on behalf of the deceased. The same applies to Deputies or Attorneys who have or are acting for a Donor or Protected Party.
Please note that once the deadline has passed it will no longer be possible to bring about such claims.
Making a claim is a relatively straightforward process and we recommend that you undertake this yourself. The process is free of charge and involves making contact with the financial institutions where the deceased held accounts. Please note this would also include products held and closed during the deceased’s lifetime. In the case of a donor, this would apply where they have held or still hold accounts. PPI may be linked to financial products such as mortgages, loans, credit cards and insurance policies.
Many financial institutions have contact forms to establish whether individuals held PPI on their websites with dedicated information pages to assist you. You can also find guidance on the Gov.UK website, Citizens Advice and the FCA (Financial Conduct Authority) website at www.fca.org.uk/ppi. The FCA website also has a useful tool to assist you with checking with each provider if PPI was held, this can be found at www.fca.org.uk/ppi/how-to-check/search-for-provider , if PPI was held by the deceased the financial institution will log a claim on your behalf before requesting further details from you to progress the claim.
Please note that even if the deceased or donor made a claim for PPI during his or her lifetime, (or whilst they still retained capacity) that was subsequently rejected they may be due further compensation under ‘Plevin’. This relates to high levels of commission earned by the provider from the sale of PPI. More information is available on the FCA website referred to above.
In the case of estates, if any compensation is received by an estate from mis-sold PPI then it would fall to be distributed amongst the beneficiaries of the estate according to their entitlements. If Inheritance Tax (IHT) was payable on the estate or the value of the claim results in inheritance tax being payable, the compensation amount received will need to be reported to HM Revenue & Customs and additional IHT may need to be paid.
If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact our Private Client team at private.client@templeheelis.co.uk
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