The Financial Services Authority's (FSA) publication of payment protection insurance (PPI) compariso...
The Financial Services Authority's (FSA) publication of payment protection insurance (PPI) comparison tables has received criticism for adding to product confusion felt by potential customers.
The comparison tables, accessed through the regulator's website, take information from consumers regarding their personal and financial details and then collates a table of available PPI products.
However, the system has been criticised for the complexity of the information it presents.
Simon Burgess, managing director of British Insurance, said: "They are unduly complex, even with someone with 25 years' experience in PPI. What hope in hell does the ordinary consumer have?"
He added: "If moneysupermarket.com can simplify it, why can't the FSA? We don't need 145 different options - what we want is information to hand without the need to supply unnecessary information. The results are multiple product offerings from providers instead of the best offers."
Burgess said all advisers needed guidance, and the FSA had failed to offer this, despite having the resources in place to do so.
He said it had caused "greater confusion and complexity".
In response, the FSA said the tables were not supposed to take the place of proper financial advice but were instead a guide for the consumer.
David Whitely, spokesperson for the regulator, said: "The tables give as much information as is practical."
