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* Personal Loan Protection Plan Summary of Cover * Home *
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Explaining our service
HSBC Bank plc is an Intermediary acting on your behalf and, for Personal Loan Protection Plan, deals exclusively with the product provider(s) shown below. Once the policy has commenced, the product providers will only be responsible for any claims administration. All other administration will be dealt with by HSBC Bank plc.

HSBC Bank plc is a member of the General Insurance Standards Council (G I S C) which is an independent organisation, regulating the sales advisory and service standards of its members. This membership gives important protection to customers of our Personal Loan Protection Plan.

Please note that the following elements of Personal Loan Protection Plan are not classed as a General Insurance product and, as such, are not covered under the G I S C Private Customer Code.

  • disability cover where the term of the loan is 60 months or more.
  • life assurance cover.
  • employment assistance.

A copy of the G I S C Private Customer Code is available on request from us. Alternatively a copy of the code can be obtained directly from the G I S C on 020 7648 7800 or from their website at www.gisc.co.uk.

HSBC Bank plc, is registered in England number 14259, Registered Office: 8 Canada Square, London E14 5HQ.

HSBC's Personal Loan Protection Plan is designed to cover your monthly loan repayments in the event of accident, sickness or unemployment. Life cover is also included to repay any outstanding loan amount in the event of your death. The main features and restrictions of the policy are as follows:

Unemployment
In the event of unemployment your personal loan repayments will be paid for up to 12 months, until you return to work or until you reach age 65 (whichever is the earliest). However, restrictions apply. For example* you won't be covered if:

  • you take voluntary unemployment
  • you knew or reasonably should have known about pending unemployment at the start of the plan
  • your unemployment begins within 60 days of the start of the plan.

Disability (Accident or Sickness)
In the event of disability your personal loan repayments will be paid until the final repayment date of your loan, you return to work or until you reach age 65 (whichever is the earliest). However, restrictions apply. For example* you won't be covered for:

  • self-inflicted injury
  • any medical condition which you knew about or received treatment for during the 12 months before the start date, which recurs within 12 months of the start date of the plan.

Life Cover
In the event of your death the full outstanding balance owed under the personal loan agreement (not including any payments you have missed), will be paid to HSBC Bank plc.

Personal Accident and Hospitalisation Cover
These benefits are paid in addition to disability benefit. Full details of these additional benefits can be found in the policy document, which is available on request.

* This is only a summary of cover. Full details of the cover, conditions and exclusions are shown in the policy document, which is available on request.

When will cover start?

Cover under Personal Loan Protection Plan commences once the loan agreement is made between you and HSBC Bank plc.

When cover and benefits will end

All cover and all monthly benefit payments will end:

  • if the loan agreement is terminated for any reason by HSBC Bank plc
  • on the final repayment date
  • when you repay the loan
  • when you reach age 65
  • if you cancel the protection plan
  • if you die, or
  • if you make a false claim (you will have to return any benefit payments we have made) whichever is earlier.

What if I change my mind once cover starts?

Our Personal Loan Protection Plan provides a cooling-off period of 30 days, which starts once the loan agreement is made between you and HSBC Bank plc. This means if you find that the terms and conditions do not meet your needs and you have not made a claim, you can return the policy to your branch and obtain a refund of any premium you have paid.

If you wish to cancel the policy at any point during the loan term you will incur an early repayment penalty. To cancel, you must contact an HSBC branch so that the loan agreement can be terminated, and a new loan agreement drawn up. If the policy is cancelled before the final repayment date, you will be entitled to a refund of part of your premium provided you have not made a successful claim.

Your duty to give information

It is your responsibility to provide complete and accurate information to policy providers when you take out your insurance policy and throughout the life of the policy. Please note that if you fail to disclose any material information to your product providers, this could invalidate your insurance cover and could mean that part or all of a claim may not be paid.

Claims procedure

  • Telephone our freephone number to register your disability or unemployment claim.
  • For a disability claim your doctor will need to provide a medical report.
  • For an unemployment claim an official of the Department for Works and Pensions will need to provide details.
  • For a life claim, your next of kin or legal representative will need to take the original death certificate to any HSBC Bank branch.

Any charges for providing the evidence required from third parties to make a claim are payable by you unless stated otherwise.

Financial Services Compensation Scheme

If the product provider is unable to meet its obligations under the insurance policy, you may be able to claim compensation under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. Further details of the scheme are available from the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, 7th floor, Lloyds Chambers, Portsoken Street, London, E1 8BN or www.fscs.org.uk.

Complaint procedure

Every effort is made to ensure that high standards of service are maintained, however if you need to bring any matter to our attention, full details of the complaint procedure are provided in the policy. Initially, if you are not satisfied with any issue, please write to Customer Services Department, HSBC Bank plc, General Insurance, PO Box 3, Southampton SO15 1LA.

If we are unable to resolve any complaint to your satisfaction, you may complain directly to the Financial Ombudsman Service. Details of how to do this will also be provided in the policy. The complaint procedure does not affect your right to take legal action.

Governing Law

The law of England and Wales applies to the contract, unless you normally live in Scotland (in which case Scottish law will apply) or you and the product provider agree otherwise.

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