Needing income protection? Don't be sold a PPI pup

It's great that the Post Office has started selling payment protection insurance, which pays out if you are unable to work because of accident, sickness or unemployment.

This type of insurance is often sold in conjunction with mortgages, personal loans and credit cards, and has generally been overpriced and tricky to claim on. Much better PPI policies are available as standalone deals from insurance brokers. So the fact that the Post Office will publicise a reasonably competitive product - costing £4.50 for £100 of cover per month - is a very welcome step.

However, potential buyers should not simply accept what the Post Office has to offer. For example, check out British Insurance (www.bestinsurance.co.uk), which charges £1.60 for £100 cover, with a 180-day cancellation period, or ask for quotes from a policy comparison service.

Last week I wrote that the government's defence of its rejection of the Parliamentary Ombudsman's recommendation to compensate 85,000 employees who lost pensions when their firms collapsed had been misleading. Pensions secretary John Hutton claimed such compensation would cost £15bn, but the government's published response indicates the real cost would be £3.7bn.

Pensions expert Ros Altmann and the Pensions Action Group have now lodged papers in the High Court requesting a judicial review of the government's decision, seeking to prove that its response was irrational, unreasonable and unlawful. I wish them the very best of luck.