§ Mr. BattleTo ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make it his policy to encourage insurers to standardise definitions of unemployment and disability in respect of private mortgage protection policies.
§ Mr. Jonathan EvansNo. This is an operational matter for individual companies in which the Government has no powers to intervene. The Association of British Insurers has said that insurers are guided by an individual's welfare benefit entitlement or by the legislation on redundancy in settling such claims. During their consultation on the proposed changes the Department of Social Security will discuss with insurers how best to ensure that the interface between public and private provision works well.