The Ombudsman’s Office has opened an investigation into the interoperability of unemployment insurance or life that many people have been forced to subscribe to access a mortgage, with insurance companies that belong to the same financial group entities are granting the loan. Faced with complaints from citizens, the Ombudsman, Maria Luisa Cava de Llano, opened in late October an official investigation to the Bank of Spain and to the Directorate General of Insurance and Pension Funds.

The current economic crisis has led to the arrival of several complaints, the institution said that relate the situation of citizens who, having lost their jobs, companies have requested the implementation of unemployment Protection coverage and have been is denied. The reason that no claim for compensation insurers is that customers do not have a permanent employment contract, which apparently was a requirement of the policy. We must remember also that of the policy premiums are high, being calculated on the basis of the loan or monthly fees.

The Ombudsman has also received complaints from military officials and to those who have also forced banks to underwrite Accident Sickness and Unemployment to the loan, knowing that they are not likely to lose their jobs. In the case of the military, even to risk having a job are excluded from the coverage of death of the life insurance. These customers, knowing that there is no possibility to cover the contingency of unemployment, and of death in the case of the military, believe that there has been no clear information and transparent set by the banks, the lack insurable interest. They have therefore asked the insurance companies canceling policies and return of premiums paid, a request that is being rejected, resulting in unjust enrichment of the insurance companies belonging to the same banks that have not run any risk .

According to the Office of the Ombudsman does not seem possible that banks excuse lack of knowledge of the employment situation of their clients, because among the documents necessary to grant mortgage loans is the employment contract or similar. So know before forcing subscribe to insurance policies that do not meet the fundamental requirement to deploy coverage, permanent employment contract, which causes a lack of insurable interest.