According to the commission, 14 million loan, credit card and mortgage customers have been taken for a ride by their bank or lender, which have charged them an estimated £1.4billion for insurance to cover their repayments in the instance that they were struck by illness, accident or unemployment.

The commission found that a lack of competition has led to higher prices and less choice for consumers. It also found that it is difficult for customers to compare policies or switch to a better deal, that lenders have told them wrongly that they have to buy the insurance in order to get the loan, and that some companies have subsidised attractive rates on credit with higher insurance premiums.