Add-on goods, contingent services and product bundling: How behavioural economics has affected the regulation of Overdraft and Payment Protection Insurance markets

The study examines influence of behavioural economic theories of add-on goods and contingent charges on the regulation of two touchstone markets in the UK. These markets, the payment protection insurance market and the market for overdrafts can both be characterised as add-on goods, have displayed excessive levels of profitability and been the focus of continuing and substantial public mis-trust. Despite these similarities, the regulatory treatment of these two markets has been very different. The paper explores the context of these cases and examines why these differences in regulatory reporting have developed