Starting from 31 March 2010 BIGBANK offers innovative product - consumer loans, which automatically include unemployment insurance in case of credit holder unexpected job loss. Such insurance compensates the loan payments of a credit receiver up to one year.
According to the Head of BIGBANK AS Lithuanian branch, Rolandas Norvilas, the product offered under the name Safety Loan is in its essence an ordinary consumer loan, but exclusive for including loan insurance in it. The insurance cover added to the loan gives an additional sense of security to the credit receiver that when becoming unemployed, the loan will not create financial difficulties. "In a sense it is a banking product of a new generation, in which additional values and a greater sense of security for both the credit receiver and the credit provider has been created by combining several financial services," Norvilas noted.
In case of undesired unemployment, for example due to redundancy or temporary incapacity for work, of a receiver of BIGBANK's Safety Loan, ERGO Kindlustuse AS insurance company shall compensate his/her loan payments in the extent of up to 12 months. In case the credit receiver dies, the insurance company shall fully compensate the outstanding loan amount, unpaid by the moment of death. When becoming unemployed several times, the maximum compensated period of loan payments is 24 months. The insurance period depends on the maturity of the loan contract of the credit receiver, but the insurance shall not cover a longer period than 5 years.
The loan amounts of Safety Loans begin from 1000 LTL and the usual BIGBANK interest, which is fixed and does not depend on changes in Euribor or other base rates, is applied to the loan. Unemployment insurance cover does not bring along any additional expenses for the client.
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BIGBANK AS is the biggest bank in the Baltic States, specializing in consumer loans and term deposits for private persons. At the end of 2009, BIGBANK had 394 employees in 28 customer service offices in the Baltic States and Finland. BIGBANK offers term deposits as cross border services in Austria and Germany.
The BIGBANK AS Lithuanian branch started to operate in Lithuania in September, 2007. Currently, BIGBANK has 10 customer service offices in Lithuania: in Vilnius, Kaunas, Klaipėda, Panevėžys, Šiauliai, Marijampolė and Mažeikiai.
