Category welcomes new entrant More2Life
Equity release specialist More2Life enters the mortgage provider’s table in the five-star service awards category.
Dave Harris, managing director of More2Life, said a focus on the needs of specialist equity release advisers has included the provision of webinars to provide guidance on the opportunities for growth in the market, as well as revamping company literature such as brochures “to ensure we are easy to do business with”.
Mr Harris gave an example of how the company has responded to adviser needs, saying: “Customer and adviser demand showed that some struggled to pay for initial fees and were concerned about paying up-front for applications. In response to this, we dropped the £695 arrangement fee on the Tailored Choice plan for initial advances above £50,000.
“However, product innovation is essential and has driven our approach throughout the year. In March, we improved our enhanced lifetime mortgage proposition to offer even higher LTVs to customers with medical conditions or lifestyles affecting life expectancy – the highest available on the market – through the Tailored Choice plan. To make the process as simple as possible, we have developed 13 simple health and lifestyle questions through an easy-to-use online health check to find out if customers qualify,” Mr Harris explained.
Pink Home Loans still strong but no longer rules the roost
Mortgage and insurance network Pink Home Loans remains in the five-star service awards category of the mortgage provider’s sector for the 8th year in a row, but has dropped down from last year’s top place to 7th this year.
But the year included a number of service developments according to Jon Round, group financial services director of LSL, Pink’s owner. Mr Round said: “Throughout 2015, Pink has been a trail blazer for income protection as well as for mortgage quality. Pink believes strongly that its customers required more cover through this vital protection to help ensure that when people work hard to buy a house, they can remain there no matter what might befall them.”
In addition to training and development of each adviser in the network, Mr Round said: “We launched a weekly protection newsletter and a specific income protection magazine, providing advisers with news, information and vital tips to use with their clients.”
Mr Round added that a new element of Pink Home Loan’s workshops for advisers was its Ask the Expert days, offering advisers greater opportunity to question Pink staff. This is in addition to the workshops involving product providers, and ones for brokers who are seeking to grow their business.
Santander for Intermediaries joins from 2-star rank
