Legal & General Home Finance (LGHF) is the latest provider to implement a series of measures to support advisers and customers during lockdown.
The lender has launched a free equity release online study portal where advisers can study for the ER1 qualification and continue to earn CPD points. Its educational events programme is also available online.
Meanwhile, borrowers who pay some or all of their monthly interest on its ‘optional payment lifetime mortgage’ can miss up to three payments without counting towards the total of six missed payments allowed in the product terms.
Additionally, LGHF has adopted a paperless drawdown process for existing lifetime mortgage customers, by emailing documents that can be accepted electronically.
Since April 6 the lender has moved to desktop valuations for all its lifetime mortgages. It is one of several providers to adapt its processes as a result of restrictions on physical valuations during lockdown.
LGHF is using 95 per cent of the valuation to calculate the amount it can lend, to account for any differences between a desktop and physical valuation. The provider says more than 1,000 valuations have been completed so far.
The lender is also hosting a series of live webinars to offer advice, as well as share challenges with advisers.
Claire Singleton, CEO of Legal & General Home Finance, said: “We hope that these initiatives help our adviser partners and their customers navigate these extraordinarily challenging circumstances.
“We, of course, remain in constant dialogue with advisers and customers and will continue to review and adapt our processes where helpful.
“We are excited by the launch of our new online portal as, in our view, our industry has a responsibility to educate and support as many advisers coming into the market as possible.”
chloe.cheung@ft.com
