Providing peace of mind

The following article is written in association with more2life

“A very basic human need is security, to be able to survive and have a roof over your head,” explained Fran Green, national accounts and networks manager at more2life, a specialist in lifetime mortgages, that provides flexible equity release plans to the over 55s.

“The beauty of equity release is that it is a product that can give you absolute peace of mind that you can remain in your home for the rest of your days, for as long as you like. It's that safety net that equity release gives you.”

Noting that adverse credit was a growing problem in the UK, for those struggling with the cost of living, she continued: “You’re never going to be at threat of having the thing that is very often most precious to you - your home and all the memories that you have in it - taken away from you at any time. Nobody's going to knock on that door and take that security away from you.”

Green clearly imbues the passion that runs through more2life in its mission to help people make the most of their retirement. Its lifetime mortgages potentially let people transform the money tied up in their properties into tax-free cash lump sums, enabling them financial freedom.

Yes, much of the Preston-based business has a serious purpose, helping older borrowers retain the homes they love, but there’s another side to its work, realising its customers’ wildest dreams.

“There's plenty of aspirational stuff we see that's just joyous,” Green confided. “People who want to raise money to take their family on that holiday of a lifetime or improve their home. We’re passionate about developing unique plans that can be tailored to people’s individual circumstances.”
With over 30 years’ experience working in the financial services sector, Green has enjoyed success working with providers, distributors and networks alike and, through her work at more2life, works with 10 of the country's top 20 broker firms. But despite her long career, she can still be affected by the work she does.

“I do get quite emotional,” reflected Green. “It's a passion, it's not just a job. I tend to work quite long hours and my daughter says to me, ‘Mum, why can't you just finish at five o'clock like everybody else? Why do you got to check your emails over the weekend?’. I reply, ‘Because this lady needs her mortgage, otherwise her care provider won't get paid and she will not have the care that she needs or another person, if they don't get the money that they need, they're going to lose their home.’ It's hugely rewarding work.”

Evidently dedicated to the private, equity-backed firm that’s been her employer for over two years, Green expanded: “We’re often described as the largest later life lender in the market. However, when I speak to people I say, ‘Don't think of us as a single lender - we actually have six different funding lines. Behind each one of those funding lines is a different funder, with different criteria, a different customer demographic, different features and benefits, such as credit risk certifications and downsizing protections. So, think of as a panel of lenders, with six different product ranges in their own right.

“One of the things that makes us quite special in the market is because we do have that, what I call, power of panel. So, if you've got a customer that's a modest borrower, who can chase the best rates, we've got products for that. But if you've got a customer at the other end of the spectrum that needs to chase the max release, and they're not that bothered about the rate because they need just to get the most out of the property, we've got products at that end of the market as well - and we've got ones in between. So, we have the broadest customer footprint in equity release, with more funders than anybody and more options, in terms of customer need, products and features.

“If something goes wrong - for example, a valuation comes in that makes it outside of that funder’s policy and they won't lend anymore - we can use that power of the panel to switch across to another funding line and get people from a decline or cancel back up and running and on their way to offer and completion within a very short period of time.”

Working closely with the intermediary market, more2life’s relationship with brokers is vital, Green said. 

“We wouldn't exist without them,” she declared and added: “There are advisors out there who are scared of lifetime mortgages and equity release. If they reach out to professionals in this industry and have a conversation about their concerns, they can really understand the product. There's most definitely customers out there for whom equity release would be a better solution.”

So, how did she think the current market was faring?

“In the later life market, interest rates are about average to where they always have been historically,” Green reasoned. “But we had an anomalous low-rate position a couple of years ago and the rates are higher now. So, there’s that perception that people have and they are waiting for them to reduce back down, but that was the exception - this is the norm. Any rate reductions that you're probably going to see this year will be competitively-driven rather than economically-driven.”

Green remained optimistic.

“There are still customers out that who need help, and we've got funders who still need to fund, still have the appetite for lending in this market,” she acknowledged. “We have already seen improvements in loan-to-values. As we get confidence back in the market, funders will start broadening their footprint to be able to help even more people and we know there's pent up demand there.

“In my personal view, I do think when we get to the end of this year, we'll have seen that house price deflation won't have been the cliff drop that everybody was predicting it to be and there will be some stability around markets and rates.”

Innovation is key to more2life’s proposition, and it will roll out new products over the coming year, including making Flexi Choice widely available after an initial limited introduction.

Several versions of the ‘Flexi Choice’ plans are available either as lump sum plans, or with a drawdown facility. They differ in the size of the loan-to-values they offer, the interest rate and the minimum and maximum loan amount that can be taken – so that a plan can be customised to meet individual needs.

“I absolutely adore the product because, especially in the overarching world of Consumer Duty, it's fabulous for having a rich discussion with customers about offsetting foreseeable harm,” Green enthused. “With Flexi, the plan evolves with you. You can use it as a launch pad to have a conversation with a customer to say, ‘Do you think your circumstances may change in the future, would you value a plan that would be able to change with you?’

“It's been in the market for a while, starting with specialists, and now it's going to be available to every equity release advisor in the market. I think for all of those customers that haven't had access to this before, they're going to get better terms than they would previously have been able to get.”

In conclusion, Green highlighted more2life’s tangible impact on the way its customers lived.

“There are things that we do which truly are life changing and it makes me very, very proud to be in this market,” she said.