The equity release sector has been moved forward significantly with the recent appointment of Andrea Rozario to the position of director-general of Safe Home Income Plans (SHIP). At a recent event held by provider Stonehaven, Rozario was able to highlight her plans and ambitions for the future of equity release, as well as addressing current issues.
Unwarranted scandal
Without doubt the sector has been the victim of unwarranted scandal in recent months. Features on Tonight with Trevor McDonald and in the national press about unregulated products have damaged the reputation of providers and affected the entire image of equity release.
Rozario admitted that the sector needed to build up confidence among the public, with an emphasis put upon brokers to advise efficiently. She also said that it was important to instruct the public that they can have faith in the products, and that the equity release market is not as suspicious as some media reports have led them to believe.
Rozario said: “SHIP has a role in educating people and customer satisfaction is more and more prevalent.” She claimed that equity release advertising and negative press coverage had reinforced an air of companies ‘perpetuating fear’, and she argued that suppliers and SHIP had ‘proven that the products are safe and the media should have a moral obligation to publish and present the true facts’.
So what can SHIP do for the future? What does it offer to the equity release sector and what can members and the public expect from the new leadership?
A passion for equity release
Rozario said: “There is an awful lot that SHIP can do and our members have a passion for equity release. What we need to do is put instructions in place and formalise ideas and make a priority of order. People need to be aware of what equity release involves so we can safeguard the change in customer needs.
“People are becoming more aware of equity release and its benefits, but we need to encourage them even more. The key factors are education, safe products, new markets to uncover and innovation in products. We need to take away the image that this is a last resort and people need to make sure they know it and are not paralysed by fear.
“All members have one common goal – to make the market grow – and we need a clear mission for what SHIP will achieve. My job is to pull it all together. We are trying to get equity release on the agenda for all financial advisers, we want them to talk to their clients about it and refer leads to an expert.”
Future is bright
So with a new director-general on board, it seems that the future looks bright for SHIP. It has someone at the top who is able to steer the company with policies and issues as guidance, and meet the needs that were originally set out.
The original intention for the director-general of SHIP was to appoint someone who will ‘focus on developing strategy for SHIP, and communications activity with the range of stakeholders in the equity release industry, including IFAs, product providers, consumers, the media, regulators, consumer organisations and government’. The chief executive also admits that increasing understanding about equity release, particularly how changed it is as an industry, and how relevant it is to today’s retirees is key for the future of the sector.
Laurie Edmans, non-executive chairman at SHIP, commented: “The decision to appoint a new, full-time director-general represents a real advance for SHIP. It highlights the united desire of SHIP members to increase activity within the equity release market while continuing its positive work to raise standards of advice for customers and IFAs.”
Positive response
There has been a very positive response to Rozario’s appointment from a member perspective. Duncan Young, managing director of Retirement Plus, says: “Andrea is setting the stall of SHIP out as a trade body rather than a group of members and it needs to inform, lobby, research and represent. It is kind of like a chair with four legs, if you take one of the legs away, it doesn’t work. One of the problems with the old SHIP was that its legs were not working at the same time.
“Andrea is there to bring the sector and the wider industry together, the only thing that surprised me was that it was a broker who was chosen to represent them. This is good as most brokers have a customer interface and in equity release you are dependent on the broker community.
“The sheer goodwill that exists between providers, brokers and SHIP to make things work is very positive – without goodwill, nothing will be achieved.”
From her first few hours in the job, Rozario seems to have her work cut out in an evolving sector. Which direction SHIP takes the sector in the coming months is yet to be forecast.
