Norwich Union has reduced rates on its fixed rate lifetime mortgage; Standard Life has reviewed premium rates for its Lifetime Protection Series (LPS) and Mortgage Express has announced that its lifetime mortgage captured over 30 per cent of the intermediary market during 2004. The announcements made in the space of a few days led to forecasts of market growth.
Roger Hillier, product development manager at Mortgage Express, said: “The overall lifetime mortgage market saw modest growth throughout 2004. The outlook for 2005 is very positive, we expect the market to benefit from recent FSA regulation and in turn to grow by 30 per cent to £1.5 billion.”
Dean Mirfin, business development director at Key Retirement Services said: “The growth highlights customer need for products with high loan-to-value, keen rates and low early repayment charges. The outlook for the equity release industry is undoubtedly positive.”
Norwich Union’s fixed interest rate for lifetime mortgages introduced by intermediaries will be reduced to 6.68 per cent. The overall cost for comparison is 7.1 per cent APR.
Mark Kelly, director of Norwich Union Personal Finance, said: “The cost to Norwich Union of raising funds has come down and we are pleased to be able to pass this benefit directly onto consumers by cutting our fixed rate of interest for the second time in 2005, making our new rates the lowest ever offered by Norwich Union.”
Standard Life has reviewed the premium rates for its Lifetime Protection Series (LPS). The latest rate review builds on improvements made on 24 January when it also launched its Protection Online system for advisers. On average, premiums have been reduced by around 3 per cent but the range of reductions is up to 23 per cent.
