The importance of meeting needs in uncertain times

That said, it’s not been the first time the sector has had to respond to wider factors - when the later life lending sector saw high levels of consumer indecision last year as a result of political and economic uncertainty, it continued to innovate and enhance its product offerings, which arguably contributed to its strong recovery in Q4 of last year and Q1 of 2020.

However, this time it’s been complicated by the effect it’s had on processes, but it’s safe to say that the market has responded well. You need only look at the way that, within a couple of weeks of lockdown being declared, lenders successfully implemented desktop valuation solutions across their products. This has meant that customers who may need rapid access to funds weren’t left waiting for full valuations to resume.

Naturally, in many cases the desktop solutions have resulted in slightly reduced LTVs as lenders and funders have sought to manage potential risk, and there have been instances where applicants had to wait for full valuations to resume due to specifics of their cases, but in most instances the workaround has acted as an effective solution in progressing to completion. Thanks to a lot of hard work behind the scenes, we were pleased to have all three of our product ranges available to consumers via DTVs by late April, allowing them to have a choice of products and plans to best suit their needs.

Similarly, when restrictions were eased to a point where a variety of valuation methods could be explored, the equity release market again responded swiftly. Many lenders now assess those cases in need of full valuations through a diligent risk assessment process, meaning that customers will have their application (and its associated next steps) reviewed in a way appropriate to their needs and circumstances. Again, thanks to the combined efforts of our teams we were able to offer a variety of valuation solutions by late May, which opened the door for applicants to access funds in a manner appropriate for their particular situation.

The sharp uptick in product flexibility was perhaps best illustrated in the recently-released Equity Release Council Spring report, which showed large year-on-year increases in the number of products now containing certain features. This includes regular payments (which saw an 80% rise between January of 2019 and January of 2020), plans accepting age-restricted accommodation (a 126% increase), and ERC-free partial repayments (a 65% rise).

We’ve understood the need for continued innovation, and in addition to carefully managing our processes in recent weeks to ensure customers have access to retirement solutions we’ve launched a new option in Heritage Freedom 40. Offering up to 40% ERC-free overpayments and 12 repayments per year, our latest development is available from age 55 (with no maximum age cap) and offering loan sizes up to £600,000 it underlines our commitment to continue innovating even during the most uncertain of times.

The equity release market has not only demonstrated its ability to adapt in the past, but also in recent weeks. However, it’s important that in developing processes to continue driving business it doesn’t lose sight of developing solutions for the ever-changing needs of its customer base - ones that are both ready and fit for purpose once consumer activity returns to where it once was.