'Notable lead' for service levels in later life lending revealed in new adviser survey

The report which covers H1 2022, has been designed to give advisers a collective voice for providing feedback on providers’ service levels and Air is using the results to work with providers to help improve service standards across the sector.

Over 250 smaller advisers, who accounted for 14% of all equity release business in H1 2022, rated providers they had used on five key service areas and three net promoter factors.

The providers whose service levels were reviewed as part of the ‘Temperature Check’ were: Aviva, Canada Life, Legal & General, LV=, Just, One Family, more2life, Pure Retirement and Standard Life Home Finance.

For overall service, Canada Life came first, followed closely by Pure Retirement and Legal & General.

Canada Life (79.59%) also came out top in the Net Promoter Score category followed by Pure Retirement (75.64%) and Legal & General (73.33%).

Air says Canada Life has "maintained a notable lead across all categories", moving up into the top of the rankings. In ‘Would Recommend’, Canada Life also improved its score.

However, there are some notable changes across the categories with Pure Retirement in particular moving up into the top rankings. Standard Life Home Finance, which has been operating for under 12 months, made its first appearance in the temperature check and managed to snap a top three position in “goes the extra mile”.

In this fifth iteration of the ‘Temperature Check’, Air has included the service provided legal firms, an essential part of the later life lending process. For overall service, Boyd Legal ranked top, scoring 7.77 out of 10. It was followed by Gilroy Steel (7.03) and Equilaw (6.68). Boyd Legal again came out on top in the communication and response time categories, while Equilaw topped the category for online Service. Out of all the categories, it was online service that produced the lowest scores for the legal firms.

Stuart Wilson, CEO at Air, commented: “The fifth iteration of the Temperature Check arrives in the aftermath of a challenging economic period. It is therefore heartening to see that many providers have risen to the occasion across several key adviser-focused services. That said, there is always room for improvement as well as the need to fight to maintain service levels at the top of the table – especially in light of current volumes which suggest that 2022 will be a record year.

“For the first time we invited advisers to share feedback on service provided by legal firms operating within the sector. In providing not only conveyancing services but also independent legal advice, these firms are a vital cog in the later life lending machine, and it only felt natural to incorporate this assessment in our report.

“We congratulate all the providers who ranked in the top three positions. Throughout the industry, average performance is on the up, and it’s undeniable that lenders are weathering the storm of shifting regulations and government restrictions to provide a slick and engaging service.

“However, a few providers have slipped slightly in a few of the performance categories, which may prompt some to consider how they use the feedback they have received to their best advantage. Our mission is to ensure every word of feedback is taken on board and channeled into making decisive improvements to elevate the experiences of advisers and ultimately customers.”