Just Group is offering personalised interest rate and LTV options across its Just For You range of lifetime mortgages, as it adds medical underwriting to equity release.
The Just For You range means intermediaries can now personalise a lifetime mortgage to each individual client, offering the opportunity to secure more competitive interest rates and increased LTV.
Just Group disrupted the Guaranteed Income for Life market by introducing medical underwriting that ensured retirees maximised the income from their pension savings, with an estimated two-thirds receiving rates that were more competitive than non-medically underwritten offers.
Expanding medical underwriting within the equity release sector, sees Just Group estimating around six in 10 lifetime mortgage customers could achieve better outcomes from having their lifetime mortgage application medically underwritten.
Stephen Lowe, group communications director at Just Group, said: “This could mark the beginning of the end for standard Lifetime Mortgage interest rates.
“Rather than telling clients what the rate is and the limit of how much they can borrow, advisers will increasingly be able to discuss a client’s own unique rate and available borrowing based on their individual medical conditions and lifestyle factors.
“The Just For You Lifetime mortgage has been a big hit with advisers for giving a menu of options and features such as interest-servicing, tiered interest rates, drawdown options, payment holidays, cashback, access to additional borrowing and fixed early repayment charges.
“By incorporating the client’s medical conditions and lifestyle factors advisers are now equipped to create better outcomes for their clients by creating a bespoke solution of better interest rates and for those that need it higher borrowing capacity.”
Lowe believes that the lifetime mortgage market is a major growth area for advisers as more retirees look for new ways to use the value in their home to meet their retirement aspirations, make gifts to the next generation and put inheritance plans in place.
He added: “Medical underwriting delivers personalisation to ensure customers achieve better value and improved outcomes. Advisers led the charge to give clients better value in the guaranteed income for life market and we know they will positively embrace this change and demonstrate the same kind of leadership.”
Michael Hush, head of product at Age Partnership, added: “The move by Just to offer medical enhancement across their full range of plans really broadens the range of options for our customers. As part of our gold standard level of advice, we already ask full medical questions to all customers during the fact-finding process.
“With Just plans now in the mix, it means that we can find each customer the best plan for their specific situation factoring in the extra plan choices, rates and flexible features. We all know that additional choice for customers across the whole-of-market, is only a positive for both the individual and the industry overall.”
the new products should be available on Air Sourcing and Advise Wise later this week. Jonathan Thirkill, CEO of Advise Wise, said: “There’s been strong innovation in the lifetime mortgage market during the past few years and advisers can now customise products to meet customers’ needs and circumstances. The introduction of medical underwriting by Just across its lifetime mortgage range marks a big step forward for the sector and it makes it possible for advisers to truly find the best solution for each client.
“It will be exciting to see Advise Wise members starting to benefit from this brand new way of pricing and we’re sure the rest of the sector follows suit.”
