Cirencester Friendly
The Income Protection Professionals
We at Cirencester Friendly are the Income Protection Professionals. Providing you expert knowledge with a personal service and award-winning Income Protection contracts.
Below you will find a reminder of the key components of our products and services.
As a Mutual Society, we are not only there when our members need us most, but also go above and beyond to ensure that our contracts deliver more than just a contractual financial pay-out.
- Our products and added benefitsWe have an Award-winning Adviser services team who are here to help.
- Our products are inclusive, with no premium loadings for occupation, smoking or hazardous pursuits (excluding motor sports).
- Guaranteed premiums with a choice of level or annual escalating.*
- In 2023, we paid 95.8% of all claims submitted, totally more than £9.3million.
- With no call centres, you will be put though to our dedicated Adviser Services Team, ensuring personalised assistance for your queries.
- All members can access our exclusive added-value benefits such as GP24, Children’s Critical Illness Support, Friendly Voice, and more.
- Being a mutual society means we are member-owned and have no share-holders to pay – all decisions are made with our members in mind.
*Subject to age band increases, indexation, and contract changes
Want to find out more?
It’s so easy to register! Click below to sign up with us and start working with our teams.
more2life
Apex is coming back and better than before…
Pre-register now to be notified ahead of Apex’s return and to be front of the queue for access to KFIs.
With even higher LTVs of up to 52%, and the return of the shortest fixed ERCs in the industry – just 4 years – Apex is here to help you provide great customer outcomes.
We’ve also made improvements to our lending criteria:
- Removal of the 15% haircut on flats
- Increase to the acceptable percentage of flat roofs, now 50%
- Increase to the max property value eligibility, now £2m (£3m in London and the South East)
Apex is now also 5 Star rated by Defaqto, meaning it provides one of the highest-quality offerings on the market.
Don’t miss out. Pre-register for KFI access now!
Halifax Intermediaries
Foster carer income accepted
We will now use foster carer income in our affordability calculations to support customers working in this sector with homeownership.
The income will be accepted on any new applications.
This income should be entered as self-employed income with two years figures entered and income will be verified to tax calculations / tax year overviews as standard for self-employed. Foster children should be keyed as dependants.
Key information
There are a small number of foster care workers that are employed rather than self-employed, for these individuals the income should still be keyed as self-employed and we will accept a letter from a foster care agency with two years’ figures as proof of income.
More details…
Our website Criteria ‘Income keying and Acceptance’ section will be updated shortly.
Hodge
Introducing our new proposition: Hodge Resi
As of Thursday 22nd August, we’ve rebranded our Professional Mortgage range into the newly propositioned Hodge Resi range. With this we’ve decreased our rates and added a fee free option. These will be available through Hodge, live right now on our website. – Live rates here.
Our ‘Hodge Resi’ proposition will provide more inclusive borrowing options for your customers with complex income requirements, from age 21 up to their chosen retirement age.
But what is Hodge Resi and how can it better support customers?
- Mortgages from age 21 up to retirement
- 100% of current and future multiple income sources accepted for both employed and self-employed borrowers
- Interest only assessed on an interest only basis for affordability
- Enhanced affordability including LTI up to 6 x joint
- Earned income up to age 80 accepted.
James Enos, our national account manager, said of our new proposition:
“Hodge has always been perceived as a later life lender and this is in our DNA – but Hodge Resi demonstrates we’re more than that. We’re reacting to the changing face of the market and can now lend to all – from those who are first time buyers to those who are in much later life and are looking to upgrade their homes, move locations and support their wider families.
“The launch of Hodge Resi is just the start of us answering the call of our broker partners, to ensure they are getting the products they need to properly and responsibly serve their customers.”
Got a question about Hodge Resi? Reach out to the team.
Providing you with responsible, specialist mortgages remains at the forefront of our decisions.
Not registered with us yet? Make it simple: Register here to submit DiPs, track your cases and upload documents.
For up to date details of all our rates and criteria visit our intermediary site.
If you want to know more about re-fixing rates for your customers, it’s here.
Pure Retirement
Partial Repayments Calculator: Demonstrate Repayment Benefits to Clients
Specialist lifetime mortgage providers, Pure Retirement, continue to support financial advisers with innovative and practical illustrative tools.
To demonstrate the benefits of making optional partial repayments to your prospective clients, Pure Retirement provides a handy online repayments calculator. With this calculator, you can show the impact these optional repayments have on your client’s balance over time, the equity remaining and if any early repayment charges are applicable.
e.surv Chartered Surveyors
In today’s competitive market, providing clients with added value is essential. By recommending e.surv’s comprehensive house surveys, you can distinguish yourself as a trusted advisor who goes above and beyond.
Why e.surv?
By recommending e.surv surveys, you’re not just offering a service; you’re providing a safety net for your clients. Our comprehensive surveys identify potential issues before they become costly problems, protecting both your client’s investment and your professional reputation.
Expert Insight
Our expert surveys identify potential issues early, ensuring that your clients avoid costly surprises. This proactive approach helps safeguard their investment and reinforces your role as a trusted advisor.
Professional Edge
Position yourself as a market leader by partnering with e.surv. Our trusted brand and thorough reports reflect well on your business, enhancing your reputation for excellence.
Client Confidence
When your clients know you’ve got their best interests at heart, it builds trust and leads to positive referrals. A satisfied client is a loyal client—and one who’s likely to recommend your services to others.
By partnering with e.surv, you’re demonstrating your commitment to their best interests and building long-lasting relationships.
Market Harborough BS
Our new look and Best for Brokers Promise
We’re excited to unveil our new broker brand with a modern, vibrant logo and colour palette and enhanced website. We wanted our brand to represent exactly what we do and how we do it and we feel this bold, sleeker brand does just that. We’re still the same Market Harborough that you know and love, but now with an added spark. And that’s not all!
Best for Brokers Promise
Our branding has changed, but we certainly haven’t. That’s why we’ve launched a Best for Brokers Promise, which shows how we put you first, always. This encompasses five key commitments:
- Yes means yes – Our daily Credit Committee gives quick decisions you can rely on.
- Five-star service – Award-winning service from our complex case experts.
- Human touch – Easy access to your dedicated underwriter and regular updates.
- No surprises – We guarantee at least 24 hours’ notice of any product withdrawals.
- Easy as 123 – Hassle-free journey with 24/7 Case Hub access.
Find out more, including our CEO Iain Kirkpatrick’s thoughts behind the new look brand and renewed commitments to you.
As a bridging finance and complex case specialist, our experts are on hand to guide you through your simple and more out-of-the-ordinary scenarios. Whether you’re new to us, or have known us a while, here’s a reminder of exactly who we are and what we do.
eConveyancer+
We’ve been listening… Watch out for a new standard in conveyancing
Over the past year, we have been actively engaging with our broker partners, clients, and panel conveyancing firms to identify and address key pain points within the conveyancing process. This effort has been fundamental in shaping our journey toward elevating standards and ensuring we meet the expectations of all parties involved.
Through extensive conversations and feedback sessions, we have gained a deeper understanding of the challenges and frustrations. By placing these insights at the heart of our strategy, we are committed to driving meaningful improvements and setting a new benchmark for conveyancing excellence with better communication.
Our goal is simple: to deliver a more efficient, transparent, and client-centric conveyancing service that benefits everyone, from brokers and conveyancers to the clients they serve. The valuable input we’ve received has been instrumental in identifying areas where we can raise the bar, and we are confident that our upward journey will lead to a smoother, more seamless experience for all.
Coming onto the most exciting part, we’re preparing to unveil eConveyancer+, a new level of service standards which are set to transform the conveyancing experience for you and your clients.
eConveyancer+ goes beyond traditional conveyancing, setting a new standard for our conveyancers to provide a premium service. This will be paired with a brand new, real-time Communications Scoring Tool which we can’t wait to show you.
It isn’t just about enhancing your clients’ experiences – it’s designed to make your lief easier too. By cutting down the time you spend dealing with conveyancing issues, eConveyancer+ lets you concentrate on growing your business and delivering exceptional service.
Register your interest today and be the first to find out more. We’ll send you all the information you need vis email, so you can start enjoying the benefits of eConveyancer+ as soon as it launches.
Look out for the logo eConveyancer+ on the platform and enjoy more confidence, better communications, and less hassle on every conveyancing case.
Legal & General
CPD Academy refresh – now live
Are you looking for new ways of positioning protection with your clients? Find them with our refreshed CPD Academy training this summer.
What’s new?
- 10 CPD webinars recharged with new learning objectives
- Latest insights and selling techniques for personal and business protection
- Condensed topics in fewer sessions – helping you get more out of your day
All 10 webinars run live throughout the year, giving you plenty of opportunities to ask questions in our Q&As. Find a time and date that works for you and register today.
Zurich
Talkin’ about their generation
Peter Hamilton, head of market engagement, Zurich, discusses the challenges the industry faces in engaging with Generation Z.
‘Gen Z’ – what are they like? They introduce the word ‘like’ into too many sentences for my liking, something they’ve inherited from millennials. Of course, social media ‘likes’ are an important currency.
But there’s more, I learned a lot at the recent Protect Z event, where all of the speakers were under 30, with a few undercover boomers swelling the ranks of a largely youthful audience.
We heard about the evolution of language – ‘platty joobs’, the ‘genny lec’, ‘cozzie livs’ as well as menty bs (more of which later). Gen Z refers to individuals born between the mid-to-late 1990s and the early 2010s – they represent some 25% of the global population, it will be the predominant cohort in the workforce by 2030. For a more detailed exploration of Gen Z, I’d recommend the Oliver Wyman’ A-Gen-Z’ report here.
The ‘Protect Z’ opening address was by Clodagh Griffin, a 27-year-old journalist and content creator, who gave a really engaging talk on reaching a younger audience via social media, which was then built on via a panel debate.
United Trust Bank
UTB could raise the roofbeams for this couple, where others might not
UTB Second Charge Loans can cater for customers in a wide variety of circumstances. However, most of our actual cases don’t illustrate just how accommodating we can be with adverse credit, non-standard property types and homes in locations some other lenders just won’t touch.
Maybe some brokers look at difficult cases and think ‘no chance’, when actually they might be right up our street.
Here then, is a fabricated second charge scenario (yes completely made up) to show you just how flexible UTB can be if given the opportunity.
Home extension and debt consolidation with a CCJ.
Mr & Mrs T were looking to release some capital from their timber framed home to complete an extension to their property plus some other home improvements. In addition to creating an extra ground floor bedroom for their son, who was returning from university, they also wanted to create some additional office space and use some of the capital released to pay off the finance on their second car. Mr T has one CCJ on his file from an old, contested parking ticket. The couple’s 1st charge mortgage was also on a low fixed rate with another 4 years to run so they were reluctant to give this up by remortgaging.
UTB were happy to offer a £72,000 second charge loan at 75% LTV on a Prime plan.
Give us a call if you have something similarly unusual you would like us to look at:
Call 0207 031 1551 or email mortgage.enquiries@utbank.co.uk
Check our product and criteria guides on our website.
Market Financial Solutions
Latest educational guide on MUFB’s
In this guide, we will break down everything investors need to know about multi-unit freehold blocks (MUFBs), and how specialist finance can help them invest in these assets. We’ll explore:
- The different types of MUFBs available
- The potential risks and rewards associated with these properties
- Insights on the key legislative requirements involved
There are also useful tools shared, such as our free-to-use MUFB finance calculator, and a case scenario for how MUFB finance can be utilised.
Click here to download the full guide on multi-unit freehold blocks.
www.mfsuk.com
+44 (0)20 7060 1234
info@mfsuk.com
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