Later life mortgage broker Responsible Life has launched a dedicated Remote Advice Centre (RAC), where customers can get regulated financial advice face-to-face over video call.
The broker’s advisers were forced to conduct remote meetings with customers throughout the pandemic while in-person visits were impossible.
These proved so successful that the company has now decided to make video conferences a permanent option.
Until March 2020, when Covid-19 erupted in the UK, all Responsible Life’s appointments were held in person.
However, repeated lockdowns were a learning experience for the company, which discovered that large numbers of customers prefer the convenience of not having to invite someone into their home.
Busy customers including those still in employment often prefer the ease of video calls, which also offer added benefits to those with additional needs.
For example, family members can easily accompany consultations with parents or older relatives wherever they are in the world. If a customer is deaf or hard of hearing, they can turn on the subtitle functionality built into the video platform instead of relying on lip reading.
Responsible Life has also found that video calls can overcome reluctance among some borrowers to seek financial advice early. Many customers are put off asking for financial guidance because they aren’t confident that they will proceed with an application and don’t want to feel like they are wasting advisers’ time.
Advisers will still collect the same amount of information from customers who progress to an application, and in-person consultations with a solicitor will still be required of those homeowners who go on to complete.
The RAC launches with five advisers but Responsible Life will be recruiting an additional 20 specialists, who will be specially trained to provide the best customer experience over video. Some of the advisers will work remotely themselves while others will be based at the company’s headquarters in Plymouth, Devon.
The company is already engaged in an extensive recruitment drive. Responsible Group began filling 73 positions late last year and is on course to double its headcount in the city by the end of 2023.
Responsible Group consists of later life mortgage broker Responsible Life and lifetime mortgage lender Responsible Lending. Responsible Life was founded by entrepreneur Steve Wilkie in 2010 and has become one of the most prominent brokers in the industry.
Steve Wilkie, executive chairman of Responsible Group, said: “We’re delighted to make remote advice a permanent fixture for those who want it.
“Aside from the fact that retirees are incredibly tech-savvy these days and welcome the chance to jump on video calls, we’ve also discovered there’s a reluctant minority out there who are more inclined to seek advice if it’s hassle free.
“Some people just don’t want to feel like they’re wasting your time but this is something we want to combat.
“A remote offering solves that problem at a stroke, encouraging those who are uncertain about the way forward to seek the financial advice they need early rather than letting anxiety fester.
“Providing remote advice will allow us to spend more time with more customers and forge relationships that may not progress to a formal application for years, or at all. But all these customers will have received free, impartial advice early and feel more confident about the future.
“Some customers will go through the entire application process without meeting an adviser in person, while others will take the first step remotely before inviting an adviser round to their home for a more detailed consultation.
“Customer choice is the key here, and anyone can choose to have an in-person visit should they wish. However, we’ll also have safeguards in place to ensure more vulnerable customers still receive longer, in-person visits if remote consultations are not appropriate.”
