Monday 15th January Just an update

Just an update Monday 15th January

This week's headlines: Help us pay your broker fees quicker!

As a business we processed almost 12,000 broker fees on your behalf last year. There are occasions when a delay is caused, and we would like your help with this. This is your income that we want to pay you without delay!

Common issues: ·Name of payee differs from the OWS client record. This might be for example due to a parent paying the fee.

Solution: If this situation occurs, please email fsselfemployedaccounts@spicerhaart.co.uk with the OWS reference & Client names ·Value is different on OWS to CCPS (even by £1).

Solution: Take care to ensure that the broker fee value keyed on OWS exactly matches the amount you take via CCPS.

·OWS ID or Advice ID does not match.

Solution: Please ensure on CCPS that you carefully key either the OWS ID or Advice ID. ·Timings of the payment on CCPS to the fee being submitted on OWS. Solution: The fee being collected on CCPS should be taken after the submission on OWS.

Switching Virgin Money and Clydesdale Bank products pre-completion Virgin Money has improved its product switching policy for pipeline cases at Virgin Money and Clydesdale Bank. This means you can switch your customer’s previously selected product onto a new product from Virgin Money’s current new business range as many times as needed prior to completion.

Virgin Money know this is important to you and after listening to feedback Virgin Money is pleased to announce its updated approach. Here’s what you need to know: Product switching is available on cases that are at pre-offer or post-offer stage up until Virgin Money has received the Certificate of Title from the solicitor.

For Virgin Money cases, please complete the new Mortgage Product Switch Form which you can find on the website. There’s no change to Virgin Money’s approach for existing customers taking a product transfer and Virgin Money will continue to accept pipeline product switches as usual. Virgin Money’s website and literature will be updated in the coming days.

Find out more

Gen H launches new intermediary website Fintech mortgage lender Gen H has announced the launch of its brand-new intermediaries website to support its growing panel of broker partners, including The Openwork Partnership.

The launch of this bespoke intermediaries site is one of many ways in which Gen H is delivering on their promises to work in collaboration with broker partners, supporting them in delivering exceptional client outcomes ahead of a busy 2024.

The website includes a A-Z searchable criteria hub, slick affordability calculator, and easy access to Gen H Pro, the lender’s best-in-class case management tool. The website is also home to all new content on their bespoke booster features, real-time service levels, BDM lookup tool and easy-to-use product guides.

This new site comes hot on the heels of another major innovation Gen H delivered for their broker partners at the end of 2023: an AIpowered packaging system that automatically helps analyse and categorise client documentation using the latest tech from Google Cloud. Gen H is one of the first mortgage lenders in the UK to be collaborating directly with Google Cloud to streamline the application process.

Find out more

Join HSBC UK’s Intermediary Risk webinar HSBC will be hosting a brand new CPD approved Mortgage Fraud prevention webinar, highlighting the current challenges in the industry, how to spot fake documents, AI scams, as well as discussing ‘tipping off’.

In addition, HSBC will be continuing to run its CPD approved Introduction to Mortgage Fraud webinar. Whether you were unable to attend a previous session, or you would simply like a refresh, please join HSBC. To register for one of the webinars, please click on your preferred option below and enter your details. Once confirmed, please save the invitation to your calendar.

Attendees must register and attend individually to receive their CPD certificate for the webinar. These details will then be used to issue your CPD certificate.

CPD approved Mortgage Fraud prevention New for 2024, this webinar will take a deep dive into Lender Intelligence, managing difficult conversations and documentation fraud, whilst also covering brand new case studies that have recently been submitted to HSBC UK. Wednesday 24 January, 9.30am Monday 19 February, 12.00pm Friday 8 March, 8.30am CPD approved Introduction to Mortgage Fraud Continuing from 2023, HSBC’s Intermediary Fraud team will be covering Mortgage Fraud, the latest industry trends, intelligence sharing and best practices, whilst also working through some real life case studies.

Friday 16 February, 11.00am Wednesday 20 March, 3.00pm All webinars will last approximately 30 minutes. HSBC look forward to seeing you.

Paragon Bank - PRS Trends An all-time high in tenant demand, alongside improvements across other key indicators of the state of the private rented sector, has helped landlord confidence, previously dented by economic instability, bounce back strongly in the third quarter of the year, our latest report reveals.

Paragon Bank’s latest PRS Trends, developed using insight gained from in-depth interviews of almost 800 landlords, highlights an increase in confidence for the prospects of different aspects of lettings - capital gains, rental yields, UK financial market, UK Private Rented Sector and own letting business – compared to the previous quarter and the same period in 2022.

This is likely to be influenced by improvements across a number of key metrics that offer insight into the current state of the private rented sector, • An all-time high of 71% of landlords report increasing levels of tenant demand, up from the previous record high of 67% recorded in Q2 2023 • The proportion of landlords reporting tenants falling into rent arrears has fallen from 35% in Q2 2023 to 33% this quarter • The average number of tenants each landlord reported being in arrears fell from 1.7 last quarter to 1.3 tenants in Q3, with each owing approximately £1,900, down from £2,200 in Q2 2023 Download the PRS trends

Five facts about Vitality’s Serious Illness Cover Vitality’s Serious Illness Cover is more than just a different name for critical illness cover. By adopting an alternative approach to how the product works, more aligned to the trends shaping our world and the evolving needs of today’s consumer, Serious Illness Cover can help to deliver better outcomes and more relevant cover for your clients.

1. Your clients are more likely to receive a pay-out: Being diagnosed with an illness can have a financial impact at any stage, even if picked up early. This is why Vitality’s cover offers a severity-based approach across a broader set of conditions, allowing more comprehensive cover and increased likelihood of claim.

2. Pays out in full for 74 conditions: Serious Illness Cover 2X and Serious Illness Cover 3X both include 74 conditions where the client will always receive 100% of the sumassured, including all of the current ABI (Association of British Insurers) minimum standard definitions.

3. No arbitrary financial caps on additional payments: Because Serious Illness Cover pays out based on severity, there’s no arbitrary financial caps applied to payments.

Instead, the client is paid a percentage of their overall sum-assured, based on how severe their illness is and the potential financial impact.

4. Cover doesn’t end after a claim is paid: Unlike almost every other type of insurance, traditional critical illness cover is unusual in that following a full pay-out, cover ceases entirely. This leaves the client uninsured and often uninsurable if they need to obtain further cover after an illness.

With Serious Illness Cover, however, clients can claim multiple times if their condition deteriorates, or they’re diagnosed with a new condition. And, Serious Illness Cover 2X and 3X will pay out the full sum-assured more than once.

5. Later life cover is automatically included: Vitality’s unique Dementia and FrailCare Cover is now automatically included on Serious Illness Cover, giving your clients the choice to continue their cover beyond the normal term of their plan for longer-term financial protection.

Find out more

iPipeline training webinars for January and February 2024 Join iPipeline to look at a range of case studies and effectively source Protection for clients in the current cost of living crisis. There will be 6 webinars across January/February focused on budget driven protection looking at different generational clients and different circumstances from Single People to families and from Renters to Home Owners.

Each of the case study events below will cover • IDD & Risk Analysis • Fact Find & Affordability • Protection Sourcing • Suitability & Recommendation Cost of Living Case Study – London Renter – Gen Z – Tuesday 16 January at 11am Cost of Living Case Study - Single Parent Re-Mortgage Millennial Tuesday 23 January at 2pm Cost of Living Case Study – Divorced New Mortgage Gen X – Tuesday 30 January at 11am Cost of Living Case Study - Single Shared Ownership Mortgage Gen Z – Tuesday 6 February at 11am Cost of Living Case Study - Family of 3 Renters Millennials – Tuesday 20 February at 11am Cost of Living Case Study – Family of 5 Remortgage Gen X – Tuesday 27 February at 2pm