Air, the platform for later life lending professionals, has worked with Comentis to launch its ninth Air Academy module focusing on Vulnerability.

While older customers are not necessarily vulnerable, they are more prone to vulnerability and the new module covers a range of topics from mental capacity to identifying and recording vulnerability to financial abuse and scams. Working closely with the Air team, the development of this module has been spearheaded by industry specialists Jon Dunckley (About Consulting) and Tim Farmer (Comentis).

Air Academy offers a range of modules which are accredited by the London Institute of Banking and Finance and aligned to the Equity Release Council’s Competency Framework.

Once advisers have successfully completed the programme, they will earn accredited status and gain permission to display a ‘Accredited Later Life Lending Professional’ digital badge to promote their later life credentials. This new Vulnerability module sits outside this current framework and is designed to be an accessible resource that advisers of all levels can benefit from.

Dunckley, founding director of the About Consulting Group, said: “Vulnerability sits at the heart of Consumer Duty – and for good reason. While advisers deal with customers who face these challenges each day, my own research suggests that they often operate on an intuitive understanding rather than one based on more tangible principles.

“Working with the team at Air as well as Comentis, this module aims to provide solid foundations for firms of all sizes to develop their knowledge and better serve vulnerable customers. This is a great step forward for the industry and I urge advisers to take the time to develop their understanding of this crucial topic.”

Tim Farmer, clinical director and co-founder of Comentis, said: “With Consumer Duty just around the corner, it’s more important than ever that advisers can provide vulnerable clients with the best possible support. Through feedback we’ve received from those working in Later Life Lending, we’re aware of how challenging this can be, and I’m therefore pleased to have helped develop this module.

“I hope it will help advisers to better understand the complex nature of vulnerability, how we can all be uniquely affected by a vulnerable circumstance and how to respond when faced with a client in need.”

Mike Taylor, managing director of Air Club, added: “We are delighted to work with two acknowledged experts in this field to launch a new Vulnerability module for Air Club members. Empowering our members to deliver better outcomes for customers and build more successful businesses is at the heart of what Air is about and we will continue to build on this over the coming months.”