More 2 Life has become the first volume lender the equity release sector to introduce semi-automated valuations across the majority of its product lines.

Advisers who want to offer clients access to More 2 Life’s Maximum Choice, Prime Choice, Tailored Choice and Capital Choice range can now do so knowing that a surveyor will not need to visit their potentially vulnerable clients at home in order for the case to progress.

All products are valuation fee free but to facilitate lending during this challenging period and provide added consumer protections, additional temporary lending criteria have been introduced on some products. While this varies by product, this may mean restrictions on properties with flat roofs or with none standard construction as they can be harder to value.

Advisers are urged to contact the More 2 Life support teams if they have any queries.

As part of its support for advisers during the current crisis, More 2 Life says it has also been actively working to “upskill” its homebased operational teams and make changes to its fastpath portal to ensure it can process business as quickly and as smoothly as possible.

Its online ‘Learning Lab’ also has a suite of new information and guidance designed to support advisers as they service customers remotely, including:

• Hints for homebased working
• Help on running effective telephone-based advice
• Ideas on how to keeping clients informed in a socially-distant world
• Tips to increase your website’s visibility (SEO)

Dave Harris (pictured), CEO of More 2 Life, said: “Having been monitoring the coronavirus situation carefully, it soon became clear that face to face valuations would simply not work in the world of social distancing and self-isolation. To help clients who are relying on the proceeds of equity release and support their advisers, we have been working closely with our funders to see how we can meet this challenge.

“We are therefore delighted to be in a positon to announce that we are now the first volume lender to be able to offer semi-automated valuations across the majority of its product range.  This is a hugely positive step for the industry and clearly illustrates that by working together, we can continue to serve our customers even in these exceptional circumstances.”