Consumer Duty
Your Guide to Backing Consumer Outcomes
The FCA's Consumer Duty is a set standard to deliver best outcomes for consumers, by placing greater expectations on lenders and advisers. Explore how this affects equity release advisers and us as a lender.
View statements
36%
of people surveyed viewed financial firms as honest and transparent. (FCA, Financial Lives Survey 2022).
Consumer duty is the opportunity to change this.
We uphold accountability by maintaining complete transparency with our regulators and disclosing our rewards.
What is consumer duty?
The FCA Consumer Duty sets the standard that firms should give to customers in retail financial markets and sets expectations that can be applied to products, services, and business models.
It's designed to guarantee that customers are at the heart of business practices. Providing products and services that meet their needs and communicating to customers in a way that enables them to make informed decisions about their finances.
Our fair value product statements
To help you, we've detailed our target market and distribution strategy
We've detailed our target market and distribution strategy for each lifetime mortgage product. These product statements illustrate how we design, monitor, and review our products to ensure ongoing fair value and alignment with the financial objectives of consumers, including those who are vulnerable.
Underwriting criteria
Sovereign
Wide-ranging LTVs and underwriting criteria, with up to 12 repayments a year.
No upfront fees
Classic
Some of the most competitive rates, and a wide range of LTVs.
Interest servicing available
Heritage
Lump sum and drawdown products, plus the option to service interest.
7-year fixed ERCs
Emerald
High LTVs with up to 12% ERC-free partial repayments.
What our CEO says
“The FCA's Consumer Duty has set higher and clearer standards of consumer protection. We're committed to delivering the best outcomes for all our customers, whether supporting advisers directly or helping our customers achieve their financial goals.”
Paul Carter, CEO
What our CEO says
“The FCA's Consumer Duty has set higher and clearer standards of consumer protection. We're committed to delivering the best outcomes for all our customers, whether supporting advisers directly or helping our customers achieve their financial goals.”
Paul Carter, CEO
The 3 cross-cutting rules
Cross-cutting rule 1: Acting in good faith
Explore how acting honestly and openly is officially defined and why this impacts your firm's culture.
Cross-cutting rule 2: Avoid causing foreseeable harm
Learn about how to keep customers' best interests at the forefront.
The 4 consumer outcomes
Both advisers and lenders are accountable for good consumer outcomes and safeguarding customers. Like any other financial service, the equity release process must abide by the four outcomes
Products and services
Price and value
Consumer understanding
Consumer support
What we are doing as lenders
Having won multiple industry awards for our support and service, we're acutely aware of the role we play in securing the best outcomes for our lifetime mortgage customers and we've appointed a Consumer Duty Champion at board level.
We regularly review our products to ensure they are in line with changing customer needs. View our target market and product fair value statement.
We research the segmentation of our customer demographics for better understanding.
Our new and evolving account management platform enables customers to self-manage their plans.
Stay informed with our recorded webinars
Consumer duty resources
We've collated a variety of informative webinars in partnership with later-life sourcing experts, Advise Wise, and specialist speakers to help equity release advisers stay informed. Login to our portal to watch them, or register with us to gain exclusive access.
Webinar
The FCA's thematic on later life advice
Hosted by John Lonen (Deloitte), Lyndsey Fallon (Deloitte) & Scott Burman (Pure)
Watch now
Webinar
Personal Accountability and Record-Keeping to Mitigate Foreseeable Harm
Hosted by Jane Mullan (Pure), John Somerville (LIBF) & Julie Pardy (Worksmart)
Watch now
Webinar
Customers Come First: What Does Consumer Duty Mean for Your Service Offering?
Hosted by Jane Mullan (Pure), Thomas Brett (Contact State) & Ryan Mansell (ERA)
Watch now
Webinar
Consumer Duty and Vulnerable Customers: Are You Prepared?
Hosted by Jane Mullan (Pure) & Simon Chalk (Later Living Now).
Watch now
Webinar
How Are Pure Retirement Embracing Consumer Duty
Hosted by Ed Halliwel (Pure) & Daniel Edmondson (Advise Wise)
Watch now
Webinar
Consumer Duty: Talk to the Experts
Hosted by Ed Halliwell (Pure), Scott Burman (Pure), Jane Finnerty (SOLLA), Kelly Melville-Kelly (ERC)
Watch nowLearn more about consumer duty and lifetime mortgages
For more in-depth insight into how consumer duty impacts lifetime mortgages, you can call our team and even book in a personal visit to your offices.
Contact us