"This partnership with Iress represents an important milestone in making protection more accessible."
- Graham Singleton - National Friendly
National Friendly has announced a further strategic partnership with Iress to launch its Mortgage Friendly Shield product through The Exchange and Xplan Mortgage, starting from 12 January 2026.
The integration will provide mortgage advisers using Iress software with access to Mortgage Friendly Shield, the only non-underwritten income protection plan on the portal to combine sickness cover with fracture cover and a death benefit.
Since its introduction in July 2024, Friendly Shield has been aimed at individuals who may struggle to afford traditional protection products or who aren’t looking for underwritten income protection. Mortgage Friendly Shield includes access to advice from expert partners who specialise in legal matters and can provide information and guidance on legal mortgage-related queries.
The integration with The Exchange and Xplan Mortgage represents a significant step in National Friendly's distribution strategy, aiming to make it easier for mortgage advisers to protect their clients at the point of home purchase.
Mortgage Friendly Shield has a three-level structure that requires no medical or financial underwriting. Per policy year, the product includes:
Income Benefit: short-term income benefit up to £2,250 per month for up to 3 months for accidents and (if selected) sickness, payments commencing within 14 days of the triggering incident (compared to an industry norm of 30 days).
Legal information and support: access to advice from expert partners who specialise in legal matters and can provide information and guidance on any mortgage-related queries.
Friendly Dentist+: policyholder gets access to the UK’s first health-regulated, smart dental app. Designed by dentists and partnering with dentists in the UK, it provides instant and remote access to advice, guidance, and prescriptions.
Friendly GP+: 24/7 access to a virtual GP for the whole family from the policy’s opening, plus additional health and wellbeing services including physiotherapy, counselling, legal information and money and debt help and more.
Fracture cover: a lump sum benefit for bone fractures up to £3,000.
Rehabilitation benefit: a payment of up to £1,000 providing access to private facilities covering physical therapies i.e. acupuncture, physiotherapy, osteopathy and chiropractic treatment, follow-up scans, and tests and consultations.
Accidental death benefit: a lump sum payable upon accidental death up to £85,000.
Natural death benefit: a lump sum payable on non-accidental cause of death of £2,500 after a 2-year qualifying period.
The amount of cover received will depend on whether the bronze, silver, or gold tiers are selected, with premiums starting from only £10 a month, or 33p a day.
"This partnership with Iress represents an important milestone in making protection more accessible," Graham Singleton, chief executive at National Friendly, said. "By integrating Mortgage Friendly Shield directly into platforms that mortgage advisers use every day, we're making it easier for them to protect their clients at the right time.
"The beauty of this product is its simplicity – no underwriting, straightforward pricing, and quick access to valuable services. As a mutual, our purpose is to serve our members, and this partnership helps us reach more people who might otherwise go without protection."
Jacqueline Durbin, head of product - sourcing at Iress, said: "We’re pleased to be working with National Friendly to bring Mortgage Friendly Shield to advisers through The Exchange and Xplan Mortgage. Our focus is on equipping advisers with high-quality, easy-to-use solutions that help them meet clients’ needs at key life moments.
"By making this innovative protection product available within the software advisers already rely on, we’re supporting more meaningful protection conversations at the point of mortgage advice and helping advisers deliver greater value to their clients."
