"Many of our brokers have already built strong partnerships with Just Wealth advisers, which will be reassuring as they now look to refer over clients for protection."
- Carl Parker, national director at Just Mortgages
Mortgage brokers can now utilise Just Wealth’s financial advisers to help clients with their protection needs as well as wider financial advice such as pensions, savings, and investments. This will help to streamline the process for brokers, increasing their own bandwidth and the level of coverage.
This support comes after the implementation of the Consumer Duty at the end of July. The Financial Conduct Regulation (FCA)’s Duty has been designed to eliminate foreseeable harm and ensure good outcomes for consumers. Since the protection gap has been identified as a “clear challenge for the industry,” a lack of protection can be seen as foreseeable harm.
Citing recent research conducted by the FCA, as part of its Financial Lives survey, Just Wealth highlighted that more than half of adults in the UK (53%) haven’t have any form of protection in the last two years. This survey also revealed that nearly 13mn people have low financial resilience.
Commenting on this announcement, Dave Magee, head of wealth at Just Wealth, has said:
“In the current climate and with the arrival of Consumer Duty, it’s never been so important for brokers to have meaningful conversations with clients about protection. When that isn’t always possible, our new service allows Just Wealth advisers to step in and ensure that the mortgage is fully protected and the client isn’t left exposed.”
“We’re already in the process of overhauling our entire referral process to make it easier for brokers to refer and maintain a clear line of sight throughout that journey. Best of all, brokers benefit from the revenue share and ensure their regulatory requirements are met. Through our annual reviews, our advisers will be able to regularly monitor the suitability of products as required by the new Duty, all while keeping clients warm for brokers for their next remortgage period.”
Carl Parker, national director at Just Mortgages, added:
“In a busy brokerage, protection can all too often be a poor relation to mortgage advice. In the spirit of Consumer Duty and delivering the best service to clients, this cannot be the case.
“However, this great partnership with our sister firm Just Wealth presents a real opportunity for brokers to increase protection, maximise every transaction and stay on top of compliance. Many of our brokers have already built strong partnerships with Just Wealth advisers, which will be reassuring as they now look to refer over clients for protection.”
