Lender Completes 100,000 Equity Release Loans
Over the course of the past few years, there has been a significant increase in the popularity of equity release loans for those individuals either approaching, or already in retirement, as more and more people use the equity built up in their home to provide additional funding for their retirement planning.
This month, Aviva, formerly Norwich Union, achieved a landmark point in its equity release loan business, by completing its 100,000th loan case of this type.
Aviva were one of the first companies to start offering equity release loans in their current form, back in 1998 and since then, they have offered £3.2 billion in equity release loans.
They were also one of the first companies to join SHIP (Safe Home Income Plans), which has significantly improved the image of the equity release loan business by introducing guidelines to help consumers fully understand the loan products they are taking out, as well as offering extra protection for consumers.
Equity release loans can be used for any legal purpose and are most commonly used for providing a lump sum of money for home improvements, a new car or once in a lifetime holiday, or just to provide an additional income through retirement to supplement existing pension plans.
Andrea Rozario of the trade body, Safe Home Income Plans said “The equity release industry has changed significantly over the years, with the creation of SHIP and the regulation of the product by the Financial Services Authority.”
“The fact that Aviva has helped over 100,000 customers release cash from their home demonstrates the value that customers are seeing from the SHIP code of conduct that all SHIP members have to abide by, such as the no negative equity guarantee.”
