more2life

Ben Waugh, director of operations at more2life

What did your company do to earn the five-star award this year in your category?

• In 2021, we have expanded our adviser favourite Capital Choice range, as well as our Flexi Choice, Prime and Maximum Choice ranges, and now offer the highest LTV currently on the market (of 59.28 per cent) with our Maximum Super 2 plan.
• We publish our service levels on a weekly basis so customers know exactly what to expect on any given day when placing an application with us.
• We created a brand new area of our website just for existing more2life customers in early 2021, with specific content on what to expect and what to do in any instance where they might need to contact more after they receive their loan.
• We are still launching brand new plans, making our current plans more competitive than ever, and are continuing to launch new educational and practical content and resources to support advisers, no matter what.
• Organising and delivering the 2021 Later Life Lending Symposium on a fully digital basis. We gathered speakers from across the later life lending market, ensuring to include independent specialists, financial services marketing specialists, members of the ERC and LIBF. We also collaborated with the other B2B brands within Key Group, including Air Group and Key Partnerships, in order to ensure we included content relevant for a diverse professional audience across the later-life lending sector.

Why did you enhance service to advisers and what do you plan to do next year?

Advisers and their clients remain at the heart of everything we do at more2life, and we remain focused on providing advisers the best service in the market. In 2020, we worked hard to remain open throughout the pandemic, in 2021 we provided advisers with new and improved plans as well as support in transitioning to a digital world, with digital marketing and educational support. In 2022, advisers can expect yet more product innovation and educational content, but also updates to the fastpath portal and enhanced support for their existing more2life clients, so they can focus on the important work they do best: providing their clients with appropriate financial solutions.

What have you done to improve service over the past 12 months?

We have employed several updates to fastpath, our online application portal, expanded our adviser support team and their working hours, as well as deploying robotics to help with administration and paperwork. There will be some exciting updates coming in 2022 in terms of what fastpath will be capable of doing, so watch this space.

What challenges did you face and how did you overcome them?

We experienced a huge influx of business compared with what we had been dealing with in lockdown. This naturally meant we were focused on servicing the new applications coming in, and we weren’t able to give as much attention as we liked to post-application processes, particularly given remote working. But introducing robotics to help with administration really helped us train our focus back where it needed to be.

What kind of investment does good service need?

Good service requires incredible investment, as it is the beating heart of any business. Good service is what it means to process applications quickly and what therefore allows a business to transact faster. It’s what brings advisers and clients through the door in the first place, and it’s what they remember after they’ve used your services.

What do you plan to do for 2021-22?

Advisers can expect some exciting product innovation as well as more engaging educational content and market insights, but also updates to fastpath and enhanced support for their existing more2life clients.

 What does good service mean to you?

Good service is the pinnacle of reputation in the world we live in. In a world of unlimited options and highly competitive rates, excellent service and the reputation it brings is what people remember you by, and why they come back time and time again. It should be the most important topic for any business.