The addition of Friends Life to the protection panel and HSBC to the lender panel has been met “with huge gratitude as it further cements the competitiveness and width of the proposition meaning our members can offer even more choice to their customers,” Toni Smith said.
She added employees have been trained in the latest developments and the regulatory changes in both the protection and mortgage market so that they will be able to sympathise with brokers’ position.
Ms Smith said: “We like to think of ourselves as one big family and pride ourselves in knowing some of the individual characteristics about our members and their businesses, which we hope is reflected in the service we provide to our members.
“All our staff undergo ongoing training to ensure they can provide the most knowledgeable and appropriate support to our brokers. We like to think we always go that extra mile to ensure our members are fully supported and are receiving the best level of service from us.”
The mortgage and insurance network has been ranked in the five-star category for the ninth year in the row.
4. BM Solutions
Buy-to-let (BTL) specialist lender BM Solutions’ tenure in the five-star service awards category now spans a decade, after receiving further commendation in the latest Service Awards survey.
Phil Rickards, head of BM Solutions, said the firm’s impressive run in the annual feature is partly attributable to responding to broker feedback from quarterly surveys.
He added: “In 2016, we focused on providing a 24-hour service level throughout the application process. The Decision in Principle on the BM ‘One Minute Mortgage’ is one of the quickest on the market. This informs brokers if a case will be accepted, and which documents are needed when upgraded to a full application.”
Following a plethora of regulatory changes introduced under the Mortgage Credit Directive, implemented in March 2016, the lender introduced a simple solution to help brokers through key questions on its online system and route the application.
Some of the lender’s more practical developments include the introduction of a document upload facility to speed up the service and to make it as paperless as possible, and the launch of a new website.
Mr Rickards said: “As a market-leading BTL lender we consistently look for ways to better support brokers. Upcoming BTL tax changes are key, and we will soon introduce an intuitive, tailored solution.
“After this, we will start thinking about how we implement the PRA minimum underwriting standards for portfolio BTL lending ahead of September 2017.”
5. RBS Intermediary
It is 19th time lucky for RBS Intermediary which marks its maiden appearance in the five-star service category.
A spokesman for the lender said broker services have been enhanced with the introduction of its online mortgage application tracker tool providing 'real-time' updates on each individual case.
