Shepherds Friendly has launched a new partnership with Primis Mortgage Network, which will see the network distribute the mutual society’s income protection products.

Primis' members comprise almost 3,000 mortgage advisers and over 1,000 mortgage and protection firms across the UK.

Through membership to Primis, advisers and firms can access its protection sourcing platform, Novium. The partnership will also see the platform distribute Shepherd Friendly’s products.

Both firms are part of LSL Financial Services, which provides mortgage and intermediaries through brands including Primis, Novium and TMA Club.

The partnership comes after Shepherds Friendly revealed last year that many people who take out a mortgage do not have sufficient protection in place.

In a survey of 2,000 people, just 14% of adults working full time said they had income protection, and of those who didn’t have a policy in place, 48% had a mortgage.

Chief sales officer at Shepherds Friendly, Phil Nash, stated: "For many households, a mortgage is the biggest single monthly expense, yet many have no protection in place to ensure they will be able to continue to cover that expense if they are unable to work due to illness or accident.

"We believe one of the best ways to change this is by raising it with people at the point they take out a mortgage, and partnering with Primis and Novium seemed a clear way to make this happen. We hope together we can increase consumers’ access to suitable income protection and improve their financial resilience."

Director of strategic partnerships at Primis, Craig Hall, added: "We’re excited to have Shepherds Friendly join our platform. Its income protection product offers some unique features that make it particularly suitable for younger people. In fact, it’s young people who are often the most exposed to financial shocks when taking out their first mortgage.

"At Primis we are determined to increase the number of people in the UK who have the right protection in place to cover their mortgage debt. Shepherds Friendly shares our goal and working together will take us one step closer to achieving that."

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