Later life lending platform, Air, has announced it is to provide Air Academy members with access to a financial vulnerability assessment tool from software firm, Comentis.

With the upcoming Consumer Duty regulation due to increase the focus on supporting vulnerable customers, the Comentis tool is designed to assist advisers in better identifying, tracking, and helping clients while at the same time documenting the steps they have taken.

The Comentis software will sit within the health section of Air Sourcing’s fact find and suitability report function, WriteRoute, and will be available to all Academy members for free who have completed the new vulnerable customer module.

Advisers can evaluate a customer’s financial vulnerability across the four triggers defined by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which are health events, life events, resilience, and capability. The tool can also help advisers understand the links between specific circumstances and their impact on the individual.

Furthermore, the Comentis’ tool can create assessment reports that analyse the circumstances that could impact customers, and can identify the measures advisers can take to support vulnerable customers in line with individual firm compliance frameworks. Air suggested that advisers who use Comentis will be able to demonstrate compliance with Consumer Duty through several different avenues.

“As the FCA Consumer Duty deadline approaches, it is essential that our members have the tools to correctly identify and support vulnerable customers while clearly documenting how good outcomes have been achieved,” said managing director of Air Club, Mike Taylor.

“We understand that any legislative change can be a challenge and are committed to working with experts like Comentis to help our members carefully and successfully navigate through this process.”

CEO and co-founder of Comentis, Jonathan Barrett, said: “With this integration, our goal is both to simplify and to normalise the process of assessing clients for signs of vulnerability. Not only would this ensure advisers are providing the best outcomes, but it would also mean they can rest easy in the knowledge they’ve exercised the appropriate due diligence about vulnerable customers.

“By working with Air Group, and combining our technology, we’ve made it possible for advisers to easily identify at-risk customers with minimal impact on their existing fact-finding procedures.”

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