SimplyBiz Mortgages has announced a new partnership with reg tech provider, Comentis, to create a new equity release financial vulnerability identification and assessment tool.

Aligned to the FCA’s drivers of vulnerability, the new tool aims to enable equity release firms to identify, support, and record vulnerable client activity through a clinically developed assessment process.

SimplyBiz revealed the tool can be integrated seamlessly with advisers’ existing technology and processes and can also provide users with a clear and consistent audit trail.

The firm’s head of strategic development, Richard Merrett, said that the mortgage market is witnessing a “vulnerability epidemic”.

“COVID-19 has exacerbated this issue yet further across all age demographics, including those in later life,” Merrett commented.

“Through our strategic partnership with Comentis, we are able to offer our member firms an innovative and compliant solution to identifying vulnerability within their clients in the equity release and later life lending space.

“By combining clinical expertise and data, we can now help advisers to consistently recognise and support potential financial vulnerability, even across harder-to-spot traits, such as instances of family coercion.”

Comentis CEO and co-founder, Jonathan Barrett, added: “With the FCA estimating that one in two adults could be at risk of financial vulnerability, the chances are that most advisers in the later life lending space have already assisted such a client.

“However, financial vulnerability can be hard to identify beyond physical health and life-event triggers, putting undue pressure on advisers not trained to identify what are often mental health conditions.

“We believe this proposition is more important than ever in the equity release space. Advisers have a duty of care to their customers and this tool makes it easier for them to do that. Our partnership with SimplyBiz will complement the important and honourable work that they already do around vulnerability.”

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