Equity release does have a future, sector insists
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Aviva and Safe Home Income Plans are both insistent that there is still a place for equity release despite Prudential’s withdrawal from the sector yesterday.
Prudential pulled out from the sector yesterday saying that it wanted to allocate its capital resources more effectively.
But Aviva, one of the few significant players left in the equity release market alongside Just Retirement and LV=, says they remaining fully committed to growing their market share.
Clive Bolton, director of annuity business and equity release at Aviva, says: “As a company, we believe in providing our customers with the widest possible range of retirement solutions and see equity release as an integral part of our offering.
“We will continue to see an increase of equity release being used as part of retirement planning as the equity in retirees’ property becomes an increasingly large part of their assets to fund retirement.”
Andrea Rozario, director-general of SHIP, says: “We are naturally disappointed that Prudential has decided to withdraw from the equity release market.
“In the current economy finding sufficient funding is an issue that many organisations face and this shows that equity release is not immune to these issues.”
But she adds: “We firmly believe that there is a strong market for this product – now and in the future.
“We hope that as the fallout from the credit crunch eases and liquidity returns to the equity release market, that Prudential as well as other big financial brands will consider adding equity release to the portfolio of products they provide.”
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