The lender is using a combination of data provided by valuer E.surv, information about the borrower’s local area and the opinion of a Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyor (RICS) qualified surveyor.
The temporary valuation process applies to Maximum Choice, Prime Choice, Tailored Choice and Capital Choice products.
The process has been introduced for the majority of its product but some property types are excluded.
Remote valuations on flat-roof properties and those that are made of a non standard construction may not be allowed.
If a borrower lives in a property with these features, advisers should contact the More 2 Life support team.
Portal changes
To support advisers, the lender has given its operational teams extra training and has made changes it its portal to make sure cases can be progressed quickly and smoothly.
Its online hub has been updated with information and guidance to help advisers serve customers remotely including: tips for home-based working, keeping clients engaged and making websites easy for borrowers to find when they are searching online.
Dave Harris, chief executive, More 2 Life, said: “Having been monitoring the coronavirus situation carefully, it soon became clear that face to face valuations would simply not work in the world of social distancing and self-isolation.
“To help clients who are relying on the proceeds of equity release and support their advisers, we have been working closely with our funders to see how we can meet this challenge.”
