The live chat function will be available from 8am to 6pm Monday to Friday, with the lender guaranteeing that the chat will be answered by a “genuine intermediary expert rather than a chatbot service”.

Brokers using the function last year were connected to a member of the team within 32 seconds on average, and new business calls were connected in 26 seconds.

Keith Williams, senior operational manager at Coventry BS, said: “Brokers love dealing with us because they know they’ll get a reliable answer from a real person very quickly. Extending our live chat hours means we can be there for brokers working beyond the typical nine to five and give them specialised help when they need it.

“Our live chat feature has always been really popular with brokers because it’s so simple and efficient, and there’s always a real person at the other end. It’s looked after by the same team of experts who answer our calls, so brokers can be sure, whether they pick up the phone or type a quick question in the chat, they’ll be getting through to a human expert ready to help.”

In an analysis last year, brokers were split on live chat, with some calling to eliminate it and others saying that it was a useful tool to answer small queries and allowed them to work on multiple cases at once.

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