Winterthur Life UK is gearing up to compete directly against IFAs, banks and building societies thro...
Winterthur Life UK is gearing up to compete directly against IFAs, banks and building societies throughout the UK under a blueprint drawn up to dominate the mortgage-related protection and home loan markets.
The company is planning to use its high street network of over 1,000 tied independent estate agency offices to promote its Mortgage Answers brand as a business in its own right, raising both the commercial value and public awareness of the Winterthur name.
At present its mortgage and protection business is only being sourced through people buying and selling houses via its estate agencies, which includes high street brands such as Haart, Spicer McColl and Reeds Rains.
Mortgage Answers already offers a 'fully protected' mortgage that includes non-compulsory life cover, critical illness, income protection and full contents cover.
Gary Hurry, Winterthur mortgages marketing manager, said: "We want to take Mortgage Answers to the point where someone walking past one of our estate agencies will walk in and take out a mortgage and related protection products, even if they are buying or selling their house elsewhere. If we can pull this off then every area of the mortgage market will have something to fear."
Lenders have traditionally been the dominant player in the mortgage chain, but Winterthur is planning to implement a profit-sharing system, elevating the role of the adviser and shifting the emphasis away from the current concentration on procuration fees.
Hurry said: "It is a win-win scenario. Mortgage Answers is our best kept secret. We want to sell the service we can provide, not just the product, bringing the positive values of a broker and bank onto a single platform. We want to own the mortgage business in the estate agency sector as it is a great way of doing business."
The Mortgage Answers brand is still in its infancy but a three-stage strategy for growth will be "well under way" for full implementation by the end of the year.
"Our first stage was launch. The second is making the branches look and feel better, projecting the brand identity of Mortgage Answers through our high street network. The third stage is about taking that brand above street level and marketing it as a business in its own right.
"We have to get into a market position where people can walk in off the street without thinking that they have to buy a house. As such, we are planning to compete with the IFA market, banks and building societies."
Martin Gracie, financial services director at Reeds Rains, the North's largest chain of independent estate agency offices, said: "Anything that can establish a greater awareness of the Winterthur brand has got to be a good thing. This is about simplifying the mortgage application process for the customer and it is a positive step forward."
Last year Winterthur's total loan origination value was some £2bn, made up of around 40,000 cases. The life company also has funds under management of £2.2bn.
