Brokers 'asleep at the wheel' - Burgesses

Independent protection insurance specialist Burgesses has accused mortgage intermediaries of being 'asleep at the wheel' when assessing borrowers' affordability for mortgage products.

Sara-Ann Burgess, managing director of the firm, argues that if the majority of mortgage brokers had been carrying out their duties in a professional manner, then far fewer homeowners would be in danger of losing the roof over their heads.

Her comments come as a new survey of estate agents suggests at least 5000 properties a week are being put up for sale by "forced downsizers".

Burgess says: "A competent financial intermediary should be advising their clients to take out insurance cover to ensure peace of mind for when the hard times inevitably do arrive.

"The fact that so many people are now facing or dealing with the nightmare of repossession suggests some brokers have been asleep at the wheel."

She adds when mortgage brokers were brought under the umbrella of regulation by the FSA almost four years ago they immediately had a duty of care to their customers.

"That duty of care extended to much more than arranging a mortgage or remortgage for their clients.

"They were also duty-bound to point out the dangers of missing mortgage payments and offering solutions to mitigate such a situation occurring - especially if this was caused by the borrower being unable to make repayments because of accident, sickness or unemployment."

IFAonline