Responsible Life has launched a new remote advice centre to provide customers with regulated financial advice face-to-face through video conferences.

The new permanent option was launched after remote meetings with customers throughout the pandemic proved successful.

Responsible Life found that many customers prefer the convenience of not having to invite someone into their home, while those in employment prefer the ease of a video call.

The later life mortgage broker also found that video calls can overcome reluctance among some borrowers to seek financial advice early.

Through the new remote advice centre, advisers will still collect the same amount of information from customers who progress to an application, and in-person consultations with a solicitor will still be required of those homeowners who go on to complete.

The centre will initially launch with five advisers and will later expand with an additional 20 specialists.

Some of the advisers will work remotely while others will be based at Responsible Life’s headquarters in Plymouth, Devon.

The company started filling 73 positions at the end of last year and revealed it is on course to double its headcount in the city by the end of 2023.

Responsible Group’s executive chairman Steve Wilkie says he is “delighted” to make remote advice a permanent fixture for those who want it.

Wilkie explains: “Aside from the fact that retirees are incredibly tech-savvy these days and welcome the chance to jump on video calls, we’ve also discovered there’s a reluctant minority out there who are more inclined to seek advice if it’s hassle free.”

“Providing remote advice will allow us to spend more time with more customers and forge relationships that may not progress to a formal application for years, or at all. But all these customers will have received free, impartial advice early and feel more confident about the future.”

“Some customers will go through the entire application process without meeting an adviser in person, while others will take the first step remotely before inviting an adviser round to their home for a more detailed consultation. Customer choice is the key here, and anyone can choose to have an in-person visit should they wish. However, we’ll also have safeguards in place to ensure more vulnerable customers still receive longer, in-person visits if remote consultations are not appropriate,” he adds.