In addition, the total number of queries it received was an 18% increase on the monthly average seen during 2020.

The queries included concerns surrounding lending for adverse credit borrowers, lenders accepting self-employed borrowers who have used the government’s Self-Employment Income Support Scheme and lenders accepting borrowers with furloughed income.

In addition, cases regarding second or holiday homes, solutions for right-to-buy borrowers and income protection products covering multiple and complex medical conditions were also queries received by PRIMIS.

Between March and December 2020, PRIMIS supported brokers with 18,746 queries in total, and throughout 2020 it resolved 23,777 queries from advisers.

Vikki Jefferies, proposition director at PRIMIS, said: “January marked a strong start to the year for our product desk team, with a record number of queries from brokers coming in as this community looked for additional support to help them with client cases.

“Investing in our adviser members has continued to be a priority for us during the COVID-19 pandemic, and it is extremely encouraging to see a high number of brokers taking advantage of our product desk team’s expertise to help them provide customers with the best possible outcomes.

“Sharing best practice is at the heart of what we do, and we look forward to seeing more of our advisers make the most of the support available via the product desk over the course of 2021.”