Mortgage News 13 August 2007

Loan Market looks to life for growth David Chaplin Loan Market mortgage brokers could be cross-selling up to 70% of their lending clients into insurance products, according to the group's CEO, John Tanner. Tanner said Loan Market, previously known as Ray White Financial Services, has trained about half of its 40-strong mortgage broking force in the art of selling life insurance to "provide more value to our clients". "It is a logical step to sell life insurance. Some of our mortgage brokers already cross-sell life insurance while others have referral relationships," he said. "I expect a 30% conversion rate [of mortgage clients to life products] would be at the lower end of the scale but it could easily be up to 70%." The firm has negotiated life product distribution agreements with Tower and Sovereign and is close to signing with ING. Earlier this month the company changed its name from Ray White Financial Services to Loan Market, partly to separate it from parent real estate company, the Ray White Group. In a statement announcing the new name Tanner said: "We'll still be offering the same great home loan service, and alongside that we'll now be providing a range of the other complementary services home buyers are asking for, from home and contents insurance, life and income protection insurance." He said Loan Market currently writes over $1 billion of mortgages annually putting it in the "top five or six" mortgage broking groups in the country. "I expect we'd be number one in terms of productivity," Tanner said. Recently a number of mortgage broking firms have begun expanding into the life insurance market as banks cut back on loan commissions. Earlier this year AMP bought the Roost mortgage broking network which has begun cross-selling life products. As well, last month another firm, Mortgage Link, formed a strategic alliance with risk specialist Triplejump. Sovereign has also recently revealed it sold over $4 million of annual premium life business through mortgage brokers.