The Family Building Society, which is new building society that launched this week, is including in its mortgage product a pioneering new feature called payment waiver.
Developed by Cuna Mutual Group, the world’s largest insurer to the mutual sector, payment waiver is designed to help borrowers should they lose their income through an accident, illness or unemployment.
If this occurs, the homeowner contacts the lender and, subject to verification, the mortgage repayments are met for up to six months. No arrears are built up and credit scores are unaffected while the person is off work.
The Family Building Society, part of National Counties Building Society, has embraced payment waiver in its new Family Mortgage, which allows parents and grandparents to support their children and grandchildren onto the property ladder, without having to give away money now.
Paul Walsh CEO at Cuna Mutual said: “The fact that a building society is now live with payment waiver is huge step forward and a sign that the industry is waking up to the fact that offering borrowers the right protection is the right decision to make.”
Already live with credit unions across the UK, Cuna’s payment waiver is a transparent feature of the loan – backed by an agreement between the lender and the insurer which comes at no additional cost to the borrower.
Mark Bogard, CEO of the Family Building Society said: “The Family Building Society adopted the waiver payment solution for the Family Mortgage because the potential customers that we spoke to wanted the added security for themselves in taking on a loan but particularly for the families supporting them – this is especially important for young people taking on a mortgage for the first time.
“Young people told us that they did not want their parents or grandparents to put their savings or homes at risk if they temporarily found themselves without a job. The Family Building Society is entirely focused on helping families through well-designed mortgages, savings and other products and the payment waiver is part of that same philosophy – providing a safety-net when it’s needed most.”
