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Lifestyle Select Options
The highest release available in the range, using medical and lifestyle underwriting so that clients in poorer health can borrow more against the same property.
Dingle Peninsula, Co. Kerry · Maoileann, CC BY-SA 4.0
Who it is for
Clients whose health or lifestyle supports enhanced terms
What it does
- Medically underwritten for a higher loan to value
- Health and lifestyle questionnaire at application
- Lump sum or drawdown structure
- No negative equity guarantee retained
The product in full
Lifetime mortgage lending is limited by how long the loan is expected to run, because the longer it runs the more the rolled-up interest grows against a property value that may not keep pace. So a lender that knows a loan is likely to be shorter can lend more against the same house.
That is what this product does. A health and lifestyle questionnaire is completed at application, and where the answers indicate a shorter expected term, the loan-to-value available rises — up to 53% on enhanced terms, against up to 41% on the standard product. On a £350,000 property that is a difference of about £42,000.
It is worth being direct about what is happening, because clients notice: this is the same underwriting logic as an enhanced annuity, and it points the same way. A client in poorer health is offered more, not less. Nothing about the protections changes — the no negative equity guarantee is retained in full, and the loan can be structured as a lump sum or as a drawdown facility.
The questionnaire is therefore worth completing carefully rather than quickly. A client who understates a condition out of habit or pride reduces the amount available to them, and it is one of the few forms in financial services where that is true.
Literature
Product literature is issued to appointed intermediaries. Ask your underwriter, or request it through the enquiry form.
- Key facts illustrationOn request
- Health and lifestyle questionnaireOn request
How it works
What happens, in order
From the first enquiry to the point the cover, the contract or the facility is in place.
The broker identifies that enhanced terms may apply
Where health or lifestyle factors are present. Minimum age 55.
The health and lifestyle questionnaire is completed
At application. It establishes whether an enhanced loan to value is available and by how much.
The property is valued and terms issued
Up to 53% loan to value on enhanced terms, with a Key Facts Illustration.
A lump sum or drawdown structure is chosen
Both are available. A drawdown structure keeps the undrawn part free of interest, as on Capital Select Options.
Interest rolls up and the loan is repaid on death or care
With the no negative equity guarantee retained in full.
The numbers
A worked example
Illustrative arithmetic, so the shape of the product is visible rather than described. Nothing here is a quotation or a projection.
A £350,000 property, standard against enhanced terms
A client of 68 whose questionnaire supports enhanced terms. Illustrative loan-to-value figures.
- Property value
- £350,000
- Standard loan to value at this age
- 41%
- Available on standard terms
- £143,500
- Enhanced loan to value
- 53%
- Available on enhanced terms
- £185,500
- Additional release
- £42,000
- No negative equity guarantee
- Retained
- Structure
- Lump sum or drawdown
Illustrative. The enhanced loan to value depends entirely on the questionnaire and the underwriting outcome for the actual client, and 53% is the maximum available on the product rather than a figure any particular applicant will reach.
What enhanced underwriting releases
Available on the illustrative £350,000 property above.
View these figures as a table
| Value | |
|---|---|
| Standard terms, 41% | £143.5k |
| Enhanced terms, 53% — Same property, same age | £185.5k |
Suitability
Where the Lifestyle Select Options fits
The cases it answers, the cases it does not, and what an underwriter needs before quoting.
It is the right answer when
- Clients whose health or lifestyle would support a shorter expected term.
- Cases where the standard loan to value falls short of what the client needs.
- Clients who want the higher release with the guarantees unchanged.
Look at something else when
- A client in good health with no lifestyle factors — the questionnaire will not improve their terms and Advantage Options is likely cheaper.
- Anyone unwilling to complete health underwriting.
What we need to quote
- 1.The broker’s suitability assessment and the clients’ ages.
- 2.The completed health and lifestyle questionnaire.
- 3.Property details and value, and the amount required.
Questions
What brokers ask us about this product
Why does poorer health increase the amount available?
Because the loan is expected to run for less time, so less interest is expected to roll up against the property. It is the same logic as an enhanced annuity.
Is the no negative equity guarantee weakened on enhanced terms?
No. It is retained in full. The higher loan to value is the only thing that changes.
Will 53% always be available?
No — it is the product maximum. The actual figure comes from the questionnaire and the client’s age, and most enhanced cases land below it.
Request information
Ask us about the Lifestyle Select Options
The form reaches an underwriter in Dublin. If you are an intermediary, say so and we will route it to the broker desk.