Shepherds Friendly has agreed a distribution partnership with Primis Mortgage Network for its income protection products.
The agreement will give Primis advisers access to the mutual society’s income protection range, with distribution also taking place through Novium, the protection sourcing platform launched in late 2024.
Primis has almost 3,000 mortgage advisers and works with more than 1,000 mortgage and protection firms across the UK.
Shepherds Friendly, Primis, Novium and TMA Club are all part of LSL Financial Services.
The deal is intended to support wider use of income protection alongside mortgage advice, with Primis and Novium focused on helping ensure borrowers have suitable protection in place when taking out a mortgage.
Research carried out for Shepherds Friendly last October, based on a survey of 2,000 people, found that 14% of full-time working adults in the UK had income protection. Among those without a policy, 48% had a mortgage.
Phil Nash (pictured), chief sales officer at Shepherds Friendly, said: “For many households, a mortgage is the biggest single monthly expense, yet many have no protection in place to ensure they will be able to continue to cover that expense if they are unable to work due to illness or accident.
“We believe one of the best ways to change this is by raising it with people at the point they take out a mortgage, and partnering with Primis and Novium seemed a clear way to make this happen. We hope together we can increase consumers’ access to suitable income protection and improve their financial resilience.”
Craig Hall, director of strategic partnerships at Primis, added: “We’re excited to have Shepherds Friendly join our platform. Its income protection product offers some unique features that make it particularly suitable for younger people.
“In fact, it’s young people who are often the most exposed to financial shocks when taking out their first mortgage.
“At Primis we are determined to increase the number of people in the UK who have the right protection in place to cover their mortgage debt. Shepherds Friendly shares our goal and working together will take us one step closer to achieving that.”