July/August 2022 Reverse Mortgage Magazine

Europe also hasn’t faced negative reaction or backlash with equity release products, such as what happened in the U.S. in the early years of the HECM program. That means that European companies have been able to focus on the positive aspects of equity release products without having to address poor publicity. Those positive images and reviews helped during the pandemic, when there was a need for increasing the awareness of equity release products and how they can help people age in place. “When it comes to the situation in mainland Europe—in less-developed markets—there had been an initial emphasis on face-to-face presentations a few years ago to explain the product, but this approach had to be revised in the light of the pandemic,” Kyle says. “Nowadays, many of our members are producing television advertisements, for example, to reach their target audiences as part of their marketing efforts.” Lessons of the Past Two Years In Europe, the COVID-19 pandemic prompted new entrants into the market, which suggests growing consumer demand, he adds. “Firstly, there is evidence to suggest that, as people were literally forced to stay in their homes, people started to see their homes in a new light, and began to think about home improvements, which can be funded out of equity release solutions,” he suggests. “Secondly, since in a number of countries there were, sadly, many deaths among elderly people who caught COVID while living in private care-home facilities, the idea of staying in your own home as an elderly person has been seen as a safer option to avoid infection.” A third impact was that the pandemic led to reduced income or job losses for many people of working age. Equity release solutions were then used by elderly people to tap home equity to support their families because the options to obtain traditional forms of credit were limited, Kyle says. “While it may be too early to judge the long-term impact of COVID-19 on product sales, we consider that the pandemic has shown people that equity release can be an attractive and viable option,” he says. Equity Release continued from page 21 22 REVERSE MORTGAGE / JULY-AUGUST 2022

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