It’s May! And summer is just around the corner. This month, we are getting prepared for those beautiful summer days (hopefully!). And with the Spring Bank Holiday at the end of the month, we have lots of great reading material to help you feel ready, organised, and on top of your finances this summer. From mortgage news and affordable homes across the UK to top tips for your home insurance, protection, and private medical insurance policies. We even have an article for our over-55s who are looking to renovate and maximise their garden ahead of summer, using Later Life Lending. Happy Reading!
After some turbulent years, the UK mortgage market is showing signs of maturity and resilience. For borrowers who plan, there are genuine opportunities. As your trusted broker, we are here to help every step of the way. We’ve researched and spoken to industry professionals to give you an update ahead of summer. So, you can relax and enjoy the warmer weather.
The government is actively supporting borrowers
In March 2026, the Chancellor met with lenders representing 75% of the market to discuss practical support available to borrowers. After this, mortgage lenders confirmed their commitment to the Mortgage Charter . This is a meaningful signal that borrowers in difficulty won't be left without options. Plus, lenders are being held accountable for fair treatment.
Arrears are falling
Despite the rate environment, borrowers are proving more resilient. Mortgage arrears levels fell to 92,100 in 2025, down from 104,800 the previous year. A further five per cent fall is forecast for 2026 . This suggests most households are managing their finances well, and lenders' support measures are working.
Gross lending is growing
The overall market remains active and healthy. Overall gross lending is forecast to rise by four per cent to £300 billion in 2026. External remortgaging is expected to grow ten per cent to £77 billion . Lenders are open for business and competing for borrowers.
1.8 million opportunities to get a better deal
Around 1.8 million fixed-rate mortgages are due to expire in 2026 . Rather than viewing this as a pressure point, it's better understood as an opportunity for 1.8 million households to reassess and shop around. There are competitive deals out there. Don’t just drift onto a standard variable rate.
First-time buyers have more options
First-time buyers may find 2026 more accessible than recent years. There is a good choice of available homes, average wage growth is outpacing property price increases, and affordability is improving compared to 2023 and 2024 . (This month, we have also written up a guide to the most affordable houses in the UK… keep reading to find out where!)
House prices are stable, not surging
The general expectation for UK house prices in 2026 is modest growth rather than a runaway market, with Nationwide expecting growth in the 2% to 4% range . For buyers, that means less fear of overpaying or being gazumped. A calmer, more rational market where decisions can be made thoughtfully.
Uncertainty in the mortgage market is nothing new. Borrowers who focus on preparation rather than prediction tend to come out ahead. Locking in a rate early, comparing the open market against product transfers, and taking independent mortgage advice are the three steps that consistently make the biggest difference. Let’s book you in for a meeting to discuss your future and ensure a positive year
Your home or property may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage or any other debts secured on it.
Summer is just around the corner, and we are looking forward to Pimm’s in the garden. A couple of clients have asked us if they can use Later Life Lending to spruce up their alfresco dining this summer? It’s a great question! We thought you might be interested to hear as well, so we’ve put together an article. But don’t forget, Later Life Lending needs expert guidance, so give us a call and we’ll make sure you know the ins and outs.
What is Later Life Lending?
Later Life Lending refers to mortgage and loan products designed for older borrowers (typically 55+). There are generally three options:
- Equity Release (Lifetime Mortgages or Home Reversion Plans)
- Retirement Interest-Only Mortgages (RIOs)
- Later Life Residential Mortgages
Could it fund a garden transformation?
Technically, yes – lenders generally don't restrict how you spend the funds, so a garden project is a legitimate use. However, there are important considerations.
Gardens can genuinely add value to a property (a well-designed outdoor space can add 5–15% to a home's value, according to some estimates). If you're asset-rich but cash-poor (common among older homeowners), equity release can unlock wealth tied up in your home. Plus, a usable outdoor space can meaningfully improve quality of life and well-being.
However, there are some important considerations. Compound interest on equity release will affect the value left in your estate over time. There will also be inheritance implications, reducing what's left for beneficiaries.
Let’s look at what the money might cover:
- Landscaping and lawn work
- Decking, patios, or outdoor rooms
- Garden rooms or Summerhouses
- Hot tubs, outdoor kitchens, or lighting
- Planting, irrigation, and fencing
But first, are there alternatives to Later Life Lending?
- Unsecured personal loans, if the amount is smaller (under £25,000) and you have income to service repayments
- Savings or ISA drawdown, if available, avoids interest altogether
- Local authority grants, some councils offer grants for older residents to improve their homes or outdoor spaces
- Phased improvements, spreading the project cost over time rather than doing it all at once
Give us a call to chat through all these options. And let’s get ready for summer!
This is a lifetime mortgage. To understand the features and risks, please ask for a personalised illustration. Check that this mortgage will meet your needs if you want to move or sell your home or you want your family to inherit it. If you are in any doubt, seek independent advice.
We might be using summer as a helpful prompt to get you organised, because really, all of these policy extras are very important throughout the year. However, if you are like us, summer is a great motivator to get everything sorted so you can sit back and relax. This is especially true if you are one of the lucky ones with a beach to head to! Here are some top home insurance considerations heading into summer!
All things building insurance
- Subsidence: have you heard of this one? Summer dry spells cause soil shrinkage, which is one of the most common (and costly) causes of subsidence claims in the UK. Check your policy explicitly covers it and note the typical £1,000 excess. Could you cover that?
- Storm damage: we are hoping for none of that… but it is the UK after all. Make sure you confirm what counts as a "storm" under your policy (insurers often require specific wind speeds to qualify).
- Escape of water: last thing on your mind! But burst pipes from ageing infrastructure are unfortunately common. Make sure this is included in your policy… and again check the excess!
- Rebuild value vs market value: another one to easily miss. Your sum insured should reflect the rebuild cost, not what you'd sell the house for. These can differ significantly. You can use the ABI rebuild calculator to check and make sure you are confident.
Don’t forget contents insurance
- Garden contents: have you splashed out on some new garden furniture, BBQs, and outdoor equipment? These are often covered only up to a low sublimit (e.g., £500–£1,000) or excluded entirely if left outside overnight. Let’s check ahead of summer for peace of mind.
- Bicycles: do you love to feel the wind in your hair? If you're cycling more, make sure you confirm bikes are covered away from home. Top tip! Check the single-item limit.
- High-value items: we’ve all been there. Lost jewellery, cameras, or sports equipment on holiday… Ensure each item you are taking is separately listed, so you get the full value back.
Some important extras….
- Accidental Damage: Covers things like spilling drinks on a laptop or putting a foot through the ceiling during loft work.
- Alternative Accommodation: If your home becomes uninhabitable (e.g. after a flood or fire), check how long your insurer will cover alternative accommodation and up to what amount.
- Legal Expenses Cover: Covers disputes with neighbours, contractors, or landlords if you're having work done.
- Home Emergency Cover: Typically covers boiler breakdowns, lost keys, roof damage, or plumbing failures needing urgent attention.
Would you like advice on what to look for when comparing policies or how to handle a specific situation like renovation or renting your home out? Let’s chat! We can streamline the process and leave you feeling positive, confident, and ready for summer!
We’ve rounded up our insights on the top reasons to update your critical illness cover, income protection, and life insurance policies. Don’t forget, we are here every step of the way.
Let’s dive in!
Critical Illness Cover
This pays a tax-free lump sum if you're diagnosed with a specified serious illness (such as cancer, heart attack, or stroke). The holiday connection is indirect but real:
- If you suffer a critical illness before or during a planned holiday, the lump sum gives you financial breathing room. You're not worrying about lost income while recovering.
- It could cover the cost of cancelled trips that travel insurance won't pay out on (for example, if your condition was pre-existing or the policy has exclusions).
- For longer-term recovery, it might fund recuperative travel.
- But it won't cover emergency medical treatment abroad.
What to watch: Critical illness policies only cover specific listed conditions. A broken leg on a ski slope, for example, wouldn't trigger a claim.
Income Protection
This replaces a portion of your income (typically 50–70%) if you're unable to work due to illness or injury. The holiday link is closer than you might think:
- If you're injured on holiday, a fall, a water sports accident, a road traffic incident, and it leaves you unable to work on your return, income protection kicks in once the deferred period ends.
- For the self-employed especially, knowing income is protected removes a significant source of stress around taking time off at all.
What to watch: Most policies have a deferred period (typically 4, 8, 13, or 26 weeks) before payments begin, so it doesn't help with immediate costs. That's travel insurance's job.
Life Insurance
This pays a lump sum or regular income to your dependants if you die. The holiday connection is sobering but worth considering:
- If you die abroad, life insurance provides for your family financially, independent of what travel insurance pays out for repatriation costs.
- Travel insurance typically covers the practical costs of bringing a body home, but life insurance covers the long-term financial impact on those left behind.
- If you have a mortgage, a life policy ensures your family aren't forced to sell the family home. This gives them stability rather than a financial crisis on top of grief.
What to watch: Life insurance pays out on death, not on injury or illness, so it's very much a protection for dependants rather than for you personally.
None of these three products replaces travel insurance. That should always be your first line of defence for anything holiday-related. But together they form a financial safety net that means a serious health event, whether it happens at home or abroad, doesn't derail your family's finances long after the holiday is over. Would you like to explore how these products interact with travel insurance, or how to prioritise which ones? Send us an email today, and we’ll book in a chat to go through all these details with you.
This is a lifetime mortgage. To understand the features and risks, please ask for a personalised illustration. Check that this mortgage will meet your needs if you want to move or sell your home or you want your family to inherit it. If you are in any doubt, seek independent advice.
As the days get longer and activity levels rise, summer is a natural time to take stock of your health cover. With NHS waiting lists still affecting millions of patients across England, more people are turning to private medical insurance (PMI) to access faster diagnosis and treatment. If you're considering a policy, understanding how cover works across four key areas can make a real difference to the value you get. We’ll cover mental health, diagnostics, dermatology, and physiotherapy in the article. If you’d like to give us a call, we can go through the details specific to you.
Mental Health is an important policy focus of PMI year-round. But the lighter part of the year might be an easy time to take note and put plans in place that will see out the rest of the year. More comprehensive plans include outpatient talking therapies, with some offering self-referral without needing a GP first. Key questions to ask:
Access to fast diagnostics through MRI, CT, and PET scans is one of the most tangible benefits of PMI, given that over a fifth of NHS patients currently wait more than six weeks for diagnostic tests. Look for policies that cover complex scans in full rather than subject to a monetary cap, and check whether diagnostics sit in a dedicated benefit pot or are pooled with consultations and therapies. A shared pot can be quickly exhausted if you need multiple types of outpatient care.
With more time spent outdoors and increased sun exposure, summer is exactly the right time to get skin concerns checked. Dermatology can be among the longest-waiting NHS specialities, making private cover particularly valuable here. Look for fast-track skin pathways and check that biopsies and follow-up consultations are included within your outpatient allowance.
More cycling, running, swimming, and DIY work may lead to greater musculoskeletal strain. NHS physiotherapy waits can stretch to several months. Check whether physio is self-referred or requires a GP first, how many sessions are covered, and whether it draws from a shared therapy pot. More generous plans offer unlimited digital physiotherapy alongside traditional in-person sessions.
Key Questions To Ask
- Mental health: Does it cover outpatient talking therapies, or only inpatient admission? How many sessions are included per year, and what happens if you need treatment for a recurring condition?
- Diagnostics: Are MRI, CT, and PET scans covered in full, or subject to a monetary cap? Is diagnostics in a separate pot or shared with other outpatient benefits?
- Dermatology: Check whether skin consultations and biopsies are covered under outpatient, and whether there's a fast-track skin pathway.
- Physiotherapy: How many sessions per year? Is it self-referral or do you need a GP first? Is it in a shared pot with other therapies?
Because benefit structures, exclusions, and renewal terms vary so much between providers, use an independent, FCA-authorised broker rather than going direct. Always compare policy wording and take independent financial advice before committing. Let’s chat today to get your body covered for summer.
If you've ever dreamed of owning a home but felt priced out of the market, new data from Nationwide suggests the answer may simply be: you're looking in the wrong postcode.
Nationwide's 2026 Local Area Affordability Report reveals a Britain of stark contrasts. Where the difference between being able to buy a home and being locked out of the market entirely can come down to which side of a regional boundary you happen to live on.
Scotland leads the way
Inverclyde in Scotland has been crowned Britain's most affordable place for buyers, with average house prices just 2.3 times local earnings. An average 10% deposit of under £10,000. That's the kind of number that makes homeownership genuinely achievable rather than a distant aspiration.
Burnley in Lancashire and Hartlepool in the North East aren't far behind, with house price to earnings ratios of 2.8 and 2.9 respectively. For buyers with flexibility about where they live, these areas represent a real opportunity.
London: a world apart
At the other end of the spectrum, Kensington and Chelsea remains the least affordable local authority in Great Britain, with house prices nearly 14 times average earnings. A 10% deposit there would set you back over £100,000, more than many people earn in three years. Even Bromley, London's most affordable borough, has a ratio of 6.2, higher than almost anywhere else in the country. The gap between London's most and least affordable areas is wider than any other region. A city of extremes in every sense.
The good news: things are improving
Encouragingly, around 70% of local authorities have seen affordability improve over the past year, driven by a combination of wage growth and, in some areas, modest falls in house prices. Islington saw the biggest single improvement, with its ratio falling from 10.6 to 7.8 in a year. Norwich and Welwyn Hatfield also made impressive strides, powered by strong local earnings growth.
Location is everything
The deposit hurdle remains real but manageable outside the South East. In over half of all local authorities, a 10% deposit falls between £10,000 and £25,000, within reach for many buyers who plan carefully and look beyond the obvious hotspots.
Your home or property may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage or any other debts secured on it.
