Mortgage Lending Unlocked: Driving speed, certainty and confidence in Ireland’s mortgage market
Last week’s Mortgage Lending Unlocked breakfast seminar brought together leaders from across the lending and legal community to explore how innovation can transform the mortgage process. Hosted at the prestigious Stephen’s Green Club in Dublin, it was a chance to hear first-hand how collaboration between lenders, insurers, and legal professionals is reshaping the market.
One of the most compelling stories shared was the partnership between Allica Bank and Westcor. On 1st July 2024, Allica went live with our Perfect Title Policy, applying it across all refinance transactions regardless of loan size, and on purchase transactions up to 60% LTV and £1.5 million initial capital. The impact has already been significant, legal enquiries on eligible transactions are down by around 40%, and title insured transactions are being completed nearly two months faster.
The conversation also highlighted the well-known challenges of traditional lending; legal delays, inconsistent solicitor requirements across panel firms acting for the same lender following the same instructions, a lack of visibility in lender portals, and the need to harmonise solicitor panels. For Allica, the arrival of the Perfect Title policy was a turning point. “There wasn’t a provider that offered a policy as comprehensive as Westcor,” said Adam Preston. “Most of the time, the customer isn’t cared about. Westcor was different, they showed real thoughtfulness… we were able to investigate the policy piece by piece.” Tom Dowling, Westcor echoed this sentiment succinctly, “the customer cannot be an inconvenience.”
The benefits of the Perfect Title Policy were explored in depth. It delivers speed, cutting down time to completion, protection, covering latent title defects, fraud, and solicitor negligence, and simplicity, ultimately reducing the back-and-forth that often slows transactions. As one attendee noted, “we didn’t fully appreciate the protection it offered. Known defects, negligence, or fraud, it’s comprehensive.” The rollout has been carefully managed too, introduced through trusted panel partners, tested with simulated claims, and still underpinned by full due diligence where it’s needed most, on leases, new builds, and planning histories.
Alongside Westcor and Allica Bank, Mike Stack from Beam was central to the discussions. Beam’s contribution brought a further dimension, showing how technology can sit alongside insurance solutions to transform the customer journey. Their emphasis on visibility, smarter data use, and collaborative innovation echoed the morning’s wider theme, that true progress comes when lenders, insurers, and tech providers work together to solve long-standing bottlenecks.
Looking ahead, Allica and Westcor pointed to a future where blockchain-backed title processing, pre-approval underwriting via title document data scraping, and switcher mortgage products completed in a matter of days could become standard. “Imagine switching mortgages like switching your energy provider,” was the vision shared. While the industry recognises that change will meet resistance, particularly from those who believe legal truth only comes from face-to-face interactions, the mood was one of cautious optimism. “The policy isn’t a threat,” it was stressed. “It reduces risk and human error for solicitors.”
What stood out most throughout the morning was the sense that this is not just about speeding up transactions, but about true risk assignment in a way that benefits everyone. “We’re transferring risk off our balance sheet and onto the insurers,” was one of the notable remarks from the discussion, underlining why institutional mortgage funders are watching this space closely.
As the session drew to a close, attention turned to the wider market opportunity. With strong early results in the UK, there is every chance that adoption could set a precedent for Ireland and beyond. The potential to reshape the mortgage switcher market, supported by lenders, legal professionals, and innovators like Beam, is both ambitious and achievable.
The event proved that open dialogue and innovation in the sector, using tools like title insurance and technology solutions can unlock much more than efficiency, it can create confidence, certainty, and opportunity across the entire ecosystem.
