Personal insolvency rise may boost demand for equity release plans

12 May 2010

Equity release schemes may be in demand as Britons struggle to repay debts and the number of personal insolvencies rises.

New figures from the government's Insolvency Service show that more than 35,000 people filed for insolvency in the first three months of 2010.

This was an increase of 17.9 per cent from the same period last year, showing that insolvencies have risen sharply over the past 12 months.

Debt charity Credit Action anticipates that personal insolvencies will increase further over the course of the year.

"People have had to take a cut in wages, a cut in hours, lost overtime [or] something like that … because of that there is a lot of pressure on people's incomes," explained the organisation's director, Chris Tapp.

The comments could inspire more Britons to seek different ways of repaying their debts, including equity release plans. These allow homeowners to receive cash against the value of their properties.