Orange, Calif.-based reverse mortgage lender All Reverse Mortgage has been named as a finalist for the Better Business Bureau (BBB) Torch Awards for Ethics, in recognition of the company’s efforts to uphold integrity in its business practices and to proliferate trust among its customers.

The BBB Torch Awards for Ethics were first established as a way to recognize outstanding businesses that maintain a solid commitment to ethics and trust in the marketplace. Companies are selected by an independent panel of volunteer community leaders based on criteria established by the International Association of Better Business Bureaus (IABBB).

“I feel that responsibility and accountability is the forefront of our company values,” said Cliff Auerswald, president of All Reverse Mortgage. “We feel that a reverse mortgage is never a high-pressure sale and making sure every prospect of ours receives not only excellent service, but more importantly competent advice, and competitive terms is always our top concern.”

All finalists for recognition in the BBB Torch Awards are required to demonstrate their commitment to ethics in six separate categories. These include measuring the company leadership’s commitment to ethical practices; the ways in which ethical practices are communicated to customers; leadership practices to unify the organization; an organizational commitment to performance management practices; the company’s commitment to ethical human resources practices; and a commitment by the company to being good members of its local community.

“We started this company never having heard of the Better Business Bureau Torch Award for Ethics, but with the knowledge that ethical behavior toward all individuals – including customers, staff and third parties – was the top priority,” Auerswald said. “We did not aspire to be the number one producing company in our industry, just the number one trusted company for doing the right thing for everyone.”

For a company to receive the kind of recognition that comes with finalist status in the Torch Awards for Ethics, they must operate with the highest ethical standards according to BBB representatives.

“Ethics play a vital role in the success of a business, especially during a pandemic. For 21 years, BBB has been recognizing companies for their solid commitment to doing things right in their companies and industries,” said Shelley Bradley, Director of Signature Events for BBB Serving the Pacific Southwest. “This year’s finalists represent BBB’s community of trustworthy businesses that operate with integrity at the forefront.”

The dedication to customer service exhibited by All Reverse is apparent in the ways that the company has absorbed feedback from the people it serves, Auerswald said.

“All Reverse Mortgage, in the words of our own customers, simply goes above and beyond,” he said. “We are honest, extremely knowledgeable, thorough in explaining the [reverse mortgage] program, patient, and considerate to our customers’ needs. We are highly sensitive to our customers as they are an older population, so since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, we adapted and integrated a paperless process with the ability to complete the entire loan without any personal contact.”

Pivoting to the new realities of the pandemic only further emphasized the commitment the company must display to its customers, especially considering that they are within a higher-risk demographic in terms of the effects that the virus can have.

“The ‘high road’ is our only lane,” Auerswald said. “Of course, there are times when something out of our control can upset our customers’ experiences. Our desire to have the very best customer experience and reputation exceeds all – so when a challenge like [the pandemic] occurs, we meet it with our customers’ best interest first.”

BBB made the critical decision to pivot this year’s in-person celebratory event to a virtual format as an ongoing commitment to keep the local community safe and healthy. Throughout October, finalists and judges will be celebrated through a visual digital campaign on BBB’s social media channels.

See the announcement of this year’s finalists at the BBB website.