In South Africa, GDP growth has been forecast downward at a rate of 0.5% for 2023 and 0.9% in 2024. In practical terms, this means consumers are facing tough times, and it is more critical than ever for them to have wealth succession plans, to protect their families’ financial future. Without doubt, the adviser has a critical role to play here.
Wills and estate planning is often forgotten, but it is more vital than ever to protect and transfer a client’s generational wealth. Ensuring that the correct estate planning documents are in place and the estate is correctly set up avoids long, expensive processes and speeds the transfer, decreases costs, and, ultimately, maintains family harmony.
Today, as few as 36% of South Africans have even made out a will. Similarly, the complexity of estate planning is cumbersome, and few clients have any sort of understanding how to tackle it. It is therefore the role of the adviser not only to negate this complexity, but also to ensure that the costs and challenges traditionally associated with estate planning, executorship and wills are best planned for and managed and that clients are able to address any estate shortfall to provide liquidity in the estate at a time when the family needs it most.
As advisers, the critical role of helping clients to protect and preserve their wealth is being put in the spotlight, and there is mounting pressure on providing solutions that enable this. 1Life’s new Wills and Estate Plan gives the adviser exactly this – an innovative life insurance policy that includes critical financial aid from an estate point of view.
Essentially, it is a policy sold through 1Life Vantage and executed in partnership with leading fiduciary experts Fairheads. The policy includes an estate shortfall lump sum of up to R10 million, which is paid out to the estate, a liquidity benefit of up to R50 000, which is paid out to beneficiaries within 48 hours of a successful claim, as well as a monthly income that is paid to the chosen beneficiary for a period of six months.
It also includes a free additional executor benefit, which provides clients with significant discounts on executor and conveyancing fees. This, once again, helps to reduce the financial burden for families when a loved one dies, as well as ensuring further liquidity in the estate.
More than this, however, clients will be provided with access to 1Life Will. This is a new, online will-drafting service created in partnership with Cliqtech. Included at no extra cost, this service allows users to draft a will in just 15 minutes. It is supported by a team of fiduciary experts that work closely with both the adviser and the client to draw up a valid, signed, and retrievable will, as well as assist with any estate planning requirements. Moreover, the document is safely and securely stored in a fireproof facility, after it is completed, ensuring both its validity and security.
Advisers will have one view of a client’s assets and life stages for as long as the will is kept with 1Life Insurance, giving them sight of a client’s financial circumstances, enabling better financial planning, upsell and cross-sell opportunities, without having to meet face-to-face with the client. It also offers straight-through processing via a digitally enabled, quick and effective platform – from wills to estate planning and digital acceptance. And, unlike many other players, 1Life ensures no disintermediation.
By offering advisers and clients a product that takes this important component of wealth transfer into account, we are better able to encourage wealth perseveration and growth for a more sustainable financial future in South Africa.
Want to learn more? Contact us now for a 1-to-1.
This article was written by Kobus Wentzel, the Head of Distribution at 1Life Insurance.
