Aon to offer free wills in a new deal with Footprint

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As the nation faces the prospect of high unemployment levels and vast economic uncertainty, New Zealand’s leading insurance broker Aon is partnering with the country’s largest provider of digital Wills, Footprint to put a stake in the ground for Kiwis.

Monday, August 17th 2020, 11:09AM 1 Comment

Aon is the first company in the sector to provide and cover the cost of Wills to all existing and new clients with a corporate life insurance policy through employee benefits – and already, several group insurers are engaged, with more to come. This industry-first move will see Aon provide security and education for all aspects of life insurance and end of life planning, saving people on average $5,000 in estate administration fees in instances where a life insurance policy has no Will attached to it.

Footprint chief executive Angela Vale says, “The data tells us New Zealanders are consistently under-Willed, especially in certain age groups. Only 37% of full-time employed people in New Zealand have a valid Will."

"Aon has taken a brave, game-changing stance in partnering with us to immediately extend this critical benefit, through insurer clients, to tens of thousands of Kiwis – when setting up a life insurance policy, this is a natural point to set up a Will alongside it.

“It is the kind of big move that will change the landscape by dramatically lifting the number of people who have a Will, with the immensely valuable knock-on effect that their families will have the protection of one.”

In working with Footprint, Aon is moving ahead of the curve by doing everything possible to help and inform its clients and create avenues for growth in their businesses - Angela Vale

Aon Life general manager Anson Davies says, “We have done extensive due diligence to ascertain what our clients are looking for and what their employees value, and we are pleased to be launching this offer through our partnership with Footprint and in collaboration with key partners in the insurance industry”.

This is further supported by Aon NZ chief executive Geoff Blampied who says, “We are excited that the industry is responding positively to the initiative, which has the potential to reach around 70,000 Kiwi policyholders in the first phase.”

The partnership means anyone taking on a group life insurance policy with the new added benefit of a Will has access to exclusive resources around financial literacy and education on estate administration. Employees will have access to Footprint’s digital vault where they can store their Will and other important documents, making sure important information is there precisely when it is needed.

Vale says, “Footprint was designed to meet the growing needs and expectations of customers who expect and prefer to engage via digital channels, and to work as a partner to businesses that want to stand out by taking positive action to provide employees or customers with additional safety and education during this time of global uncertainty.

“In working with Footprint, Aon is moving ahead of the curve by doing everything possible to help and inform its clients and create avenues for growth in their businesses. It’s the right thing to do, and we are happy to be working with a forward-thinking business that is doing the right thing by other people.

Fact Sheet

• 50% of New Zealanders do not have a valid Will;
• Only 37% of full-time employed people in New Zealand have a valid Will;
• Employee benefits such as life insurance and KiwiSaver are usually defined as a personal asset (belonging to one specific person, not a joint asset). Many people don’t realise when they pass away these assets are not immediately available to their loved ones. Additionally, if they pass away without a Will the time and cost to access these funds increase by an estimated 50%. This could mean an estate administration fee upwards of $15,000 and over 12 months before any funds can go to beneficiaries.

Tags: Aon Footprint Wills

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