It has partnered with legal firm Prestige Legals Direct to provide the service
Mortgage and protection broker Access Financial Services (Access FS) has launched a free will writing service to help its advisers attract more clients by offering an additional value-added service.
To be able to provide this service, the broker has partnered with legal firm Prestige Legals Direct, which specialises in wills, trusts, inheritance protection, Lasting Powers of Attorney and probate.
Access’s advisers will provide a legally-binding, execution only will. High net worth clients and those who require more sophisticated estate planning will be passed through to Prestige Legal Services for legal advice from a qualified solicitor.
Access FS said the free will writing service will help both mortgage and protection advisers maintain trust and further relationships with their clients, their families, as well as helping them to attract new clients. It added that the initiative is highly significant, with research revealing that as many as three in five adults in the UK do not currently have a will.
The service, which was launched following a successful two-month pilot, also sees the firm strengthen its customer offering in line with the updated FCA Consumer Duty guidelines.
The broker pointed out that as advisers are required to contact trustees while executing a will, there is an additional opportunity to provide will services to a new generation of family members, as well as introduce a range of life and mortgage products.
“Throughout our two-month pilot, we found that 60% of clients who take advantage of the free will service also purchase another service from our advisers,” Karl Wilkinson (pictured), chief executive at Access Financial Services, said.
“When loved ones pass away without a will in place, it can be both time consuming and stressful for the next of kin. In many cases, beneficiaries are also dependent on funds from the estate to pay bills and provide for family members. For the three in five people who don’t have a will in place, it can result in a lengthy probate process and people unable to get access to much-needed funds, sometimes for many months.
“We are endlessly seeking new ways to help our advisers provide quality financial support for their clients. Our partnership with Prestige Legals Direct is the latest in a number of initiatives that we have introduced to help both our advisers and their clients.”
In October, Access FS also launched a new administrative service that claimed to free up to 70% of an adviser’s time, helping many treble the amount of mortgage and protection business they wrote.
