A global survey on succession and estate planning showed that more than seven in ten high-net-worth respondents said they were only “somewhat familiar” with succession and estate planning.

Jeremy Young, chief commercial officer at Transamerica Life Bermuda, was drawing from the findings of his company’ poll during a presentation at the Hubbis HNW Insurance Summit in Dubai in early May.

The Hubbis publication, the online publication for wealth management professionals in Asia, reported an exploration was under way to understand how aware of succession planning were HNWIs in North Asia, South East Asia, India, the Middle East, Europe and other regions.

The five critical questions:

• Are high-net-worth individuals aware of the importance of succession planning?

• What triggers them to act – or not?

• What keeps them up at night when they delay action?

• What solutions are they looking for? And how effectively are their plans communicated and reviewed?

Mr Young is the global head of distribution and product strategy for Transamerica Life (Bermuda) Ltd.

He is responsible for developing and executing the company’s distribution and product strategy, while building its distribution capability and leading the proposition development to facilitate growth across Hong Kong, Singapore and Bermuda.

The article reported: “Encouragingly, however, 52 per cent of those surveyed now expect to take planning action within five years, a significant shift from pre-pandemic patterns.”

Mr Young commented how useful it was for service providers to maintain a relationship as a trusted adviser to those seeking advice.

The article said: “Another insight that resonated strongly was the fear of inaction: over 40 per cent of respondents globally feared that if they didn’t act, family conflict or disputes could arise. In Singapore, that figure was so striking it became headline news.”

Young reported: “There are enough real-world case studies out there to know how messy things can get.

“And many of those situations were entirely preventable with common sense, foresight and proactive planning.”

But setting up a structure is not a one-and-done deal, he said. It is a lifetime commitment, one you have to treat like a live business.

He said: “If you’ve set up a structure but don’t communicate it, don’t review it and don’t keep it updated with family or business changes, it risks becoming irrelevant – or worse, contested later on at critical times.”

He also stressed the importance of separating business succession and family wealth planning, a line too often blurred in tightly held entrepreneurial families.

“Who has first claim on the life policy – the business or the family? If it’s paid from the business and something goes wrong, creditors might have a say. These are crucial distinctions.”

He said that even those with plans in place included some who had not discussed the structure with family members or documented the distribution logic clearly. He said there should be some schedule of review, possibly annually to update and take into account changes in family circumstances.

He also discussed the need for a team of professionals, including not only lawyers and fiduciary providers, but also insurance advisers and relationship managers. He stressed the need for ongoing input from insurance professionals.