“My dad just died, please check for me what policies and investments he had?” We often receive such requests from our customers and we always respond “you should have asked us to download the report for you while your dad was still alive”.

Yes we are able to check for you and your family members what policies and investments you have but we must have your express permission to do so. So you must:

• Sign our letter of authority which will give us permission to download your report and
• You must give us a copy of your ID

Why is it important to have a copy of this report? It is called an Astute report.

The Astute report should have all your existing policies and investments. This report will highlight as an example:

• You might be reminded of policies and investments that you have, which you might have forgotten about
• You might be one of those people who have life covers and funeral covers with an end date or expiry date, this will be on your report
• You might have policies and investments that are not listed on the report. This is important for you to know so you can then contact those companies where you have policies and investments and request for the policy documents and investment statements and ensure that you file these with your other important documents
• You can use this information in the process of drafting your Will
• You can file this report with your important documents so that when you die, your next of kin knows what policies and investments you have and where. You don’t want your investments to pile up in unclaimed benefits
• Some of your policies might have lapsed and you may not be aware of this
• We can also give you input on your existing policies and investments e.g. if you have an education policy or an endowment policy then we will be able to point out to you that you would pay tax at 30% and maybe you want to consider replacing the policy with a tax-free investment
• You might have appointed minor children as beneficiaries of your life cover and this is not in your best interests

Contact us if you want us draw your Astute report for you and give you the necessary advise relating to your personal finance that could benefit your family, especially when you pass away.