Empathy (Blog)

Most people know they should plan for the future. Very few actually do. Research from International Adviser found that 78% of Brits over 60 have no estate plan in place. Separate research from the Money and Pensions Service shows that 53% of UK adults aged 50 to 64 don't have a will. These numbers describe a generation at a precipice. The reasons are familiar: estate planning feels distant, expensive, and complicated, so the process often gets pushed to tomorrow.

Right now, someone is standing in a loved one's kitchen, distributing pills by color and number into a weekly organizer, decoding prescriptions that aren't their own. Somewhere else, a person is caring for themselves as best they can, saving email addresses and phone numbers they'll need in case of emergency. There are 63 million of these someones in the U.S. alone, and the number grows every year. They're caregivers, and most of us will take on that role at some point in our lives.

This Bereaved Parents Month, we're standing with parents who shoulder the unimaginable loss of losing a child. Observed every July, Bereaved Parents Awareness Month exists because the world moves on faster than a grief this heavy ever does, and no parent should be left to carry it alone. At Empathy, our name has been the compass for our mission, product development, and reach, and nowhere is that truer than in the households where the loss of a child upends a family’s entire sense of normal.

Estate planning is one of the most meaningful things a person can do for the people they love. But for most, it can feel like too much—confusing paperwork, unclear steps, and no real sense of where to begin or what comes next. The right estate planning software guides people through each step, making a daunting process feel manageable. This checklist covers the features that matter most, so you can choose a platform that truly supports your clients. What is Estate Planning Software?

The portal that deepens client relationships, at scale There are many difficult conversations that happen in financial services, and not surprisingly, some of the hardest are those about life’s hardest moments. The ones about death, legacy, inheritance, and preparedness can be incredibly challenging for both families and the financial professionals that support them to have.

Putting together a solid estate plan is more than just signing legal documents and filling out forms. Great estate planning starts with great conversations. And great conversations start with asking the right questions and truly listening to your clients to understand their values and wishes. Why asking the right estate planning questions matters When you take the time to understand what your clients value most, you can help ensure their wishes are truly reflected in their plan.

The Canadian financial industry knows the Great Wealth Transfer is coming: 99% of advisors are aware, and most say they are prepared. Yet, only 28% of families expect a smooth transition. This gap between industry confidence and family reality was the catalyst for Empathy Unbound Toronto, where leaders gathered to ask the harder question: aware isn't the same as ready. So what does ready actually look like?

Financial advisors spend their careers helping clients plan for the future. But when it comes to their own exit, planning often falls by the wayside. This reality is reinforced by the numbers. More than a third of financial advisors across North America are expected to retire in the next decade, and they manage a disproportionate share of industry assets. Despite this, most advisors approaching retirement have no documented succession plan in place.

The typical life insurance customer journey map follows a similar path: awareness, consideration, purchase, onboarding, servicing, claim, and payout. But for beneficiaries and families on the other side of a life insurance payout, it isn’t the end of the journey. It’s the middle of a much harder one. New research from Empathy and LIMRA surveyed 272 U.S. life insurance claimants and went deeper with 12 in-depth interviews to understand why satisfaction has improved, but conversion rates haven’t.

Life insurance’s digital transformation has modernized application, underwriting, claims, and policy servicing. However, despite these advances, the transformation missed something: the post-claim phase. This is when beneficiaries and families handle probate, estate settlements, and important financial decisions. Yet carrier engagement drops, even though 96% of beneficiaries are open to ongoing contact. While every other policy stage has seen digitization, this post-claim phase remains untouched.