Digital Will writing service, Farewill, have enjoyed significant growth, fantastic customer feedback and industry recognition in the short time they have been operating. Now, as they aim to encourage new, more reluctant sections of the population to make a Will, the company have launched a national television campaign.
The bright and vibrant advert highlights the fact that technology allows consumers to write their Will in thirty minutes, in the comfort of their own home for a competitive price of £90; information that could encourage more people to confront their fears and responsibilities in such a price and time sensitive modern world.
Even before the national TV campaign, Farewill were capturing a significant market share as tech savvy consumers find their use of technology particularly appealing. Farewill’s incorporation of technology and legal service experts seem to resonate with customers in the modern world, who enjoy the ease and efficiency of their online service. However, it seems that people still value the interaction with experienced experts.
Having grown their client base by more than eight times within a year, Farewill have been on a clear upward trajectory since 2017. Currently, they speculate that 1 in every 25 Wills is written by themselves.
Now, their army of Trustpilot reviews, which exceeds 2,000, and offers a score of 9.6 out of 10 for satisfaction, highlights the impact and love customers have for this rapidly expanding digital Wills empire.
It is therefore unsurprising that their growth and quality has been recognised by industry experts with The Lawyer Awards 2019 shortlisting Farewill for ‘Law Company of the Year’.
In January, Farewill cemented themselves into the infrastructure of the Wills and estate planning sector when they received over £7.5 million investment. They are hoping that the perfect storm of positive testimonials, fresh investment and strategically targeted TV advertising will enable the company to capture at least 10% of the market by the end of 2019.
As the company begins to grow, founder and CEO of Farewill, Dan Garrett, has taken the time to reflect on their jump to the small screen, their award nomination, the growth of the company and the importance of nurturing technological breakthroughs in the Wills and Probate sector.
How can the sector de-stigmatise death planning?
We need to help people productively engage with death in a way that makes sense for their lives today.
People have these huge internal mental hurdles around planning for death. They think that it’s difficult to do, that it’s very complicated, that it’s going to be expensive and time-consuming and painful.
It’s our job in the sector to make those internal mental hurdles smaller.
At Farewill, that means using all the digital tools and human expertise at our disposal to show people just how easy, accessible, affordable and rewarding it can be. And that it’s not hard to fit into your life, today.
And in the long term, it also means getting more people talking about it and bringing it into the public eye in the 21st century. We can all benefit from talking more openly about death; we want to be a catalyst for those conversations.
Why is technological integration key in ensuring a rise in people applying for wills?
The easier it is to make a high-quality will and the more accessible people perceive it to be, the more people will do it. Technology has a huge role to play here; it simply makes will writing more doable in today’s busy lives.
One of the biggest benefits for our customers is that they can do it from the comfort of their own home, in their own time. People struggle to take a day off work to visit a solicitors office during the week, but taking 30 minutes to do it on the sofa on a Saturday, with a cup of tea and an expert will specialist at hand, is far more feasible for most people.
Advances in security are also extremely important – people are more comfortable and familiar with doing important jobs online, and we need to ensure we have digital security to support that.
Why is it so important to incorporate technology and human interaction into the Wills and Estate Planning sector?
For all our advances, people aren’t ready to leave such an important job entirely to technology – and we don’t think they should yet, either. Human expertise and knowledge are still vital in the sector, both to make sure that people are covered and supported legally, and also to be there to help talk things through and answer questions. Our will experts and in house legal team are so important and a huge huge part of why our customers rate our service so highly.
How is technology improving the customer experience?
I’ve mentioned a few ways above, but I think one of the biggest is helping more people feel comfortable expressing what they really want to happen after they die.
80% of our customers include detailed funeral wishes and messages to loved ones, from wanting chicken nuggets and the Game of Thrones theme tune as a funeral song, to expressing their wish to leave their bicycle to their oldest childhood friend. Our customers are far more emotionally engaged with the process than when you’re sat in front of somebody face to face.
How do you feel about Farewill’s recent nomination for a Lawyer Award? Why is the nomination deserved?
We’re incredibly proud of our nomination, it’s a testament to our team and the brilliant product we’ve built together. We’re part of a rapidly evolving sector and it’s a real pleasure to be recognised by such a thought-leading institution.
In terms of why it’s deserved – we’d only be guessing, but hopefully it’s for the degree of customer focus we have as a company. Our product is designed with the customer front of mind, revolutionising the way that this legal service is delivered. We tackle consumer apathy to will writing (which underpins a 40 percent intestacy rate) by making it accessible, affordable and straightforward to do.
What prompted Farewill to advertise on television? Do you think this will become the start of a movement to encourage more adults to make a valid Will in the UK?
We certainly hope so! Last year we were really proud to write 1 in 25 wills in the UK. This year we’re aiming for 1 in 10 – so we’ve taken the plunge and decided to go big with our first national television campaign.
We need to tackle consumer apathy – and we think that one of the best ways to do that is to bring it into people’s day-to-day lives to get them talking about, thinking about and confronting the issue head-on. TV is a great way to do that.
Here’s to helping tens of thousands more families get things sorted this year.
Do you think that technology and online Wills are going to become important to the sector in the future? Will targeted TV advertising encourage more people to make a Will?
