Give a gift that appreciates in value

Searching and searching for the perfect gift items every year can be a drag, especially when you go for the same set of body products (but in a different scent, this time) for your family members.

Now that the Christmas music is getting louder, holiday preparations much busier, and last-minute shopping a lot more chaotic, we’ve got THE gift that is actually worth giving.

The meetup

It was a cloudy Sunday afternoon when an aunt, who requested her anonymity, welcomed us into her home. A casual visit turned into serious talk, when we asked her, what would be the best Christmas gift this year?

She stood up, put on her house slippers, and went to her room. Even at a distance, we could hear her rummage through her things; but she walked back quickly with what appeared to be a stack of papers.

“Life insurance,” she said, “that’s the best gift.”

We went through the pile; there were nine bundles of documents, one for each member of her family but the majority for her six grandchildren.

Planning in the time of a pandemic

The aunt began estate planning during the COVID-19 pandemic, which continues to be an uncertain period that has changed the course of our lives.

“Why so early,” we asked. She reflected and said that the pandemic gave her the time to arrange her assets, which she wants to pass onto her heirs, her grandchildren.

She advised that parents and grandparents should look into gifting insurance policies for a seamless transfer of wealth. Said policies bypass probate, a complicated court procedure that questions ownership, and is not subject to estate tax levied on the deceased's assets.

There is more to it

It was a bit complicated to process how insurance works, but we understood that it was a grand gesture behind such a mundane name.

We wanted to know more and how this could secure her family’s future, so she stood up again and grabbed her laptop. As she typed letter after letter, plugging in her password, an excel spreadsheet suddenly popped up on the screen.

For a woman who is respectively in her mid-eighties, we were impressed with how well she could work a spreadsheet while most people don't even know how it works beyond the basics! She scrolled through all the names of her beneficiaries showing how she monitors the numbers daily and allocates equal shares to her grandchildren.

One major perk of gifting insurance is that it grows through time. Each claimed policy has already gained a sufficient amount, [she] explaining that the market has been quite good for an increase in value.

When the time comes, you can claim the amount that was left for you or go the smarter route of letting it stay and grow while selecting your own beneficiaries.

It’s a gift that keeps on giving with her bank of choice, Allianz PNB Life. Legacy planning was made easier with reliable hands-on service suited for each client’s accessibility and needs.

You can also help families provide gifts that appreciate in value, as Allianz is currently hiring aspiring Life Changers to create better lives for Filipinos.