The Bancassurance and Wealth Management sales propositions are often flawed due to the lack of understanding of clients. They do not or cannot articulate the non-financial aspects of their needs. But the non-financial aspects are also wealth. At times, they do matter more than the financial needs. The same applies to risk. Non-financial risks eg. risk of divorce, risk of health problems etc. are difficult to articulate but ultimately they can affect wealth including financial wealth. These are the areas Total Wealth Planning address so well.

Total Wealth Quadrant (TWQ)™ places the different types of wealth in a neat framework. Then, we develop a range of metrics to measure the “balance” of different drivers of Total Wealth. Only when you press the non-financial buttons people come up with the total picture. Two different scores are calculated using a computer-based calculator. Very soon financial planners and insurance advisors will have to wear the hat of a life coach and what really matters is where the client wants to be in Total Wealth terms.

Even risk management is different with Total Wealth Planning. The risks are inherent in all four sections of the TWQ but we often do risk profiling based on financial wealth. Traditional risk profiling does not take into account the health and family risks. Spiritual or “inner wealth” may also have risks. Life is not all about “financials”. Life is also about relationships and living and the scarce resource for most of us is time. We have to optimise everything around time. When insurance advisors and financial planners do the above effectively it will assist in Total Wealth accumulation, investment, de-accumulation and transfer. And, from the insurance advisors’ viewpoint Total Wealth means more products per customer and deeper understanding of the customer resulting in high revenue per customer and potentially higher referrals.