Financial institutions now have a new ally in the ongoing challenge of reconnecting with 'gone away' customers, thanks to the official launch of Estatetrace. This specialized tracing service is designed to assist in locating legacy and historic customers, dormant asset holders, and representatives of deceased customers, a problem that has left billions in assets unclaimed across the UK. Andy Davies, Financial Institutions Relationship Manager at Estatetrace, highlights the scale of the issue, pointing out that up to 20% of customer addresses held by some financial services firms are outdated.
The problem of unclaimed assets is not trivial, with estimates suggesting £1.6 billion in banks and building societies, £4.2 billion in dormant assets at National Savings and Investments, £26.6 billion in unclaimed pension funds, and £640 million in dormant share registrations are waiting to be reclaimed. Estatetrace's innovative approach combines human expertise with digital capabilities to tackle these cases individually, achieving a resolution rate of up to 70% even with incomplete or historic customer information. In cases where the customer has passed away, Estatetrace excels in finding the current contact details of the Executor or next of kin, boasting a find rate as high as 90%.
By leveraging the synergies with its parent company, Estatesearch, which collaborates with over 2,000 professional estate administration firms, Estatetrace is uniquely positioned to bridge the gap between financial services firms and professional executors. This not only offers a solution for lost assets but also addresses the root causes of the issue, thereby reducing the operational burden on financial institutions while ensuring positive outcomes for customers. For more details, visit https://www.estatetrace.co.uk.
