Original text here from Patrice Bernard (LinkedIn)
It’s about time. In a sector long plagued by outdated forms and unclear beneficiary designations, the French legal-tech company Testamento is stepping forward with a meaningful initiative to validate and digitalize the beneficiary clause in life insurance and savings contracts.
The issue is well known—and growing more urgent. A 2024 study by Testamento found that many policyholders either haven’t updated their beneficiary clauses or remain unaware of their implications. Testamento.io This gap poses both financial and regulatory risks for insurers, not to mention the potential confusion and unfair outcomes for heirs.
Subscribe to our newsletter:
Testamento has partnered with major players (notably Allianz France) to roll out “Beneficiary,” a digital tool designed for the designation, review and optimization of beneficiary clauses. Allianz+1 The platform guides policyholders or their advisors through structured workflows, offering tailored clause formulations (beyond the standard “spouse then children” template) that better reflect modern family structures and individual wishes.
What stands out is the focus on compliance, scalability and user clarity. The technology underpinning Beneficiary aims to ensure the clause meets legal standards while also being understandable and meaningful for the policyholder. This is crucial in a domain where fine wording can dictate whether beneficiaries receive the intended benefits—or whether heirs end up in dispute.
The broader lesson? Life-insurers and trustees are finally acknowledging that legacy contracts—and the static clauses they contain—no longer suffice in today’s world. Digital tools like Testamento’s not only enhance transparency and client empowerment but also reduce operational risk and downstream legal complexity.
In short, Testamento’s initiative represents more than a tech rollout—it signals an evolution in how beneficiary designations are handled: from boilerplate to tailored, digitized and legally robust.
