Life - Articles - Facebook’s decision may get more people talking about death


Dean Lamble, managing director of SunLife, hopes Facebook’s decision to roll out its legacy contacts feature in the UK will encourage more people to think about death and make plans to make their wishes known:

 “While most people think about monetary assets and tangible possessions when writing their Will there are other things, for example, online assets and profiles, that also need to be considered. When a person dies, social media as well as other online services like email and banking will require specific information to deactivate the user's account. By making a record of the accounts you hold and your user details will help with this when the time comes.

 “Facebook has made this easier now by rolling out its "legacy contacts" feature in the UK, allowing users to appoint an "online executor" of their profile to decide what happens to it after they die. Not only is this a welcome feature, but Facebook’s decision may also encourage more people to think about death; less than half of us have a will (43%) and this means most of the population will have no say in how their assets are divided when they die. However, there is no reason for death to be a taboo subject. It should be something we can all talk about, openly and honestly in order to ensure that, when the time does come, all of our end of life wishes are known.”

 To find out more about how to write your will, click here

Back to Index


Similar News to this Story

Over 85 population expected to double in 25 years to 3.6m
The latest population projections published this morning by the ONS demonstrate the extent of the UK’s ageing society. In mid-2024 there were 1.75 mil
IPT smashes last year's total by £157 million
According to this morning’s HMRC data, Insurance Premium Tax (IPT) receipts stood at £88 million in March 2026, bringing the full year total for the 2
Employer NI hike creates headwinds for group risk market
Growth within the UK group risk market slowed in 2025 as the employers’ National Insurance (NI) increase from April 2025 saw businesses look to priori

Site Search

Exact   Any  

Latest Actuarial Jobs

Actuarial Login

Email
Password
 Jobseeker    Client
Reminder Logon

APA Sponsors

Actuarial Jobs & News Feeds

Jobs RSS News RSS

WikiActuary

Be the first to contribute to our definitive actuarial reference forum. Built by actuaries for actuaries.