Life insurance will increasingly be utilized as a solution to address the intergenerational wealth transfer, Lioner Partner Andrew Chan said in an interview, with growing jumbo-sized policies among ultra-high net worth families.
As Asia undergoes a historic wealth transfer, succession planning is being spotlighted to ensure smooth transition and insurance is becoming a common solution of choice. According to a McKinsey report, USD 5.8 trillion in assets is expected to be moved from one generation to the next in the region by 2030 with the new business premiums for high net worth individuals set to reach USD 100-140 billion.
“I believe life insurance will be a big part of the next boom in the intergenerational transfer of wealth,” said Andrew Chan, partner at Hong Kong-headquartered wealth planning consortium Lioner, in an interview with Global Private Banker.
“It has an investment component with well-diversified strategies for potential asset appreciation. It is an effective solution to pass on assets to a selected beneficiary, which is not as costly as setting up a trust. It is also a popular option to fund the cost of wealth inheritance tax, which can exceed 50% in certain jurisdictions.”
Accelerating business growth
Founded in 2021, Lioner is underlines its 3-in-1 model as a differentiator as it allows it to holistically providing wealth planning solutions across trust, insurance, and family office services.
According to a presentation, it has seen revenue grow by 2.5 times year-on-year in 2025. Within insurance, savings (76%) and whole life (19%) policies account for the majority of cases. The firm has also seen increasingly large ticket sizes, having delivered life protection policies assuring sums of over USD 200 million as well as savings plans and private placement life insurance policies assuring more than USD 100 million. The business relies on external clients referred by more than 100 partners, including private banks and external asset managers.
Lioner is continuing to accelerate growth by expanding its presence. In Singapore, it moved to a larger office in 2025 at One Raffles Place in Singapore after tripling revenue in the city-state in the first six months of last year. In Switzerland, it opened a new office in Zurich in June, led by Giorgio Jeni, an insurance veteran who previously worked at UBS, HSBC, Julius Baer, and Credit Suisse. And later this year it will relocate to a new Hong Kong office at International Gateway Centre (IGC) in West Kowloon, a fresh premise that boasts other major financial tenants like UBS.
Unprepared families
Despite the optimism, there are still challenges for the wealth planning industry. For example, many families are still not ready for the wealth transfer with various obstacles such as the taboo of openly speaking about death or difficulties communicating between members.
Even in the public limelight, there are numerous high-profiled case involving family feuds after the passing of a patriarch with no clear will or succession plan. Some of the most renowned cases in Asia include the death of Macau casino tycoon Stanley Ho or India’s Reliance Industries founder Dhirubhai Ambani. More recently, the riches of Zong Qinghou, billionaire founder of Chinese beverage giant Wahaha Group, came under dispute after several half-siblings emerged to claim a stake and sued Kelly Zong, who was previously believed to be Zong Qinghou’s only child.
“While many wealth owners are 50 to 70 years old and undergoing an intergenerational transfer, they remain unprepared. In most cases, though, clients don’t know what issues they may face from the lack of succession planning. They don’t know what questions to ask and you may have to lead them,” Chan shared.
“Using publicly quoted examples in the media can be a very handy way to help them consider a plan.”
Offshore tax hunt
Another key headwind for the industry is the most recent efforts by Chinese authorities to target offshore wealth, enabled by the Common Reporting Standard. China announced a new 20% tax on gains from offshore trusts in July and this was followed by news of intensified enforcement in August of a 20% levy on gains from offshore insurance policies held by its residents.
Nonetheless, Chan remains positive on the outlook.
“The latest official measures for offshore Chinese taxation will be good in the long-term. Things might be bumpy during this transitionary period but it provides legal clarity,” he added. “We have been talking about this wealth transfer potential for many, many years. All I can say is it is happening now.”
