Review your life cover
There are various reasons why reviewing your life cover regularly is a good idea. Major life events such as a marriage or birth of a child could mean your current policy doesn’t fit your needs anymore.
Most people don’t think to review their cover once it is in place. Reviewing your life insurance allows you to be certain your loved ones always have the right level of protection. You may even be able to save money on your policy, with help and advice from one of our life insurance experts.
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Why should you review your life cover?
It is easy to fall into the trap of thinking that you don’t need to look at your life insurance again once you have bought it.
Life can be unpredictable and you likely aren’t in the exact same situation you were in when you originally bought your policy. There are lots of events that can happen in a person’s life which mean it is worth giving your life insurance policy a second look. You can choose to:
- Increase or decrease the amount of cover (£s)
- Adjust your policy term (how long you are covered for)
- Change the type of policy (e.g. switch from mortgage life insurance to family life insurance)
- Add or remove policy holders (usually following a marriage or divorce/separation)
It is important to remember you aren’t tied in forever once you have bought a policy. Remember, life insurance customers always have the right to change or cancel their cover if they need to.
Main reasons to review your life cover
It is important to review your existing life insurance policy to ensure your loved ones don’t end up in a difficult financial situation if you died. Following big life events you might find the amount of life insurance you have is too little (or too much) for the protection you need.
If you choose to update your life insurance, there are some great potential benefits to this. You can:
- Make sure your policy matches your current needs
- Benefit from lower prices if your health has improved
- Reduce your cover amount (and monthly insurance premiums) if you don’t need as much cover now e.g. your children have left home
- Increase your life insurance coverage to a higher amount if this is now more affordable for you
Here we have some of the top reasons to review your life insurance cover:
Getting married
If you have recently gotten married or your wedding is coming up, this is a good time to think about your life insurance. Marriage is a big commitment, combining both your lives and your financial responsibilities.
It is important to make sure you have the proper protection in place, in the event something happened to you or your partner. If you have a mortgage or family together (or are planning to), consider whether you would struggle financially if one of you was no longer there.
Many newlyweds choose to switch to a joint life insurance policy to protect both lives, but two single policies can work just as well. Which is the right option for you will come down to personal preference.
More about JOINT LIFE INSURANCE.
More about LIFE INSURANCE FOR NEWLYWEDS.
Having a child
Welcoming a new child into your family is an exciting time, but also one of the most important reasons to review your life cover.
If anything were to happen to you, you want to be sure your children have suitable financial support in place. The last thing you want is for your family to struggle with expenses such as funeral costs or mortgage payments during an already difficult time.
After the birth or adoption of a child, you could choose to:
- Increase your cover (£s)
- Switch to a new provider better suited to you
- Take out an extra policy for more financial security e.g. critical illness cover or income protection.
More about LIFE INSURANCE FOR PARENTS.
More about LIFE INSURANCE FOR MUMS and LIFE INSURANCE FOR DADS.
Changing your mortgage or moving home
Mortgage life insurance (decreasing term) pays out a lump sum that should clear any debt remaining on your mortgage balance if you die. If you change your mortgage amount, remortgage or decide to move home, don’t forget you might also need to change your life cover.
Your mortgage life insurance will be tailored to the amount needed to cover your previous mortgage. If you don’t adjust your policy, you could end up with more cover than you need or falling short of the mortgage balance.
More about MORTGAGE LIFE INSURANCE.
Getting divorced or separating
Divorce or separation is another major life event that will have a serious impact on you and your family. You will need to think about your future and also whether you need to make changes to legal arrangements and life insurance.
Luckily, some life insurance companies will allow you to split up a joint policy into two single policies without a need for more medical underwriting. It is definitely worth checking if this option is available before cancelling completely. Our insurance experts can look into this for you if you are unsure and will support you through this process.
You should also think about who you want to benefit from your life insurance policy now. Where this may have included your ex-partner before, it’s possible you want to change this.
A great way to specify exact wishes for your life insurance benefit is to write your policy into trust. This works as a (usually) free alternative to a will and is available with most insurance providers. A trust allows you to state who receives your life insurance pay out and can help to avoid inheritance tax (IHT) and probate.
Find out more in our TRUSTS GUIDE.
Improvements to your health
If you have quit smoking, lost weight, or generally improved your lifestyle, you could now have access to policies and pricing that was previously unavailable.
If you have medical conditions, your pricing would have been based on your health when you applied. If for example you have diabetes and have improved your Hba1c readings, your provider may now be willing to offer cover at a lower price.
Quitting smoking is a great way to save money on your life insurance, as non smokers can often access better prices. You could save up to 50% on your life insurance policy after 12 months. You are then classed as a non-smoker and can take advantage of lower pricing.
Other reasons to review your cover
Here a few more good reasons to think about adjusting your life insurance policy. This could be increasing or decreasing cover, changing the type of policy or even switching to a new insurer.
- Your child or children have left home and are now financially independent
- You have started a new business (business life insurance)
- You have sold your business
- You have switched job roles and now make more/less money
- You have retired
How to review your life cover
Life insurance is a very flexible policy so you should always have some options available when reviewing your cover. The best thing to do first would be to speak to your current provider to see what they have on offer.
A lot of insurers will include Guaranteed Insurability in their policies. This will let you change your amount of cover easily following a big life event, without having to answer more medical questions.
Our insurance experts have years of expertise and can help you review and change your policy quicky and hassle free. With access to a panel of TOP UK INSURANCE PROVIDERS, we can assess pricing and policies across the market. This saves you the time of doing this yourself and we guarantee to find you the policy that suits you best at a fair price.
Useful resources
Statista – Life insurance industry in the United Kingdom (UK)
