Do you have the right life insurance for you?

Even if you think you have the right cover for you, it may no longer suit your needs. Here’s some information to help you think about whether you may need a change.

You likely already know that you can make changes to your life insurance cover over time and there are many reasons you might decide to do this.

For instance, you might have rushed into buying life cover and ended up with an unsuitable policy. Maybe it was wrong for you from the beginning.

Even if that’s not the case, circumstances change over time. Your needs today may not be the same as when you first bought the policy.

Many people make the mistake of falling into a set-and-forget mentality when it comes to their Life insurance. They sign up for a policy and think that’s it. They don’t go back to review their cover once in a while and as time goes on, their policy may not be as suitable for their needs anymore.

It might be time to go over your policy again. You may decide you need to make changes to your cover. Here are some of the most common signs that you should revisit your Life insurance.

Has your insurer notified you that your premiums have increased?

While increases may be common to keep up with inflation, it’s probably a good idea to check if your coverage has changed as well. If not, you may want to contact your life insurance company and see what’s going on.

Always make sure that you’re getting competitive premiums. Don’t hesitate to discuss the issue if the prices keep going up, without clear benefits to you. However, keep in mind that you should be careful if you decide to cancel any of your existing cover – this may have disadvantages, including the fact that if you cancel cover and take out new cover, generally you will need to go through the underwriting process again as well.

If you own your home outright, why would you pay for a policy that provides enough to cover your mortgage should you pass away?

Things change over time so it’s a good idea to consider how much cover you need on a regular basis. If you’ve now paid off your mortgage, that’s an example of something you may decide you no longer need to allow for when considering how much cover you need.

When buying life insurance, it’s always prudent to read the fine print. That can save you both money and time in the long run. If you don’t read your policy with full attention, you may end up paying for things that you don’t need.

Also, if you make specific life-changing decisions, check to see if they affect your life insurance decisions. For instance, if you don’t have children at school, having enough cover to provide for their education expenses if you were to pass away may not be a factor you need to consider any more.

If you bought your policy when you were young, you might not have looked far enough into the future. Have your circumstances changed since then?

The answer is probably “Yes.”

You may have since married and started a family. This might be a good time to consider changing your cover and perhaps your policy beneficiary. Policyholders are likely to want to make sure that their spouse will have assistance covering any expenses that may arise upon their death. These may include liabilities, such as debts and bills, and necessary expenses, such as funeral costs.

Life insurance doesn’t just need to cover the main breadwinner in a family. You may also want to think about buying a policy for your spouse, even if they don’t produce an income for example. If they were to pass away unexpectedly, you might have to pay money to cover the work that they did, such as caring for your home and children.

Having children also means that you’ll likely want to plan for tertiary education costs.

Your policy would likely also need updating if you get a divorce. If nothing else, you might want to update your nominated beneficiary.

Life insurance products are not just available for death (life cover) and severe illness (trauma cover). They can also provide cover for situations such as being unable to work due to illness. Income protection cover can help tide you and your family over for a while if you’re unable to work due to illness. Total and Permanent Disability cover can provide a lump sum payment in case you’re never able to work again because of sickness or injury.

Let’s say you have income protection cover – if your income goes up, you may no longer have the right income-protection cover for your needs. With a higher income, you and your family may have become accustomed to a higher living standard. Your expenses may have gone up, as well.

If your income protection is at a lower cover level, that might not be enough for your comfort should you suddenly lose your income.

This is why it’s a good idea to review your income protection cover if your salary increases, especially if it’s a big increase. Conversely, if your income decreases, you may qualify for lower premiums if you decide to reduce your level of cover.

Many people decide to think about life insurance upon the purchase of a new home.

Most life insurance companies allow you to adjust your cover to reflect this by increasing your life cover sum insured (but remember you may be required to undergo a further underwriting process, depending on your policy terms and how much you want to increase your cover by). You can make sure you have enough cover to allow for repayment of your new mortgage should you pass away.

Should something happen to you, the monthly mortgage payments will likely still need to be paid. The same goes for other types of loans which represent an ongoing financial commitment. If you’ve taken out a car or personal loan, you may want to consider increasing your coverage, too.

Think about your life insurance needs regularly

It’s only natural that your life will change over time, so will your needs.

If you bought your Life insurance at a young age, you’ll probably need to think about updating your list of beneficiaries at some point. If you have a group life insurance policy through your employer, you might want to modify it when you retire.

As you see, there are plenty of life events that can affect the type of cover you may need.

These include buying a new home with a mortgage. Your family would likely need to continue the repayments if anything untoward were to happen to you. Your life insurance can provide a payment if you pass away to help cover that expense.

Even if there have been no big changes in your life, it wouldn’t hurt to review your policy from time to time.

For further information call NobleOak on 1300 041 494 or visit nationalseniorsinsurance.com.au