Reviewing your life insurance policy can be beneficial to any policyholder. Furthermore, it will ensure that it stays up to date with the relevant beneficiaries you would like to benefit from the payout.
Here is a checklist of things to keep your eye out for when reviewing your policy.
Before you start
Most policies are automatically updated for you by your insurer. However, taking the steps to review your policy at least once a year can give you a better picture of whether you are under or over insured. You can always use a life insurance calculator to find out if you are adequately covered or if you will need more cover.
What to review
Remembering to take out life cover when you are married is crucial to protecting your partner and your loved one's financial future. You can also amend it should you get a divorce. With four out of 10 marriages ending in divorce before reaching their 10th anniversary, life insurance is the last thing many couples forget to amend. The choice is yours on whether you would like to keep your partner listed or removed as one of your beneficiaries.
You are planning on having children
Whether you are planning on having children of your own, adopting or becoming a legal guardian of a family member or friend's child, reviewing your policy frequently will matter. Offering your child(ren) a secured financial future is possible by keeping your policies up to date.
Changes in your lifestyle
One of the factors that influence your premiums is your lifestyle choices that can affect your health. For example, smokers tend to pay higher premiums due to the risk that smoking poses to a person's health. However, changing high-risk hobbies such as smoking, excessive drinking, and unhealthy diets can give you a chance to ask your life insurer to review your premiums.
Taking on new responsibilities
Many South Africans find themselves in a unique situation where they care for their parents and extended family members who rely on them as breadwinners. Life insurers have created an opportunity for people to have peace of mind
knowing that their loved ones will be taken care of should they die or be diagnosed with a terminal illness. Therefore, remembering to keep your beneficiary list updated by adding or removing people can make sure that the right people receive the payout from your cover.
You are planning or purchased a home
Having life cover before you go house hunting can make the process of securing a home loan swing in your favour. You can use your life cover as surety to ensure that your mortgage is paid off should you die. It also eases the burden for your loved ones of having to stress over any debt you may have accumulated.
