After purchasing a life insurance policy, most people fall into the trap of filing it away and never looking at it again until it is necessary. But it is beneficial to regularly review your coverage to ensure that the plan is best meeting your current needs. Cover you purchased 10 years ago may not work for your present situation in life. So, how should you review your life insurance policy? Let’s take a look.
Before we dive into what to look for in your policy and how to go about reviewing your coverage, you should be aware of some key times in your life that will constitute a life insurance review.
These are just a few examples of times when you may require a life insurance review. If you’ve recently had some changes in your life like the ones above, consider reviewing your coverage.
An excellent way to keep track of your life insurance coverage is to get the plan details down on paper. This way it will be easy to reference it quickly when you contact your insurer. Most policies come with an insurance declaration page that summarizes your plan’s aspects and helps you know your coverage better, but it helps to have your own made and handy when you need it.
It sounds like a no-brainer, but you should clearly understand the type of coverage you have. Is it life insurance? Final expense insurance? Critical illness coverage? Accidental death coverage? Begin here and record the exact plan type you own.
The first detail you want to record is the name of the insurer you worked with when you bought the policy. Write down the company name and ensure all contact information you have for that company is up to date. Under the contact information, record plan details like the policy number, current premiums, and the date your coverage began. This information will be necessary if you ever have to contact the insurer directly.
When reviewing aspects of your insurance policy, don’t forget to take some time to check who your beneficiaries are and if you have all the contact information for them at the ready. You mustn’t forget to check your beneficiary information, as it could have changed over the years. Perhaps when you purchased your plan, you were married and listed your spouse as the beneficiary, but now you’re divorced and need to make a change to list a sibling, child, or new spouse as your new beneficiary.
Taking a look at your plan after significant life events and at regular times each year goes a long way to ensuring it financially safeguards the people who matter most. Be sure to keep a file with all the information we mentioned above, with your policy in a safe place, so you can always have it at the ready if you need it.
If, after you’ve reviewed your plan, you think you need additional or updated coverage, we at Specialty Life Insurance are more than happy to help you. Whether you need final expense insurance, critical illness coverage, or you have a dangerous job and need accidental death insurance, we have plans that can work for your needs and budget. Contact us now to get started.