Discover three key reasons why you should review your life cover today...

 

Is your Life Cover right for you?

Discover three key reasons why you should review your life cover today...

Loved ones come first and foremost when we think about future financial security. This could be your spouse or children, who could be significantly impacted if you weren’t there to provide for them. Or anyone in your life who could face a financial challenge if you passed away, for example by having to pay off any loans or debts that you have.

As with any insurance policy, it’s important to review your life cover on a regular basis to ensure that you’ve got the right level of protection for your changing needs and to see if you could save money. Here are 3 key reasons why you should review your life cover today.

 

1) Your circumstances have changed

Buying a new home or having a child are two big life events that require a life cover change, but there are lots of others. Variations in your personal circumstances or even your lifestyle can mean that the life insurance you and your loved ones require has changed. You should ask yourself:

Has your health status changed?

For example:

  • You’ve given up smoking
  • You’ve been working out and lost a significant amount of weight
  • You’ve been eating healthily, and your blood pressure is down as a result

Has your financial status changed?

For example:

  • Your income has changed
  • You’ve taken out additional loans
  • Your children have left home and no longer depend on you financially

Has your marital status changed?

  • If you’ve gotten married, your spouse needs to be factored into your cover
  • If you’ve gotten divorced, your policy may need to be updated

Have you taken out other policies?

If you or your partner has subsequently taken out other policies that include an element of life cover, you should review all policies collectively to ensure that you’re not over-insured and that you’re on the right policy type for your situation; for example single cover, joint cover or dual cover.

 

2) You’ve never reviewed your cover

If you own your own home, it’s highly likely that when you took out your mortgage protection, you availed of the policy that your mortgage provider offered you and/or haven’t reviewed your cover since taking out the policy. If so, you should consider the following:

  • You could be paying too much for your mortgage protection
  • You may have Joint Life Cover where you could get Dual Life Cover for the same price (or less). Joint Life Cover has a maximum pay out of one times the cover, whereas Dual Life Cover has a maximum pay out of two times the cover. With a dual life policy, if both people were to die, there would be a pay out to the bank to clear the mortgage and the same amount would be paid to the estate; effectively double the cover.
  • Since you took out your policy, you’ve paid several years off your mortgage and may have paid some lump sums off your mortgage, so the level of cover you need has naturally decreased over time.

 

3) There may be better policies available

There are hundreds of life insurance policies available on the Irish market today. It can be mind boggling. However, the fact is that this is a highly competitive market and life insurance providers are constantly offering new types of cover, at ever more affordable prices. You should take advantage of what this market has to offer by reviewing your cover today.