Your life insurance is there to protect you, your family and your lifestyle. So when your circumstances and your lifestyle change, your life insurance may also need to change too. That’s why you should consider reviewing your cover regularly to make sure you and your loved ones still have the protection you need – and aren’t paying for anything you don’t.
The good news is that changing your cover isn’t complicated. In fact, most life insurance policies have a future insurability feature that allows you to increase your cover without having to undergo any further medical checks.
Here are some simple steps you can take to help make sure you have the right level of life insurance cover for your needs.
When to consider reviewing your cover
As you move from one stage of life to the next, your insurance needs are likely to change. That’s why it’s a good idea to review your cover every year with the help of your financial adviser.
You should also check your cover after any major life event which has the potential to impact your financial responsibilities or needs. These might include:
- Getting married or divorced.
- Starting or growing your family.
- Buying a home or increasing your mortgage.
- Getting a promotion with a salary increase.
- Setting up your own business.
- Becoming a carer to an elderly relative.
Increasing your cover
Depending on the policy you choose, there may be a cap on how much you can increase your cover, so you should always read the Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) or speak to your financial adviser before making any decisions.
You can usually increase life insurance cover without health assessment when certain life events happen, like if you marry or if you welcome a new child into your life. For example, when you take out a Zurich Wealth Protection life insurance policy through a financial adviser, you can increase your cover by up to $200,000 – or 25% of the initial sum insured– within 30 days in any one year after a life event happens, right up until your 54th birthday. If you take out an Ezicover policy directly with Zurich, the cap is reduced to $100,000.
And it’s a quick and simple process: all you have to do is fill out a short application form and provide evidence of the event – for example, a marriage or birth certificate.
One thing to remember is that any increase in cover will also raise your premiums. You can call us or you can contact your financial adviser to help you calculate the level of cover you need and give you an instant quote – that way you know exactly how much extra you’ll be paying in premiums.
When to consider decreasing your cover
Of course, as your life changes, your life insurance needs might fall as well as rise. You might want to decrease your cover when you have fewer financial responsibilities – if you’ve paid off your home loan and your children have become independent, for example.
That’s why it’s important to review your cover with your financial adviser every time a major life event occurs, or when you move into a new stage of life. This is so they can help you make sure you and your loved ones always have the protection you need.