When should you review your life insurance?
Your life insurance should be reviewed whenever your financial commitments or personal circumstances change significantly. Key trigger events include:
- Buying a home: Your mortgage is likely your largest financial commitment — make sure your life insurance covers the outstanding balance
- Getting married or entering a civil partnership: Update your beneficiaries and consider whether your sum assured reflects your partner's financial dependence on you
- Having children: Each child increases your financial responsibilities — review whether your sum assured reflects the cost of raising them to adulthood
- Divorce or separation: Update beneficiaries immediately; review joint policies; consider whether coverage levels still match your needs as a single person
- Changing jobs: If your employer provides death-in-service and you change jobs, your group cover may change — top up with personal cover if needed
- Income increase: If your income increases significantly, ensure your cover amount still provides adequate income replacement
- Children leaving home: You may be able to reduce your sum assured as financial commitments decrease
- Mortgage repaid: Once mortgage-free, consider whether you still need the same level of cover
How to review your life insurance
- Locate all existing policies and note their sum assured, term, and type
- Calculate your current financial commitments — mortgage balance, income replacement needed, debts
- Compare your existing cover against current needs — identify any gaps
- Check whether beneficiary nominations are up to date (especially if written in trust)
- Compare the whole market — you may be able to get better value on a new policy
Can I change my life insurance policy?
Existing policies generally cannot be increased in sum assured without new underwriting. However, you can take out an additional policy to supplement your existing cover — both policies run simultaneously and pay out independently on death.
Frequently Asked Questions
Every 3–5 years as a minimum, and immediately after any significant life event — buying a home, getting married, having children, or changing jobs.
Most policies cannot be directly increased — you would need to take out an additional policy. Some policies include a guaranteed insurability option allowing you to increase cover at certain life events without new underwriting.