Why Now's the Time to Audit Your Life Insurance Policy

You likely review your spending and finances on a regular basis, but do you give the same attention to your life insurance policy? Like many, when you’re busy with day-to-day life, it can be easy to forget the importance of changing your life insurance coverage. But having the right coverage that fits your world is more important than you may realize.

Because your world can change quickly, the policy you purchased five years, 10 years or even a year ago may not be the best fit anymore. An annual SuperCheck® with your Farm Bureau agent can help you keep your coverage up-to-date year after year.  

Not sure if your policies might need an update? Check out these five factors that can drive the need for a change:

1. Experiencing Life Changes

Many major changes in your life — getting married, buying a house, starting a new job, expanding your family, moving to a new city, experiencing changes in your health, caring for an aging parent — can require more coverage. Sometimes even smaller life changes can affect your need for coverage. If you haven’t reviewed your policy in the last year, now is the right time to do a SuperCheck.

2. Achieving Milestones

Not all life changes require more coverage. When you reduce your financial responsibilities, you may be able to lower your coverage. For example, paying off your mortgage, retiring and becoming empty nesters could allow for less coverage.

3. Changing Your Beneficiaries

Has your marital status changed recently, or did you welcome a new baby into your family? These examples are good reasons to reexamine your list of beneficiaries.

4. Planning for Long-Term Care

A life insurance policy ensures your family’s future is protected, but did you know a daily living rider can help protect you while you’re still living? With a daily living rider, you can choose to receive a portion of your policy’s death benefit as a way to provide some financial support if you become chronically ill or are unable to perform two of five essential tasks of daily living — eating, toileting, transferring, bathing, dressing and/or continence.[1]

5. Improving Your Health

Living a healthy lifestyle can have a direct impact on your life insurance premium. If you’ve made improvements to your health such as quit smoking, lost weight, lowered your cholesterol, you may qualify for a better premium rate.  

If you’re experiencing any of these factors, your Farm Bureau insurance agent can sit down with you to go over all changes and update your coverage. Don’t have a Farm Bureau agent? We can help. Use our find an agent feature to connect with an agent near you.

Sources:

Insurance Information Institute

National Association of Insurance Commissioners