Update Your Life Insurance Annually

You should not buy a life insurance policy, stick it in a drawer, and forget about it. You should check at least once a year to ensure that you have the right amount of insurance coverage to meet your needs. Set a date to review your life insurance policy. Maybe you review your policies around your birthday every year or right after the New Year. You may want to consider updating your life insurance just like you rebalance your investment portfolio. So, when you shift your stock allocations around at the end of the year, look at your insurance policies as well to make sure that you have enough coverage. You will also want to double check that you have the right beneficiaries named as well. If not, you will have to fill out a new piece of paperwork with your life insurance company, but it is a quick and easy fix.

Update After Big Changes

You should update your policy as large, important things in your life change. Did you get a new job, a raise, or have a new baby? Did you buy a new home or a rental property that still has a mortgage? These are just a few events in your life that may be worth your while to reexamine your life insurance needs and update your life insurance policy. Big events in your life happen all of the time as our families grow and we take on new responsibilities. Often, we forget about our insurance policies because they are there working in the background and the binder the policy came in is buried in a drawer somewhere. A big life event or change is a great time to take the insurance binder out, dust it off, and truly consider if you need more insurance or if you need to update your policy.