Have You Reviewed Your Individual Life Insurance Lately?
For most of us, our individual life insurance is just an afterthought, something we sign up for when we get hired into a job and then promptly forget about until someone else in our life dies. Then we stop to wonder what would happen if we died unexpectedly, would our individual life insurance be enough for our family? Taking the time to review your policy should be as regular as getting the oil changed in your car – and it’s far more important. You can replace your car, but you won’t be able to replace yourself and the security you bring to others in your life. Following are some questions you need to ask yourself at least once a year.
How Much Coverage Do You Have?
Each year (hopefully), your job is going to give you a raise for the excellent work you do. Because of this, your family is going to become accustomed to more income coming in, which means that your life insurance policy should adjust as well. Most people should have a policy in the amount of at least one year’s salary, though more is a better idea. You want your family to be covered for a while until they can get used to the idea of your income not being there (and well as the grief of your loss). Each year, you should assess the amount you want covered, increasing it each year, ideally.
What’s Your Rate?
You will also want to look at the rate you are paying for your individual life insurance to see if it’s a fair rate. With the competitiveness of this market, you might be able to get a better deal with someone else – if you take the time to look. Based on your health and your age, you will find a wide range of insurance premiums and one of them is bound to be lower than the one you have right now. On occasion, make sure you are looking up life insurance quotes for the amount you want. And if you find a lower rate, talk to your current insurance company to see if they can match this – or take your business elsewhere.
What are the Terms?
Of course, an individual life insurance policy doesn’t mean much if your family isn’t going to be able to use it as they’d like. Check out the terms and the policies that go along with your policy – reading even the finest of fine print to see what your family will need to do in the event of your untimely death. If you don’t have a copy of your terms, make sure to get a copy as soon as you can, sitting down with your insurance agent to sort out any questions you may have along the way.
Your individual life insurance policy does need to change from time to time, so making sure to review it at least once a year is a good practice and a good habit to have.
Hodges & Company represents all the major insurance carriers. Let us shop the market to find the best plan to meet your needs. Hodges & Company is a family owned and operated independent insurance broker. Contact them to help tailor a plan that meets your needs and budget, 713.993.9710 or 1.866.993.9710.
