Insurance Review Checklist

Insurance

Life circumstances change constantly -- marriage, children, income growth, loan repayment, parents' age. Insurance needs change with life events. An annual insurance review ensures coverage remains adequate and premiums are not wasted on excess coverage.

In detail

Insurance review triggers:nGetting married: increase life cover (new dependent), add spouse to health insurancenHaving children: significantly increase life cover (new dependents + education corpus), increase health floaternBuying property: ensure life cover clears home loan balancenIncome increase: does life cover still equal 15-20x annual income?nParents aging: add senior citizen health policy for parentsnLoan repaid: can reduce life cover slightlynChildren earning independently: no longer dependent -- recalculate HLVnnAnnual review checklist:n1. Life cover adequate vs current income and liabilities?n2. Health cover adequate vs current medical costs and city?n3. Super top-up needed as base policy sum insured ages?n4. Nominations updated after life events?n5. Any new riders needed?

Formula

Life cover review formula:nCurrent life cover >= 15x annual income + all outstanding loansnHealth cover >= Rs 10L individual or Rs 20L family floater in metro (2024 rates)

Real-life example

🇮🇳 India example

Arun's annual insurance review checklist: got married (add wife to health floater, increase life cover from Rs 75L to Rs 1.5 Cr for new dependent), bought flat (home loan Rs 80L, life cover must exceed this), income grew 40% (life cover must increase proportionately), parents now 60+ (add Rs 10L separate senior citizen policy for parents). Four changes triggered by one year of life events.

Frequently asked questions

How do I add coverage to existing policies?
Life insurance: you cannot add to existing term policy sum assured -- buy a new (separate) term policy for the additional coverage. The two policies run independently. Health insurance: either increase sum insured at renewal (subject to fresh waiting periods for increase amount) or add a super top-up policy (no fresh waiting period for new sum insured if coverage architecture is set correctly).