How often should you review your insurance policies/Takaful plans?

Reviewing the details of your insurance policies or takaful plans from time to time is important to ensure it is always in your best interests.

Many of us purchase a plan and apart from making the monthly payments, consign it to oblivion for the rest of our lives.

It may have made sense at the time of purchase, but your circumstances will most definitely change over time, and so will your coverage needs.

How often should you review your policies and when? 

Major life events like marriage or having children will change your priorities. In this case, insurance or takaful that covers your family’s health and income is useful to protect your little nest. However, your personal insurance policy or takaful plan likely does not cover this, especially if you bought it when you were single. 

Check if your employee coverage plan can be extended to your spouse, or if you can add a family member as a beneficiary to your existing plan. You can also consider upgrading your insurance/takaful to a joint plan with shared medical benefits for you and your spouse or the children included. Joint plans may also have more affordable overall premiums.

Life Insurance/Family Takaful can be bought separately to assure your family continues to have a stable source of income even if something happens to you that strips you of your ability to work.

Likewise, you should review your policy in the event of a divorce. Perhaps you would need to remove beneficiaries or trim your coverage, or even decide how to cover for children in your custody.

Career changes such as a promotion, a new job, pay cut, or job loss signal a change in income and lifestyle. If you are seeing an increase in income, consider if you want to enhance your coverage to match your commitment. Perhaps with your new earning power may come more opportunities for increased travel. In that case, you can consider getting travel insurance.

With the increasing of healthcare cost, you could also top-up to close the gap of your health coverage - it is also good to check if your coverage is enough to last you through your retirement years. You can also get critical illness coverage to supplement your medical coverage.

The last thing you want when you take on a long-term commitment is to leave your dependents responsible for fulfilling your debt obligations. Getting Life Insurance/Family Takaful that will pay for a car or a house loan/financing if you’re unable to would be a smart move. This can protect your spouse and kids or your ageing parents from the burden of debt.

One of the most significant big-ticket purchases you’ll make in your lifetime is buying a home. While all homeowners will have some form of house insurance/takaful protecting against fire or weather damage to the physical structure, many find it useful to also insure the contents inside their home. Secure Home insurance covers the damage or loss of household items against all risks, including fire, flood, theft, accidents and more. After all, your furniture and electrical appliances as well as personal belongings like jewellery, clothes and watches all hold financial and sentimental value.

We recommend scheduling a yearly review of your insurance policies/takaful plans with your insurance or takaful provider or bank. Timely review of your plans and policies ensures your coverage is well-suited to your changing needs, particularly when you go through a major life event, career change, or have a big-ticket spend to make.