While reviewing your life insurance may not be a typical New Year’s resolution, evaluating your needs and making life insurance part of your financial planning is an essential part of preparing for the year ahead. It’s important to understand your policy to ensure you have the right amount of coverage, especially as you prepare for any life changes in the new year, like buying a home, growing your family, or reaching milestones like retirement. In this article, we’ll help you understand why it’s important to make life insurance a priority in the New Year, how to review your existing coverage, and whether life insurance through work is enough.
Making Life Insurance a Top Priority in the New Year
As you get ready for a new year, it's time to reflect on your priorities and make plans to secure your future. While it’s common to make New Year’s resolutions related to financial planning, one area that often gets overlooked is life insurance. Regardless of your age or profession, life insurance should be a top priority for your financial goal-setting.
Having the right life insurance coverage allows you to ensure any dependents are taken care of, your debts are paid off, and future expenses are covered. By making life insurance part of your New Year’s financial plan, you can secure your family's future and provide them with the peace of mind they deserve.
How to Review Your Existing Life Insurance Coverage
If you already have life insurance, a new year is the perfect time to review your existing coverage since your finances and priorities may have changed since you purchased your policy. Here are a couple of actions you’ll want to consider taking:
Find ways to save: While you may have initially selected a policy or carrier that made sense for your lifestyle at the time, comparing rates from several carriers may allow you to save on your coverage. As your financial situation changes or more time passes after a major health event, you may find out that you can get a better deal on your life insurance.
Consider whether your coverage needs have changed: As your life continues to change, so do your life insurance coverage needs, especially if you went through major transitions like purchasing a home or having a child. If you opted for term life insurance, you might want to convert your coverage to a permanent policy or shop for a new life insurance policy altogether.
Should you review your policy if you already have life insurance through work?
If you have life insurance through work, you may assume you don’t need to review it in the new year. While employer-provided insurance may be convenient and is an easy way to get some coverage, you may actually be able to save on your policy and increase your coverage if you shop for life insurance independently. Here’s why you should review your group life insurance through work as part of your New Year’s financial planning:
You could save money: If saving money is one of your New Year’s resolutions, shopping around for life insurance should be a top priority. When you look for coverage outside of your employer-provided policy, you may find a variety of ways to save. You may also want to use an insurance broker like SelectQuote that can shop dozens of policies at once to save you the time and legwork.
There may be gaps in your coverage: Since companies typically provide a standard group life insurance option to their employees, there isn’t the opportunity to customize your policy, which could leave you with gaps in your coverage. By shopping independently, you can find the right type of policy for your specific financial goals, lifestyle, and family needs.
You may not have enough for your dependents: If you have several dependents, chances are you don’t have enough life insurance coverage through work. Financial experts recommend having 10-15 times your salary in coverage, which is especially important if you have children, parents, or other loved ones who rely on your income for financial support.
SelectQuote Makes it Easy to Find the Coverage You Need
As you prepare for the New Year, you don’t want to forget crucial financial goals like reviewing or finding life insurance coverage. Whether you’re shopping for a new policy or want to review your options, our licensed insurance agents make it easy to compare rates from several of the nation’s most reliable carriers in just minutes. No matter your goals and priorities, we’ll help you find coverage you can afford from a carrier you can trust.
