Are you one of 13M Brits with the wrong level of life insurance?

Recent research conducted by leading life insurance provider, Legal and General, found that almost 13 million Brits do not have the right life insurance in place.

What does this mean?

Legal and General found that over 43% of adults surveyed were found to have some sort of life insurance policy. These may include critical illness cover, income protection insurance, or term life insurance

. But the problem is not about whether or not you have cover, it’s a question of, do you have the right cover?

Having the right type and amount of cover in place is crucial. Otherwise, your family could be in financial trouble, if the worst were to happen.

Why should you review your cover?

The whole point of reviewing your life insurance policy is to ensure that your cover aligns with your current circumstances, instead of your circumstances 10 years ago.

Having regular reviews of your life insurance ensures that your cover always reflects your current financial priorities, not your old ones. 

Neglecting to review your life insurance could result in a shortfall in your cover. This has the potential to leave your loved ones high and dry, if the unthinkable were to happen to you.

Could you be paying too much for your cover?

In this day and age, who can afford to be paying over the odds for something? By reviewing your cover with us, you may find that you were previously paying too much for your policy.

If we found that your policy doesn’t align with your circumstances, and you need less cover, this could result in a reduction in your premiums.

The key life events

Life changes and a lot can happen over the years. But major life events like starting a family, getting married, buying a house, and more could impact your life insurance.

• Having kids changes everything, and your priorities will be very different when you’re a parent. It might also mean you’ll need a different type of life insurance policy.


  
  
• Tying the knot is a big moment, some might say the biggest of your life. Now you’ve got a life partner, you’ll probably be sharing a lot; your living space, your finances. So making sure your life insurance policy covers your joint priorities is vital.
  
  
• Buying a house can take a big hit on your finances, and a mortgage is one of the biggest debts you can have in your life. If you move house, get a second mortgage, or even buy a second property; you’ll need to update your life insurance policy to reflect this new change.
  
  
• Divorce is becoming increasingly more common, and sadly sometimes things just don’t work out. If you and your partner got divorced, and you had a joint life insurance policy, you’ll need to cancel this, and get your own policies.
  
  
• An improvement in your health could call for an update of your life insurance policy. If you took out life insurance when your health wasn’t 100%, getting in touch and updating your cover could be beneficial.
  
  

Ex-smokers - you could reduce your premiums!

If you were a smoker when you first sorted your life insurance, but you’ve since ditched the cigs, you could be paying less for your cover.

If you’ve made the decision to quit smoking, whether it’s for health, or otherwise - you should review your cover.

The reason is simple. By quitting smoking, or not using any nicotine replacement products for only 12 months, most UK life insurance providers will class you as a non-smoker.

Why income protection matters

One of the findings from the research was that two out of five households said they would have to rely on their savings if their cover fell short – and many would be forced to use credit cards or take out loans to pay unexpected costs.

Income protection insurance is a type of life insurance policy that financially protects the money we earn. Covering up to 60% of your wage, this policy will act as a financial safety net, if you could no longer work because of illness or injury.

It might be time to cover your kids

Like we mentioned above, becoming a parent is life changing, and getting your life insurance to reflect your new life with kids is vital. The good news is, with policies like critical illness cover, more often than not, you can include your children in your policy.

Children’s critical illness cover is an added extra onto an adult critical illness policy. Depending on which insurer you match with, sometimes you’ll need to pay a little extra to get children's cover added onto your policy.

However, some of the top life insurers do include it as standard when you take out a critical illness policy with them.

 Many insurers either cover a percentage of the adult's sum assured or pay out a set lump sum.

For example, AIG, one of the UK’s leading life insurance providers, say they’ll pay up to £50,000 or 50% of your cover depending on the type and severity of the condition covered.

The importance of reviewing your life insurance

The research found that, out of the 23 million people covered by a life insurance policy, more than half have failed to review their insurance in line with milestones such as marriage, buying a home, starting a family, or getting divorced.

Without the right level of cover from your life insurance policy, you could leave yourself, and your loved ones in the lurch, if something were to happen.

Your life insurance policy is there to act as a safety net, providing support for you and your family if times ever get tough.

It costs nothing

Whether you think you need to review your cover, or not, updating your policy costs nothing. So why do many people neglect to give their life insurance a review every now and then?

We think it’s because people don’t know they need to. So take this as your sign to review your policy (if you haven’t already)! If we helped you take out insurance, and you’re worried about your cover not being up to date - get in touch and we can help.

If you haven’t yet got cover

If you’re still without life insurance, we urge you to consider it. 

Term life insurance covers you for death. Critical illness cover can pay-out a lump sum if you were diagnosed with a serious illness. Income protection can cover the money you earn.

Life insurance is there to give you peace of mind, and provide your loved ones with the financial security they deserve.

Don't be afraid to ask for help

There are so many different types of life insurance available, and it’s not always easy to know which one is right for you.

With help from life insurance experts, like us, you won't need to worry about not having the right amount of cover. We will also contact you every couple of years to make sure you’re still happy with your policy.

What we do

At Busy Bee, our mission is clear.

We want to make life insurance accessible and easy-to-understand. But above all, we want you to leave your conversation with one of our experts with a life insurance policy suited to your needs, and affordability.

To get started with your life insurance journey, click the button below today!