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Who are your beneficiaries?  Is it time to update your insurance policies?

Who are your beneficiaries? Is it time to update your insurance policies?

Date: 11 October 2021 | By: Marketing

So, here’s a question.  When was the last time you checked your insurance policies? Now that we have you wondering, try to remember who your beneficiaries are. Are they still relevant people in your life?

Insurance provider, Phoenix Life polled more than 2,000 UK adults and found that staggering numbers of policyholders failed to review the recipients of their policies since setting them up.

An astonishing 62% of life insurance policyholders fell into this category, as did 60% for critical illness policyholders and 61% for income protection policyholders.

In the most simplistic terms, this means that should anything happen to those policyholders, they could end up leaving money to people they don’t wish to!

Who should review their life insurance policies?

If your personal circumstances and relationship status haven’t changed, this is unlikely to be an issue for you; but failure to regularly review your policies can lead to significant issues if you’re divorced, have remarried or had additional children.  Similarly, if the intended recipient of your insurance payout has passed away you need to update your policy to ensure the monies go to a person of your choosing.

Current ONS statistics show that there are around 615,557 births and 107,599 divorces a year in the UK.  These numbers give a clear demonstration of the number of circumstances and relationship changes in just 12 months.

The problem appears to stem from a lack of awareness among policyholders – and we get it, once you’ve taken out your policy, why would you think to look at it again?

But it’s vital to ensure that your policy is kept up to date and reviewed regularly, particularly after certain life events to ensure the correct people benefit from the policies.  As a minimum, add it to your annual calendar.

If you’d like to discuss how to review your policies or if you have any questions, we’re always happy to help. Contact us via this link or call us today on 01639 262222.

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