6 Easy ways to keep your life insurance up to date
Published on Mon Nov 11 2019 in Money
There are probably a lot of items on your to-do list. Grocery shopping, picking up prescriptions, dropping the kids off at sport practice, fixing that leaky tap… so thinking about your life insurance policy might be pretty low on your list.
However, it’s important to give your policy a bit of attention now and then. Making sure the details are up-to-date could help any future claims go smoothly. After all, if someone’s making a claim, they probably have more important things to worry about.
Here are 6 easy ways to keep your life insurance policy up-to-date:
1. Check your contact details
If we have old contact details on file, you might miss something important! That includes your policy documents and missed payment reminders.
Our Customer Care team can update your contact details if you’ve made any changes to your email address, phone number or postal address. Haven’t heard from us in a while? We can double check that what we have is correct, so you stay in the loop.
2. Check your payment details
Getting a new debit card usually means updating payment details for lots of bills. Remember to add your life insurance to that list!
Having an old debit card number on file could cause payment problems on our end. Be sure to give us a call when you get a new card, or switch to direct debit. Unless you close that bank account, you won’t have to worry about your card expiring ever again.
3. Let us know if your name changes
Legally changing your name is another time to give us a call—whether you’re getting married, got divorced or for any other reason.
When a claim is made, we ask for proof of your identity to start the process. If the name on the policy is different from what’s shown on the identification we receive, it can slow things down. Letting us know if your name has changed could make claims less complicated.
4. Let us know if you still smoke
Were you a smoker when you took out your policy? If you’ve quit since then, we’d like to know!
Once you’ve been smoke-free for at least 12 months, you could qualify for lower premiums. Just fill out the “Non-Smoking Declaration Questionnaire” and return it to Customer Care. We’ll review your policy to see if we can offer you a lower premium rate.
5. Check your level of cover
Life changes, and your life insurance needs may change along with it. The amount of cover you picked when you took out your policy may no longer fit your needs.
There are lots of reasons why someone might decide to increase their amount of cover, including the big three: getting married, buying a home or having a baby. There are also reasons why people sometimes lower their cover amount, like finally paying off their mortgage or retiring.
6. Check your beneficiary
The beneficiary is the person who will receive money when we pay a claim made on your policy. You can add more than one beneficiary to your policy and choose how much each person should get.
You may want to check who you’ve picked as your beneficiary from time-to-time. Beneficiaries can be added or removed at any time. Just fill out the “Nomination of Beneficiaries” form and return it to Customer Care.
Reviewing your life insurance policy from time to time could be a big help when it comes time to make a claim. Give your policy a look now and set an ongoing calendar reminder to check it every six months, once a year or as often as you want. Many of these changes are easy to make—just a few minutes of care now for less hassle in the future!
If you need to update your life insurance policy, give our Customer Care team a call on 0800 108 108.
About Author: Momentum Life is a leading provider of Life insurance and Funeral insurance in New Zealand.
The content provided in this article is for information purposes only. The information is of a general nature and does not constitute financial advice or other professional advice. To the extent that any of the content constitutes financial advice, it is limited to Momentum Life products only and does not consider your specific financial needs or goals. You should consider whether the information is appropriate for you and seek independent professional advice, if required.
All product information is correct at the time this article was published. For current product information, please visit the Momentum Life website.