New Year, New Policy: Reasons to Up Your Life Insurance Coverage in 2020

January 2, 2020

Happy New Year! The start of a new year is a time for many things: to reflect on the previous year, to set goals for the coming year, and to think about what you need to do for a prosperous, successful year.

It is strongly encouraged that everyone reviews their personal insurance policies at least on an annual basis, and the start of a new year is a great time for your personal insurance review. When it comes to life insurance, there are a few questions you’ll want to ask yourself:

• How much coverage do I have? Do I have as much as I would like?
• Does my spouse have coverage?
• Would my loved ones be covered in the event of my death?
• Will my coverage last through the year? (If you have a term life insurance policy, this is an important thing to consider.)
• Has my family, finances, or health changed in the past year?

Odds are, you’re going to want to have a conversation with your life insurance agent about your coverage for 2020 and beyond. And odds are, the right move is going to be adding more coverage, not taking your existing coverage away. Let’s take a look at why you might want to increase your coverage as you enter this new decade.

A Case for Multiple Policies

It’s not uncommon for households or individuals to believe that one policy is enough. Whether you have group life insurance coverage through your job or the main breadwinner of your family has their own life insurance policy, you may assume that you have all of the coverage that you need. Or you might just be confused about how having multiple life insurance policies will work.

The truth is, you absolutely can have multiple life insurance policies, and they will work together to provide you with more comprehensive coverage than one policy can on its own. Your work policy might offer some coverage, but adding your own policy will give you even more coverage and will ensure that you will be protected if you leave your current company. Your breadwinner spouse might have their own policy, but you having a policy means that they will have extra protection in the event of your passing, and could even use the death benefit to take some time away from work to regroup.

One popular strategy, known as “laddering”, involves purchasing multiple term life insurance policies of different lengths and coverage amounts, and using them concurrently. Customers use this strategy to save money and to tailor their life insurance coverage to their changing needs. For example, this would allow you to have the highest amount of coverage earlier on, when you and your children are younger, and would decrease as you age and your children become less financially dependent. 

Additional Reasons to Increase Your Life Insurance Coverage

There are other reasons why you may want to have additional coverage. These include:

• You own a small business and need additional coverage to take care of professional needs as well as personal needs;
• Your family has expanded, and your current coverage no longer would provide them with enough help;
• You’ve had an increase in income, and want a new death benefit to reflect this;
• You’ve changed your lifestyle and want to ensure that your family will be able to maintain this in the event of your death;
• A loved one is ill or aging, and you would like to provide for them as well;
• You’ve bought a new home and want to ensure that your family will be able to remain there;
• You’re thinking about estate planning and how you would like to bequeath your estate.

The New Year also offers opportunities to improve your current life insurance situation. Have you made resolutions to eat healthily, quit smoking or drinking, or get more exercise? Losing weight and making other changes towards a healthy lifestyle can have a great impact on you, and could lead to decreased premium costs.

About National Catholic Society of Foresters

At National Catholic Society of Foresters, we pride ourselves on giving back to the communities that we serve by providing quality and comprehensive insurance solutions. Sales from our financial services products help fund member benefits along with social, educational, and volunteer programs designed to respond to community needs. Our portfolio is extensive, ranging from various life insurance policies to IRA’s to support your financial needs no matter what stage of life you’re in. For more information, contact our friendly experts today at (855) 804-7424.