When to review your insurance cover — and what to check
Insurance bought years ago may no longer reflect your life or assets. Certain life events are a reliable trigger for an insurance review. This guide lists them and explains what to check in each case.
Life events that should trigger an insurance review
Most people review insurance only at renewal. But several life events create a mismatch between your cover and your actual circumstances — often leaving you under-insured or paying for cover you no longer need.
Buildings insurance is required by mortgage lenders from exchange of contracts. Contents insurance should reflect the full replacement value of everything you are moving in. Check that new items — furniture, appliances — are added to the sum insured.
Update named drivers on motor policies. Confirm joint ownership is reflected in buildings and contents cover. Update life insurance beneficiaries. Consider joint policy options.
Significantly changes your life insurance needs — a new dependant requires greater financial protection. Income protection becomes more critical. Contents value increases. Check whether your vehicle classification needs updating.
A new TV, laptop, jewellery, or bicycle above the single-article limit needs to be added as a specified item. Do not wait for renewal — notify your insurer immediately and get written confirmation of coverage.
Self-employment removes employer sick pay and group cover — income protection and life cover become personal priorities. Starting a higher-risk job (or lower-risk) may affect motor and life premiums.
Remove ex-partners as named drivers and beneficiaries. Separate joint policies. Review whether sole income now needs to cover what was previously a two-income household.
An extension, loft conversion, or kitchen replacement increases your home's rebuild cost. Notify your buildings insurer before works begin and update the sum insured on completion. Some insurers restrict cover during major construction.
Mortgage may be paid off — review whether life cover is still needed at the same level. Motor annual mileage typically decreases. Travel insurance needs may increase. Review whether income protection has lapsed correctly at its retirement age.
Annual renewal checks
Even without a life event, each renewal is an opportunity to confirm that your policy still correctly reflects your situation. The key checks:
- Buildings sum insured: Check against the RICS rebuild cost index or a rebuild cost calculator. Rebuild costs have risen sharply in recent years.
- Contents sum insured: Add the replacement cost of any significant purchases made since your last renewal. A room-by-room contents valuation every 2–3 years is advisable.
- Motor annual mileage: If working pattern has changed, update your stated mileage. Overstating mileage costs money; understating it can affect a claim.
- No-claims bonus: Confirm the NCB years stated are accurate before signing any renewal.
- Premium vs market: Use a comparison site or broker to check whether you are still being offered a competitive rate. See our guide to comparing insurance quotes.
Insurance review FAQ
Frequently asked questions
- At minimum, review each policy at renewal — once a year for most policies. Even without a life event, asset values change (contents, vehicle, home rebuild cost), premium markets change, and better products become available. For buildings insurance specifically, rebuild cost indices change annually; the ABI rebuilding cost guidance is updated regularly. For contents, add a buffer each year to account for new purchases.
- It can — in several ways. Motor insurance should be updated to add or remove named drivers. Contents and buildings policies should be checked to ensure both partners are named or that the policy covers joint ownership. Life insurance beneficiary designations should be updated to reflect your spouse (and trust documentation if applicable — see our article on life insurance in trust). Health insurance may allow addition of a partner at a favourable rate at this life event.
- Yes — especially for home contents insurance, which may have restrictions on business equipment stored at home or liability for clients visiting the property. For motor insurance, if your commute pattern has changed (or you no longer commute), update your stated annual mileage and vehicle use class. Failure to disclose material changes can result in a claim being refused. See our guide to exclusions for how material non-disclosure affects cover.
- Verify that the sum insured still reflects your outstanding mortgage balance and dependants' financial needs. Check the remaining term — if your mortgage term has been extended or you have a new mortgage, your life cover term should match. Confirm beneficiary designations are current. If your policy is not yet written in trust and you have dependants, consider doing so now — it costs nothing but can speed up payment and reduce estate complications.