Insurance provides peace of mind and a vital safety net to protect you financially in case things go wrong. Home, car, health and other types of insurance provide important cover to put things right after an unexpected event.

But did you know that it’s essential to review your insurance policies regularly to ensure that your insurance cover is the best fit for you and your life circumstances?

Reviewing your insurance annually could ensure that cover for you, your family, and your belongings are fully up to date to protect what matters most to you.

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When to carry out an insurance review

It is important to consider your financial protection when you have a life changing event such as a major financial purchase, e.g. buying a home, or when you get married and have or adopt a child.

Financial protection such as life insurance, mortgage protection, income protection, and serious illness cover should be reviewed when life changes.

Changes to your earnings, such as a promotion or salary raise, or receiving an inheritance, and retirement are also times where you may consider reviewing insurance cover.

Annual review

But it’s not just major life changes that merit a review of your insurance cover. All types of insurance, such as home insurance, car or van insurance, and health insurance, will benefit from an annual re-assessment and review.

Rather than just automatically renewing your insurance cover every time it’s up for renewal, it can really pay off if you review your cover needs, and shop around or use Compare Insurance’s insurance comparison to get quotes for cover that aligns with your current needs and goals.

Why review insurance coverage?

As life goes on, your personal and financial circumstances are likely to change also. This means that there are several reasons to review your insurance coverage.

If you first purchased home or car insurance when you bought your first house, or when you were a learner or newly qualified driver, you may now be eligible for discounts that could reduce the cost of your insurance.

You will build up a no claims discount, for example, when you have car or home insurance without making a claim over time.

You may also find that, when you take some time to compare prices available to you, that you can find better value by shopping around.

Major life changes, such as marriage or divorce, or changes in your family like the birth or adoption of a child or children leaving the nest, will all call for a review of your insurance needs.

Reviewing your insurance cover will ensure that you are adequately financially protected should something unexpected happen.

Your financial situation will inevitably change as time goes on. Changes to your earnings, a legacy or bequest, retirement, or career changes will all affect your finances.

If your family has grown, you have paid off your mortgage, or you are engaged in estate planning, you will need to consider an insurance review.

Your insurance needs change during your lifetime. Changes to your health or the natural effects of aging, for example, may lead you to prioritise different types of health insurance. Your health may improve, if you give up smoking or vaping for example, and this may potentially lead to savings were you to review your cover. 

Home insurance is another type of insurance that will benefit from an annual review to ensure that you keep your home’s rebuild cost up to date, especially following a renovation or extension or if you have purchased valuable items, installed an alarm etc. This will avoid underinsurance.

When you make a major purchase, such as property, or a new car, you may also need to review your insurance cover.

The insurance industry is dynamic and newer insurance products and features are continually offered to customers, especially to customers who are willing to switch insurance companies.

Car insurance, for example, has introduced newer features like telematics or black box policies, especially for younger drivers, and cover for electric cars and charging units. Personalised prices, especially for safer drivers, may also drive down prices.

Home insurers have updated policies to include expanded cover for home office equipment and electronics, to reflect the way we live now. Policies are also coming on stream that offer discounts for sustainability and smart home features.

Taking advantage of these offers may save you on your insurance premiums every month and may also offer better cover than policies that you have held onto for a long time.

Loyalty is not usually rewarded by insurance companies and automatically renewing your current car, home, and even health insurance each year may not be doing you any favours when it comes to cost.

Reviewing your insurance policies can also ensure that policies do not lapse without you realising.

How to carry out an annual insurance review

Ensure that you are adequately covered by your insurance policies, such as home insurance, car insurance, and health insurance, as well as other insurance types and save money with an annual insurance review.

It may seem an onerous task and just a hassle when you have other things to get on with but it can pay dividends and save you thousands of Euros.

As your personal insurance needs evolve, and insurance policies are updated, reviewing your policies rather than auto-renewing your existing cover can mean that you get better insurance cover for a lower premium.

Choose Compare Insurance

Compare Insurance can help you and make the process much quicker and easier. We can search the market to get you quotes for car insurance, home insurance, and loads of other types of insurance so you can easily compare prices and cover options from multiple insurance providers.

Check out our website with loads of information on different types of insurance and our articles to keep you informed about developments in insurance.

You can also avail of a consultation with one of our Central Bank vetted insurance advisors and benefit from their expertise and knowledge of the Irish insurance market to get appropriate cover for your current and future needs.

Compare Insurance is a one stop shop to enable you to carry out an annual insurance review and put you on the way to making substantial savings.

Author: Séamus Ó Doirín | Chief Insurance Editor

Séamus Ó Doirín is a Donegal based QFA who has been writing about insurance since 2020. His main focus is getting people the best value for insurance in the Irish market. His writing covers all areas of insurance and is a valuable part of the Compare Insurance team. 

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