When To Cancel Or Change a Life Insurance Policy

Our definitive guide helps explain how to make the right decision whatever your circumstances

Updated 10 May 2021

If you're wanting to change your life insurance policy, it may be for one of a number of reasons. Our guide explains everything you need to consider before making such a decision as we outline risks of switching or cancelling a policy altogether. We cover:

Know This First: Cancelling or Changing Your Life Insurance Policy Need Proper Consideration

There are many reasons why you may be considering changing or cancelling your life insurance policy:
  • It could be that your family is grown up and your spouse or partner would not need additional financial assistance if something happened to you.
  • It could be that you have done a review of your finances and feel that life insurance is no longer a need based on your overall financial picture.
  • If you are paying high premiums month after month, you may have decided that there is a better way to invest your money and self-insure.
  • It could also be that your job or finances have changed, and you cannot afford the premiums anymore.

Avoiding the Need to Rush a Decision
  • No matter what may be driving you to consider making a change, a decision should not be rushed without proper consideration, as switching or cancelling a life insurance policy can be irreversible.
  • Because insurers aren't able to advise independently, talking to a life insurance broker can help as you'll be able to explain your changing needs. Insurance brokers are experienced in understanding all of the implications of changing or cancelling a life insurance policy and can provide the help and guidance you need to make good choices.
  • Your life insurance policy should be part of an overall financial strategy for yourself and your loved ones, but you need to make sure it's appropriate and affordable. For this reason, any adjustments need careful planning.

Changing Your Life Insurance Policy

If you are considering changing your life insurance policy's beneficiary and/or cover level, you will first need to answer a critical question before you can do so. Does your life insurance policy allow you to make any changes? A simple yet important question.

Depending on the insurance company your policy was purchased from and the type of policy you bought, you may or may not be able to make changes to your existing policy. Reading the fine print of a life insurance policy can be overwhelming. To help understand the answer, you'll need to ask your insurer (if you purchased the policy directly) or the insurance broker who sold you the policy. Either will be able to help you determine if changes can be made.

A common change to life insurance policies is who the beneficiary of the policy is. Simply put, this means who gets the money if you die. The beneficiaries of life insurance policies can be almost anyone, but below are some of the common beneficiaries chosen for life insurance policies:
  • Spouse or partner
  • Children
  • Other family members
  • A trust
  • A charity

1. Changing a Life Insurance Policy's Beneficiary

Changes come in a few forms:
  1. One example of when people change their beneficiary is if they get divorced. In that case, they may change the beneficiary from a spouse to a child or other family member.
  2. Another example is when somone did not have a trust set up when they bought the policy but do now and want the beneficiary to be changed to the trust. The trust will then specify the details of who gets the life insurance money along with all of the person's other assets.

As outlined above, changing beneficiaries is a simple task that can be done with the help of the insurance broker or by contacting the insurance company directly.

2. Changing a Life Insurance Policy's Cover Level

The second reason to change a policy is to add (or reduce) life insurance cover, which can happen for any number of reasons. Some of the common life changes include:

1. Marriage
  • Getting married is a change that should have you examine whether you need to increase your life insurance.
  • It is no longer just you that you have to worry about; ensuring your spouse is taken care of if something should happen to you is a common concern that causes people to increase their life insurance.
  • Marriage is a common reason for increasing the level of life insurance.
 
2. Divorce or Seperation
  • In the case of a divorce, you may want to review your life insurance policy coverage.
  • Many people, when doing this, determine they wish to increase their coverage, especially if there are children involved.
  • After a divorce or during a seperation, you no longer have a dual income and don’t always know your ex’s financial situation now and in the future.
  • Because of this, many people increase their coverage to make sure their children are taken care of.

3. Having Children
  • This is probably the most significant reason people look to increase their life insurance coverage
  • When you have children, ensuring they will be well cared for if something happens to you is a high priority for new parents.
  • If you are young and healthy, you can usually increase your coverage without spending too much money.
  • If you don’t have a lot of disposable income at this point in your life but still want to increase your coverage, adjusting the cover level comes down to what makes the most sense financially.

4. Buying a house
  • Buying a home is a substantial financial investment. Increasing life insurance coverage is how many people address the concern they have regarding what would happen if they died, leaving their spouse or family with a mortgage to pay while dealing with the loss of their income.

If any of these or other scenarios apply to you, you can explore the option of increasing the coverage on your existing policy. If this is not an option, there are a couple of other ways you can increase your coverage which we outline in the next section below.

Increasing Your Life Insurance Cover - Options and Costs

If you've decided to increase your cover, there are three standard options available:

Option One - Apply to change your Life Cover Amount 
  • If you can increase your Life Cover Amount (i.e. dollar payout amount upon death) for an increased premium, this is usually the best option.
  • Your premium will increase in cost, and you may need to be assessed again by the medical underwriting team. However, in most cases, increasing cover on an existing policy is the cheapest option. 

If this is not an option (for whatever reason), there are two alternatives:

Option Two - Cancel your current policy and buy a new policy with a higher benefit.
  • This may seem like the simplest way to do it, but there is one primary downside. When you purchased the policy you have in place, you were likely younger and healthier, which means you could get a reasonable rate. As we all get older, we have more health issues. 
  • If you decide to cancel and buy a new policy with a bigger benefit, you will have to go through medical underwriting again, and in addition to just being older, which means the rates will be higher, you may have new health issues that can also affect your premiums.
  • Additionally, insurance companies can be more strict with their underwriting policies for larger policies so your cover may be restricted anyway.

Option Three - Buy an additional policy.
  • Buying a second policy is a popular approach because you will keep your old policy, which will probably have lower premiums, and add another policy that may have higher premiums.
  • When you average out the premiums of both policies together, it will, in most cases, be less than if you cancelled your old policy and bought one new policy with a higher benefit.

Switching Life Insurance Companies

Switching life insurance companies is usually due to a concern about the cost of premiums, customer service, or another significant reason. If you are thinking about switching, there are some things you should consider before making a move:
  1. If you cancel a life insurance policy and want to buy a new one, you will have to go through the medical underwriting process again.
  2. You will be older and may have new health issues or pre-existing conditions you did not have before, which will impact your premiums.
  3. If you are want to switch from one insurance company to another for your life insurance coverage, you will have to go through the same underwriting process.
  4. Generally, there are not many reasons why you would want to switch insurance companies. If you decide to make a change, a good approach is to get a quote from the new insurance company and even go through the underwriting process to determine what your new premiums will be and then decide to move.
  5. It's wise not to cancel your old policy first as you may discover the new premiums are higher, or in some cases, you could be denied coverage. This avoids the risk of ending up with no cover (or less cover) than you had before, so it is a good idea to proceed with caution and talk to a broker who can give you guidance on what to do.

Frequently Asked Questions

What life events should cause me to re-evaluate my life insurance needs?

There can be many reasons, but the following are the top reasons people evaluate buying more life insurance:
  • Marriage
  • Having children
  • Divorce
  • Buying a home
  • Starting a business

If I want to cancel my existing life insurance policy and buy a new one, am I guaranteed to be able to buy one?

No, in almost all situations, if you buy a new life insurance policy, you will have to go through medical underwriting and could be denied coverage if your health has changed, or you could end up paying higher premiums. There are some policies available that do not require medical underwriting, but the benefits can be somewhat limited.

What should I do if I have a siginificant life-changing event and want to review my options?

The most popular approach is to talk to an independent life insurance broker; they can walk you through your options and come up with a plan that meets your life insurance needs within your budget.

Conclusion and Must-Know Considerations

  • Life is dynamic, and it's perfectly normal for you to want to make changes to your insurances from time to time. However, Life Insurance is not something to make a quick decision about.
  • If you've got a long-standing policy, deciding precisely what you want to adjust (and the reasons for making the change) is essential. If you rush into a new policy, there may be hidden costs or exclusions you're not aware of.
  • The best approach is to talk to your insurer or broker to properly consider the options available to you. Switching to a new provider can have unintended consequences; once you switch, you won't be able to put your original policy back in place.
  • Never rush a decision - it's likely your cover right now is adequate in the short term. Many people buy an additional policy if they want increased cover to protect their family in the future if and when their existing policy can't be extended. This protects their existing policy and gives flexibility to over how much additional cover is needed.
Related Guides
  • Considering buying an insurance policy from a broker? Our brokers vs insurers guide outlines the pros and cons of each option.

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