The insurance in your super – when to review and update it?

Okay, so when should I review my insurance?

There are key milestones through life that might trigger you to take stock and check your insurance cover. These milestones usually indicate that your financial needs have changed, which is why you might need to adjust your insurance cover.

Here are some of the milestones to consider:

When you’re starting out in the workforce

While many of us think we’re bullet proof in the younger years, the sad reality is things can happen. If you were injured and unable to work for a while, Income Protection cover can be critical in helping to pay the bills.

If your claim is successful, Income protection will provide you with a proportion of your monthly income if you experience injury or illness that makes it difficult or impossible for you to work for a period of time. This will mean you’ll have the financial support to continue to pay bills and support your lifestyle.

Getting married

Tying the knot is generally a good time to check in on your collective finances as you may now rely on each other financially. Depending on your joint expenses like a mortgage, or other bills, you want to make sure your insurance cover will support you both if something was to happen.

Starting a family

Starting a family is such a special time in anyone’s life. However, you now have a child who is financially and physically dependent on you.

Life insurance is particularly important at this stage as it will help protect your family financially if one of you were no longer around. 

Downsizing

Once the kids have flown the nest, or you’ve decided to look at a better work life balance, you might want to consider downsizing your home and other expenses. This is also a good time to check your insurance cover, as you may no longer need as much insurance coverage as you previously had. 

Right, so how do I check and update my insurance?

Checking your insurance inside your super is generally not too hard. It all depends on who you have your superannuation with. Some of the ways you can check your insurance include:

• Give your super fund a call
• Login to your super fund’s member portal or app
• Check your superannuation annual statement

If you’re a Rest Super member you can check and review your super by following these three simple steps.