Reviewing insurance policies

The beginning of the year is the perfect time to review your insurance policies, especially if your lifestyle and needs have changed.

Household insurance

If you’ve bought new appliances, notify your insurer. Look at what your policy will and won’t cover and if there are special clauses for specific items.

Draw up an insurance checklist and see what still needs to be insured.

If you’ve downscaled your home size and possessions, go over your policy to check you’re not over-insured.

If you’ve changed the structure of your home, tell your insurer. Alterations will affect how your risk is measured and the value of your property.

Motor vehicle insurance

Check that the information you supplied a year ago still applies.

If you’ve made modifications to the body of the vehicle, apart from repairs, you must declare this.

Review the extra features offered by your insurer and take out what you don’t need. For example, paying for car hire if you have another car.

If you’ve started a side-hustle during the year that relies on car use you must let your insurer know.

Life, disability and funeral cover

Understand the different types of cover and how the policy works. There are several questions you should ask: under what conditions will my cover pay out and how (lump sum or monthly for life cover)? Are there any exclusions? If so, what are they and how do they affect me/my family?

With the actual insurance payout, what factors influence the value of my payout and does the amount I’m insured for grow? Can I change it if I’m under-insured?

If your physical or mental health state changed in the past year, notify your insurer to check if this has any impact on your cover.

Think about the amount of debt you have and how much will be needed to pay it off in the event of your death.

An advisor can guide you through the process of evaluating your policies. Check if the cost and benefits of any policies have changed.

Vera Nagtegaal is executive head of Hippo.co.za