The New Year is always a great time to reflect on what you’ve accomplished over the last 365 days and set a course for the future. While you’re busy devising a workout plan and banning red meat altogether, find a little room for your financial needs, especially if you’re 35 and under.
This age group is still generally young and healthy enough to get the best rates on things like life and health insurance. And if you’re past the awkward early driver stages and have demonstrated responsible behavior behind the wheel, it may also be the most cost affordable time in your life as a motorist.
As January begins, take some time to educate yourself on what your policies are doing for you and take these steps to get your financial house in order.
One: Add Life Insurance Coverage.
There comes a time in your life when it’s cost-prohibitive to purchase more life insurance coverage. Age and health may even make it impossible, and your financial needs may no longer require that a plan is in place.
Circumstances change.
But if you’re young and starting out, or if you’re still at an age where it’s easy to add coverage, then up your limits while you can afford it. You may not have a spouse or children to worry about right now, but you probably will one day, and it’s a lot easier to make sure they’re protected at this stage than it would be if you were just trying to purchase a policy at 50.
Two: Revisit Those Beneficiaries.
A lot can happen to us over the course of a year. We experience divorce. We lose family and friends. We find out we’re going to have kids or grandkids. Choosing the right beneficiary for financial accounts and life insurance policies isn’t a one-and-done thing. You must revisit who these individuals are on a regular basis and make any necessary adjustments so that your estate plan reflects your wishes as accurately as possible, and doesn’t leave the right people wronged and the wrong people “righted,” so to speak.
Three: Establish Your Insurance Portfolio.
By “establish,” we don’t mean “buy coverage.” You should do that as soon as possible. No, what we mean is to determine your preferred provider. Maybe it’s the company you’re with now, or maybe it’s an agency that can offer better valued coverage. The point is, it’s important to establish a relationship early for bigger savings down the road. It gets more difficult to keep value on certain types of policies if you jump ship later in life as you may risk being reassessed on health conditions and risk factors.
Four: Sit Down With Your Agent.
Informed customers know what their policies are doing for them, and they’re able to make better decisions for the benefit of their families. Unfortunately, a majority aren’t sure what all their auto, life, or health policies, cover. They simply look at premium prices and go with whatever is cheapest. It’s only when an incident occurs that they’re hit with the sobering realities that come with having gaps in coverage.
To avoid any potential nightmare scenarios, sit down with your agent and communicate the kind of safety net you’re looking for. Agents can help you make sense of the fine print and can set you up with policies that won’t leave you with heavy out-of-pocket expenses in the event of a major medical event or an auto accident.
