When you look at your whole financial strategy, life insurance reviews are rarely at the top of the priority list. Most of us purchase a policy, then forget about it, thinking we have done our due diligence and crossed that off the financial responsibility to-do list. But a life insurance review, as unexciting as it sounds, may be necessary and beneficial. Here are four reasons why:

You May Outlive Your Policy

What would happen if you lived longer than your life insurance policy? Poor performance, loans, incorrect ownership, or beneficiary choices could result in a mess when your policy is needed most. There’s a chance your current policy may have an expiration date on which you haven’t counted. Many policies are set to endow at age 95 or 100. You may not believe you will live that long, but in the past 30 years alone, the U.S. centenarian population has grown 65.8%.

If you outlive your policy, the repercussions may be disastrous. Make sure you understand and plan for this situation, especially if you purchased your life insurance policy at a young age.

You Could Run Into Tax Problems

Life insurance is often thought of as being income tax-free at your death, but some policies are inadvertently set up to be taxable at death. If your policy was created this way, would that cause issues for your family? If it would, or if you aren’t sure if it would, an advisor may be able to help you rectify this problem and create a strategy to ensure your family isn’t caught off guard.

Your Policy Could Be Performing Better

How do you know if your life insurance policy is performing as expected? When you purchased the policy you were most likely provided a projection of values, but have you seen an updated estimate since then? How would it compare to what you were originally shown?

It’s possible that your policy is outperforming its original projection, but considering the direction of the economy over the past few years, it’s more likely that the policy has underperformed. If so, what might that mean for you and your plans for your loved ones?

Now may be a good time to update your projections and ensure they are on track. Most often, it’s easier to adjust a policy before it goes too far off course. Your advisor can help you evaluate how the policy has performed since you purchased it and how it is projected to perform in the future.

Your Policy May Not Be Up-to-Date

Throughout the last few decades, life insurance has evolved into a more valuable and robust risk management tool. Today’s policies can cover more than just premature death. There are options to cover chronic illness and long-term care, and they have the ability to direct policy cash values among multiple options — not just the insurer’s general account.

If it’s been a few years or decades since you first purchased your policy, you may need to add additional coverage, such as long-term care, with a rider, which can be more cost-effective than buying a separate policy.

Even if you don’t need to add features, you may still need to verify that your beneficiaries are up-to-date and check if you have the correct amount and type of coverage.

Reviewing Your Policy

Life insurance can be confusing, and it is often difficult to know if your policy is doing what it’s supposed to do. Through an insurance update, I can help you examine your policies in-depth so that you can have increased confidence that your plans are on track. If you are concerned about your life insurance policy or would like to schedule a review, call us at (323) 254-3072.

About Mason & Associates, Inc.

Mason & Associates, Inc. was founded in 1989, specializing in Life Planning for individuals, families and small businesses. Life Planning places a person’s core life values at the heart of the advice process and focuses on the human aspects of financial planning.

As a client, your personal story is key to our planning process. That is why we strive to build a close relationship that will encompass every aspect of your life. Together with our team of professionals, we guide you through the process of identifying what is important to you, your goals, your dreams. We then put into place a financial road map to set you on your way towards achieving your objectives.

Our responsibility does not end there. As you encounter bumps in the road, changes in goals or any other roadblocks, we are there to offer advice and guidance. We are there to celebrate your successes and cope with your challenges. We work alongside your other professionals such as your attorney and your CPA to be sure all of your legal and financial needs are aligned.