Fall financial checklist includes life insurance

Yes, fall is the right season to review your life insurance and update your coverage to match your current life. Many people think about financial planning only at tax time, but autumn gives you a chance to make changes before the year closes out and before you're rushed through the December holidays.

Why Fall Is the Right Time for a Life Insurance Review

September and October are when financial planning becomes real for most households. You're thinking about year-end goals, tax strategies, and what you want to accomplish before 2027 arrives. Life insurance fits into this planning because it takes time to apply, get medically underwritten, and finalize a policy. If you wait until December, you're racing against the calendar. Additionally, if your life has changed since you last reviewed your coverage—and it probably has—applying now gives you time to ask questions and understand what you're buying before the policy takes effect. Many people skip this review because they think they're covered, but coverage that made sense three years ago may not protect your family adequately today.

Assess What Changed in Your Life This Year

The first step is honestly evaluating what's different about your finances and family since you last looked at your policy. Life changes create gaps between the coverage you have and the coverage you actually need.

Major events that affect how much coverage you need:

• A new baby or adoption—your dependents increased
• Marriage or a new long-term relationship—someone depends on your income
• Buying a house or taking on a larger mortgage—more debt your family would face
• A significant inheritance or bonus—your financial picture shifted
• Job loss or a new job—income stability changed
• A health diagnosis or ongoing condition—your ability to get future coverage changed
• Your spouse returning to work or leaving work—household income structure shifted

Walk through the last three years mentally and write down what's different. If several of these apply to you, your coverage almost certainly needs to adjust. Increasing coverage is easier now, before any new health issues arise or life gets more complicated.

Update Your Beneficiary Designations

Even if your coverage amount is still appropriate, your beneficiaries may not be. A beneficiary designation is the instruction that tells the insurance company who receives the death benefit. Many people set beneficiaries years ago and never update them, which means ex-spouses or estranged relatives could inherit money intended for current family members. If you've gotten married, divorced, had children, or experienced a major falling-out with someone you named, your beneficiaries are probably wrong. Log into your policy or call your agent and verify that the names, percentages, and contact information are all current. If you have minor children, confirm that you've named a guardian for them and that your beneficiary designation accounts for how young they are. Some people name their children directly; others name a spouse with the understanding that the spouse will care for the children; still others set up a trust. The point is to be intentional rather than letting an outdated decision stand.

Understand Your Policy Type and Whether It Still Fits

Two main categories of life insurance exist, and they serve different purposes. Taking a few minutes to understand which one you have—and whether it still makes sense—can save your family thousands of dollars.

Term life insurance vs. whole life coverage:

Term life insurance covers you for a set number of years, typically 10, 20, or 30 years. If you die during that term, your beneficiaries receive the death benefit. If you outlive the term, the coverage ends and you don't receive anything. Term is affordable because the insurance company knows that in most cases, you'll outlive the policy. It's a good fit if you want to cover a specific period—your working years, your kids' childhood, or the years while you're paying off a mortgage. Whole life insurance, also called permanent insurance, covers you for your entire life as long as you pay the premiums. It builds cash value over time, which you can borrow against or withdraw. Whole life is more expensive because the insurance company will eventually pay out the death benefit, and it includes the investment component. It's a good fit if you need lifelong coverage or you want to leave money to heirs beyond your working years.

Fall is a good time to ask yourself whether your current type still makes sense. If you chose term life when your kids were young, and they're now independent, you might be paying for coverage you don't need—or you might be better off switching to a smaller whole life policy that provides permanent protection for a spouse or to cover estate taxes. Conversely, if you have whole life and your budget is tight, you might convert part of it to term to free up cash while keeping some permanent coverage in place.

Review Coverage Beyond Your Employer Policy

Many people assume their employer's life insurance is enough because it's convenient and cheap. In reality, employer coverage rarely keeps up with your real needs. Most employer plans provide coverage equal to one to two years of your salary. For most families, that falls short of what's needed to replace lost income, pay off a mortgage, cover college expenses, and maintain the household's standard of living if the breadwinner dies. The actual adequacy of employer coverage depends on your household expenses, debt, and how many years your dependents will need income replacement. Additionally, employer coverage ends when you leave the job. If you change employers, get laid off, or retire, you lose that protection unless you're able to convert it to an individual policy—and conversion is usually more expensive than buying individual coverage while you're still healthy. The solution is to layer employer coverage with individual coverage. Many people get group discounts through their employer and then purchase individual term life insurance on top of that. You own the individual policy regardless of your employment, so it goes with you through career changes.

Account for Specific Life Circumstances

Certain situations require specialized thinking about life insurance. If you're a new parent, you need more coverage than someone whose kids are grown. The younger your dependents, the longer they'll depend on your income, and the more coverage protects your family. If you've been diagnosed with a health condition—diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, or anything that affects your life expectancy—applying for new life insurance becomes more expensive or difficult. Now is the time to lock in coverage while you're still healthy, or while your condition is recent and not yet factored heavily into underwriting. If you've changed jobs or started freelancing, you might be missing the group coverage you had before. If your spouse's income is essential to the household, that spouse needs coverage too, not just the primary earner. The point is to avoid making coverage decisions later when you have fewer options or when costs are higher.

Shop Around and Get Professional Help

Once you understand what you need, comparing quotes from different insurance companies makes sense. Rates vary based on your age, health, occupation, and the amount of coverage. What you pay at 45 is different from what you'll pay at 50, so locking in rates now is valuable. A licensed agent can walk you through the application process, help you choose between companies and policy types, and answer questions about how coverage works when you need to file a claim. Ego Investments 1 LLC helps you compare life insurance rates with a licensed agent and is open 24 hours, every day. You can call Caroline at (708) 717-7518 to discuss your situation and see what options are available to you.