When (and how often) to review your insurance
How often to review your insurance in Australia, the life events that should trigger a check of your cover, an annual review checklist, and how to make sure you never miss a renewal.
Insurance is the classic "set and forget" purchase — which is exactly how people end up either under-insured when they claim or quietly overpaying year after year. Your life keeps changing; your policies do not update themselves. A regular review is what keeps the two aligned.
The baseline: review every year
At a minimum, review each policy once a year, at renewal. That is when the premium changes, when automatic indexation adjusts your sum insured, and when you have a natural prompt to check the cover still fits. A ten-minute review at renewal is the single most valuable insurance habit you can build.
Life events that should trigger a review
Do not wait for renewal if something significant changes. These events change your risk and often your cover needs immediately:
- Moving house — new address, new building and contents values, possibly different flood or theft risk
- Buying or selling a vehicle — new agreed value, new drivers, cover to add or cancel
- Renovating or extending — a higher rebuild cost your sum insured may not reflect
- Having a child — a common prompt to review life, TPD, trauma and income protection
- Changing jobs or income — affects income protection and what you can afford to lose
- Starting a business or working from home — may need new cover a home policy excludes
- Buying valuables — jewellery, art or equipment that may need to be specified
Your annual review checklist
- Compare this year's premium to last year's — know the change
- Check the sum insured still reflects rebuild / replacement costs
- Reconsider your excess against what you could afford at claim time
- Strip optional extras you no longer use
- Confirm all details (address, drivers, values) are still correct
- Get a comparison quote and be willing to negotiate or switch
- Make sure every renewal date is tracked so nothing lapses
The hard part: remembering
The reason reviews do not happen is not laziness — it is logistics. A typical household holds car, home, contents, health, life and maybe pet or landlord cover, each renewing on a different date with a different insurer. Miss the email and the policy simply auto-renews before you ever looked at it. The review you meant to do never gets the chance.
@insuro.com.auaddress and we track the dates for you. Free during beta.Frequently asked questions
How often should I review my insurance?⌄
At least once a year — ideally at each policy's renewal — plus any time a major life event changes what you need to cover, such as moving house, buying a car, having a child or renovating.
What life events should trigger an insurance review?⌄
Moving home, buying or selling a vehicle, renovating or extending, having a baby, changing jobs or income, starting a business, taking on a mortgage, or acquiring valuable items all change your risk and should prompt a review of your cover.
Why is reviewing insurance important?⌄
Life and prices change but policies do not update themselves. Reviewing catches under-insurance (not enough cover), over-insurance (paying for cover you do not need) and premium increases you could negotiate or switch away from.
What should an annual insurance review cover?⌄
Check each policy's sum insured, excess, optional extras and premium against last year, confirm the details are still accurate, compare against other insurers, and make sure every renewal date is tracked so nothing lapses.
Stop losing track of your policies.
Free during beta. Forward policy emails to your private @insuro.com.au address and we take it from there.
Create your free vault