Even after having taken a great deal of care and having gone through the best of agents and websites, there are some very universal blunders which are committed by policyholders and insurance companies alike. Here are just a few of them:

The beneficiary list is not up-to-date:

Sometimes the beneficiary dies before the policyholder, and they forget to replace his/her name with someone else’s name. This can lead to major complications when a claim has to be filed. If there has been a parting of ways between the beneficiary and the policyholder, as in the case of a divorce, then also the name of that particular beneficiary should be deleted and a new one added.

Policies are left unchecked for years:

Every policy should reflect changing circumstances. This cannot be emphasised often enough. Policyholders tend to forget about their policies, except to pay their premiums regularly. They need to review the policies every year. Often a changed circumstance can lead to a lower premium or a higher end of term claim.

The maturity amount does not provide sufficient coverage:

The general rule of thumb is that you should have an insurance policy which is 5 to 10 times your annual salary. But then each one of us has our individual circumstances and budgets and we need to tailor our policies to suit them. The lump sum payments may look fairly large on paper, but when you spread them over a few years they suddenly seem to shrink. Keep in mind the factors such as inflation, shrinking resources and the age of the beneficiary.

A non-working spouse has not been covered in life insurance:

Even if your spouse is not working, he/she needs life insurance. This is a safeguard for the times when you may need someone else’s support. This is also an added benefit for you and your family after the demise of your spouse.