As your life circumstances change, your life insurance may need to be updated. You could amend your life cover with your current insurer, or switch by cancelling your insurance and looking for a better deal.
Before settling on a choice that matches your needs, there are some important things that you need to take into consideration. These include:
- Long waiting period. You may find that there is a fairly lengthy waiting period before you can claim on your new policy. Check carefully before you make the switch.
- Pre-existing conditions. If you have developed a medical condition check whether or not your new insurer will cover it.
- Reputation. Make sure that you do your research and find about more about the company and how well known/experienced the company is when it comes to life insurance services.
The most common reason for people to switch life insurance policies is when they enter a new life stage or change of lifestyle.
Have you had any major life changes recently?
Bought a house
Made a large investment
Come into a large amount of money
Other reasons include:
- Reaching the end of term. Generally, when you take out life insurance in Australia, you'll be asked to select the length of time you want cover for. This period of time is what is referred to as the term. Generally once someone reaches the end of a term, they will reassess their situation and need for life insurance.
- Financial reasons. One of the reasons why people decide to switch life insurance policies is because of the cost of premiums. This can happen for several reasons including the premiums becoming too expensive due to age or the amount being cover becoming excessive due to changes in the family dynamic (such as children no longer being financially dependent).
Finder survey: What events make Australians take out or adjust their life insurance coverage?
| None of the above | 48.29% |
| Having a baby | 27.48% |
| Retirement | 19.46% |
| Buying a home | 17.3% |
| Getting married | 16.4% |
| Starting a new job | 7.93% |
| Your children moving out of home | 5.59% |
| Buying a car | 4.59% |
| Moving home | 4.59% |
| Starting university education | 2.43% |
Source: Finder survey by Pure Profile of 1110 Australians, December 2023
Why compare life insurance with Finder?
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You pay the same price as buying directly from the life insurer.
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We're not owned by an insurer (unlike other comparison sites).
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We've done 100+ hours of policy research to help you understand what you're comparing.
Yes, is the short answer. There are a number of different reasons why you might need to do so. However, although you can have more than one life insurance policy on your own life, it can be an expensive way of giving yourself the cover you need.
If you can find a way of only having only one life insurance policy to look after all your needs, you should be able to finish up with the same amount of cover at a much lower cost.
Taking out multiple life insurance policies is perfectly acceptable and can actually provide increased peace of mind and protection for you and your loved ones. However, there are some things that you need to bear in mind if you are considering taking out multiple life insurance plans:
- Managing multiple plans could be more difficult. Although having multiple life insurance plans in place does offer greater security and peace of mind, it can also cause more confusion and become more difficult to manage. The more life insurance plans you have, the more time you will have to put into managing and reviewing them, so you should bear this in mind when considering multiple plans.
- The cost implications of multiple plans. If you take out multiple life insurance plans, it also means that you will have to pay a multiple of the specified premiums, which can be costly in the long-term.
- Time implications. When you take out multiple life insurance plans, you will have to dedicate more time not only to finding suitable plans and providers but also in terms of reviewing and checking your life insurance plans and coverage.
One of the main reasons people switch life insurance is to get a cheaper premium. Compare your current premium to the average cost of life insurance*.
Average life insurance rates for men
| $200,000 | $4.16 | $5.10 | $12.26 | $41.62 |
| $500,000 | $9.33 | $12.19 | $27.92 | $96.00 |
| $1,000,000 | $17.38 | $22.88 | $52.98 | $177.24 |
Average life insurance rates for women
| $200,000 | $3.20 | $4.01 | $9.38 | $26.76 |
| $500,000 | $6.85 | $9.48 | $21.19 | $61.51 |
| $1,000,000 | $12.65 | $17.69 | $40.08 | $116.34 |
*Average costs for a non-smoker with no medical conditions and earning a gross annual income of $80,000. Quotes researched as of March 2021.
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